WOODLAND WAYS - Key Persons
Over the years Adam has practiced and experimented relentlessly to gain what is today a huge collection of wilderness knowledge and skills.
Almost a decade spent living in the English Lakes provided Adam with a wild landscape to hone skills and acquire more conventional outdoor training in climbing, canoeing, kayaking, off road driving, first aid and mountaineering.
Job Titles:
- APPRENTICE INSTRUCTOR / Apprentice
Andy has had a strong interest in bushcraft and a love for the outdoors since childhood where he spent a lot of time wild camping around Scotland.
This ongoing interest led him to the Scottish bushcraft group on Facebook where he met Woodland Ways Instructor David Mccrae and shortly after enrolled in the Northern Forest Year course. Upon completion he was offered a place on the apprenticeship programme and has taken a strong interest in tanning, foraging and indigenous crafting technique during his journey to becoming an Instructor.
He also enjoys travelling and has visited many parts of the world looking for adventure. Including life changing experiences travelling solo in the Ladakh and staying with the semi nomadic Ladakhi people; staying with the Karen and Akha in northern Thailand; floating down the Mekong on the Laotian side and bumbling around West Africa. There are many other places he has visited ... and even more on his hit list!
Job Titles:
- APPRENTICE INSTRUCTOR / Apprentice
Andy spent a good deal of his school years looking out the window and wanting to be outside so every free moment was spent camping, cycling and climbing. Fortunately his father shared his passion for the outdoors and introduced him at an early age to the mountains and woods; taking the family on many trips around the UK to hike and climb. With a passion for the outdoors well established, Andy went on to help disadvantaged children try climbing and later trained as a SMBLA mountain bike guide.
Post school, Andy travelled overseas to explore much of the USA and Canada before returning to the UK to train as a motorbike technician. Andy has run several of his own businesses and had many part time jobs before going to university and gaining an engineering degree. Starting a family shifted the focus to the corporate world, though he still spent his spare time on land and water exploring the world as much as free time would allow. Andy can often be found building and creating, developing his skills in blacksmithing, wood turning and leather work and he is working hard to pass on his passion to his children. His role within the corporate world has trained him as a leadership coach and team coach and Andy enjoys spending time helping others to develop themselves. Andy was introduced to Bushcraft by his in-laws and having attended several shows enrolled on the Wooodland Ways 5 day survival course, the Sweden canoe expedition and then the 2 year Woodland Wayer programme. Andy joined the Woodland Ways apprentice scheme in 2019 and is working towards his instructors shirt. His passion for the outdoors continues and he can regularly be found running, mountain biking and working on his latest project. Show less
Job Titles:
- HEAD of COURSES and BUSHCRAFT INSTRUCTOR
Barry grew up in a seaside town in Essex but always knew that the woods were his true home, taking every opportunity to explore inland whenever it presented itself. The reality of adult life and responsibilities meant the dream of working outdoors had to be put on a backburner swapping it instead for a life behind a desk working in marketing and raising his family.
Now the family have all grown and flown the nest he decided to pick up the passion for an outdoors life and first explored woodland management by spending time with renowned woodsman and timber frame house builder Ben Law to qualify in sustainable woodland management. Next up was a return to fitness after years of sedentary work and the challenge of completing the London Marathon in 2010 but something didn't feel right so he researched a different approach and took up barefoot running to connect fully with nature and appreciate the way our ancestors would have moved. This sparked a whole new outlook on life for Barry and a search for a simpler approach to everything in his life but a framework was required to do it sensibly. Permaculture was the answer - in its simplest form it is a design tool with its roots in food production but ultimately can be applied to anything in life. The new life design led him to achieving the Superhome energy efficiency status for his house and a change to working in the charitable sector where he drew on his marketing background to raise money through trust applications for a regional autism charity before switching roles to work directly with children affected by autism. During this time Barry was approached by a small charity that uses Bushcraft as a means of engaging with adults with mental health issues and main stream schools to help individuals boost their self-esteem, well-being and confidence. The proposal was for him to use his educational experience to help deliver structured sessions to over 2,000 clients in a 6 month period. With challenge accepted he proceeded to boost his knowledge of the natural world and explore new skills. It was via this search that Barry came to courses and qualifications in Forest School teaching; Adult Education Sector teaching; flint knapping and bronze casting (with Will Lord); knife making (with Dave Budd); and ultimately to Woodland Ways via a fantastic trip to the Sahara Desert in 2014. Barry was so impressed with the desert survival experience, the ethos and professionalism of Woodland Ways that he signed up to the 2 year Woodland Wayer course on his return. This journey gave him a firm foundation of knowledge which also enabled him to gain his IOL Bushcraft Competency qualification and ultimately led to the hard-earned Instructors shirt. Since then he has seen the beauty of Sweden from a canoe, lived with the Maasai in Kenya, witnessed the wildlife and mountains of Croatia and seen the impact our modernlives have on the wildlife of South Africa and gained his CyberTracker Level 2 qualification. He continues to look for more adventures and skills to add to his repertoire so that he can inspire others. To read more about Barry's journey to a simple life read his blog post which gives an insight into what was involved - https://www.woodland-ways.co.uk/blog/inspiration/oh-for-a-simple-life/ Show less
Job Titles:
- APPRENTICE INSTRUCTOR / Apprentice
Growing up on a farm gave Bill a love of the countryside, and with a small wooded area adjoining the land, many an hour was passed building dens and tree houses.
Five years in the cadets added some basic skills in outdoor survival, camping, climbing and caving which culminated in being accepted on a British Schools Exploring Society expedition to Alaska for 6 weeks. Before studying for a degree in Geography, Bill took a gap year to travel around the world. The wanderlust was never far from the surface and the opportunity to study martial arts in North America and Japan was too good to be true. Finally at the ripe old age of 27, meeting the future wife meant getting a real job, which in turn lead to running a marketing company with said wife for nearly 20 years and, becoming a business coach along the way. Nothing lasts forever, some health issues caused the demise of the business and the marriage. Bill found himself without a job, and homeless, so bought a canal boat, and so started a return to a simpler life in nature. At that time a friend introduced Bill to a Woodland Ways course and the feeling of coming home was complete. After just that one course, Bill signed up for the 2 year Woodland Wayer 2018 intake and was accepted on to the Apprenticeship towards the end of 2019. The best laid plan for 2020 of some 20+ weekends in the woods to cement and further the knowledge gained on the Wayer was curtailed by the Covid pandemic. The year wasn't wasted, typing up and researching to expand notes taken on the Wayer, and making a start on reading and understanding the requirements of the Apprenticeship. Bill has recently moved with partner Katie (who is part of the Wayer 2021 intake) to Oxfordshire and now lives only 15 minutes from the Oxford woods. Show less
Job Titles:
- APPRENTICE INSTRUCTOR / Apprentice
As a child growing up in the late 70's, Brian like many, spent many hours outside in the woodlands and wild places around his village. At the time, den building, making camp fires and watching wildlife wasn't considered bushcraft, they were just normal activities. For Brian, these childhood adventures sparked a life-long passion for nature.
This passion was further reinforced by an early introduction to the Tarzan stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Willard Price's Adventure series for young people. With an active imagination Brian didn't Classic books like Anthony Greenbacks ''Survival for young people'' and Lofty Wiseman's ''The SAS Survival Handbook'' were read cover to cover many times. Brian decided to actively pursue more in-depth bushcraft studies and signed up for the 2 year Woodland Wayer, which he completed in 2017. At the completion of this course of study, Brian joined the Woodland Ways Instructor apprenticeship scheme. Brian has been fortunate to travel and explore many parts of the world including Sweden, Israel, South Africa and Australia. This has afforded Brian opportunities to learn from the people he has met and the cultures of these countries. A chartered mechanical engineer by profession, Brian enjoys finding the synergies between bushcraft and engineering with particular interests in knife making, camp crafts and the mechanisms used in traps and snares. Brian finds joy in helping people achieve their goals especially those that show an enthusiasm for a topic. The inevitable middle-aged spread, brought on by long hours commuting and sat at a desk, has resulted in Brian making a resolution to use bushcraft and an outdoors lifestyle as a medium for self-improvement and fitness. Show less
Davie heads up our Team in Scotland as well as finding the time to be an assistant district commissioner in the scout movement in charge of adventure and activities Before joining Woodland Ways Davie was operating his own Bushcraft company, but signed up to the Woodland Ways courses for his ongoing CPD (Continual Professional Development). Working his way through a number of our courses, including the Primitive Skills Year and our Swedish Canoeing Expedition, Davie could see the value of being part ofa larger dedicated team of full time instructors that is Woodland Ways. A big decision to take, but Davie didn't hesitate when we approached him to consider merging into the Woodland Ways Team.
Davie closed his existing business and threw himself into the Woodland Ways Apprenticeship to train up further in order to run courses for us on a unique site in Scotland, supported by our team. Our Apprenticeship scheme is the hardest scheme to get through in the UK, most do not make it - Davie's skill set and communication skills in delivering high quality Bushcraft instruction meant that he had no problem in gaining that instructors shirt. Davie joined us for well over 2 years and in 2017 was assessed to become a full Instructor Shirt owner as well as returning to Sweden as an instructor he has developed and leads the Northern Forest Year course. Davie has a passion for all things bushcraft however particularly the boreal forest - it's trees, fauna, indigenous skills etc, as well as in depth knowledge of indigenous craft work, and hide working. His level of skill and style of delivery you are getting an instructor who really walks the walk; for him Bushcraft is a way of life, one that he wants to share with as wide an audience as possible. Show less
Ian has had a love of the woods since his early childhood. Spending many summers in the Lake District or Scotland, camping with his parents, Ian's love of the outdoors sprouted and grew continuously. His father bought him his first knife at the age of 5 and taught him the importance of this vital tool. Ian was fortunate to have an upbringing that allowed him to follow this passion and he spent many hours lost in woodlands, building shelters, watching birds and animals. Camping trips with his father became more basic with a back to nature, foraging and fishing for food theme; Ian was "doing" bushcraft before it was called bushcraft.
Through school and college where evenings and weekends would be spent camping out or on trips with pals up in the Lakeland fells and forests. New books became his guide such as the SAS survival handbook and Raymond (as he was known then) Mears Outdoor Survival Handbook were always close to hand. Ian attended survival courses and bushcraft skill courses with companies throughout the UK and has been a writer and contributor for Bushcraft & Survival Skills magazine since issue 5 - he is now the longest standing writer for the magazine, currently with his Bushcraft on a Budget articles. It was whilst working at an outdoor show for Bushcraft & Survival Skills Magazine Ian was introduced to Jason Ingamells. Ian saw in Jason a depth of knowledge and skill he wanted to attain. Jason saw the passion Ian had for the subject and his desire to learn, a bond was formed that later enabled Ian to join the Woodland Ways team. Ian joined on the apprentice scheme and learned from the team and worked alongside the people he had come to admire so much. Sacrificing time off work and holidays to attend as many courses as possible Ian began to learn many of the skills that had eluded him in his previous trials. Absorbing the information being taught and getting hands on dirt time made a massive improvement to Ian's skill set. Not only learning in UK woodlands, but traveling on the Sahara desert expedition broadened Ian's skills and knowledge. Whilst in the Sahara Ian achieved a goal of fire using a hand drill made with local resources under the excellent tuition of Adam Logan. Since this time he has also travelled several times to the stunning wilderness of Sweden on our canoe expedition as both a customer and an instructor. Also to Croatia's Rjisnak Forest with the team, tracking European Brown Bear and Wolf. Ian also assisted on our Mojave Road expedition traveling in the deserts of California & Nevada following the Mojave Road Trail. Not only has Ian enjoyed desert travel, he also has been on winter trips to Sweden, snow shoeing over the frozen lakes and landscape pulling all the equipment needed on homemade sleds, wearing mainly homemade clothing and equipment. In 2019 Ian fulfilled a lifetime ambition when he was able to travel to Canada and be a support medic on our Yukon River expedition, canoeing 484 miles on the mighty Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City. Ian was awarded his Woodland Ways Instructors shirt in 2015, following over 3 years of formal training meaning that as well as continuing on his own learning journey he passes on his highly regarded skills to our clients. Ian has a high level of first aid training, being initially First aid at work trained for many years, then progressing on to a REC 2 (Remote Emergency Care) qualification and then attending Glenmore Lodge to attain the WMT (Wilderness Medical Training) Far From Help and Advanced Medicine course. Enabling him to be a support medic on some of the above mentioned expeditions. Ian still understands the need for continuous training and personal development and as such he has used his holidays and time in between work to undertake more training and instruction from some of the industry's leading figures, not just here in the UK but abroad too. Including a stay at the home of Cody Lundin of Aboriginal Living Skills in Arizona USA. He has completed the IOL Bushcraft Competency Certificate. He also undertook a personal mission to dispel some of the myths around friction fire lighting and through study, learning and hours of practice has regularly managed to get embers with many combinations that are said "not" to work, be it hand or bow drill, Ian will usually be able to get an ember. His passion for friction fire has allowed him to succeed with many techniques including bow drill, hand drill, fire plough, fire saw, strap drill, pump drill and more. Among Ian's passions are wood carving and he is able to produce some beautiful items including a hand carved canoe paddle that is on display at The Eden project. He is a very hands on person and will turn his hand to many craft based items be these from wood, bark, natural cordage, leather or buckskin. He is quite a tailor too, making many of his own items of clothing and footwear which he is proud to say are used to their full potential in some harsh environments including the cold of -23C in Sweden where these items kept him warm and dry. Ian's passion and enthusiasm for all things bushcraft and wilderness travel are even stronger now than they have ever been and he loves to pass on that passion and knowledge.Show less
Jay first came to Woodland Ways as a customer on one of our Woodland Ways Bushcraft Weekends and has never looked back. His enthusiasm is endless and he throws himself into everything with boundless energy. He has a real talent for carving and can see things in a lump of wood which are invisible to anyone else.
He joined us as an apprentice instructor, developing his bushcraft skills and honing his delivery of instruction with lots of dirt time. It wasn't long before he joined the team as a permanent staff member, instructing on courses and working in the World of Bushcraft. He expanded his desert training, firstly in Kenya embarking on his own personally moving journey with the Maasai. He continued by joining us on the Desert Survival Course in the Sahara where his team navigation skills shone through. Captivated by Africa he soon embarked on our Bushveld Game Ranger Experience in South Africa, Patrolling with a rhino anti-poaching program. He will take you on a journey as he teaches the skills he has learnt over the years. Always enquiring and always trying new things his enthusiasm is contagious, he acknowledges that he is a student of the subject and will be for the rest of his life... and that makes him an excellent instructor. He has a very calm, collective way about him and will inspire you to achieve. Show less
It was this keen interest in the outdoors that led Jo to join us on the Apprenticeship Scheme and develop her Bushcraft Knowledge, and the skills required to teach this knowledge. You will often find Jo on her belly on the woodland floor watching deer. In 2009 Jo was lucky enough to assist us with an expedition to the Sahara Desert and the Atlas Mountains, where she stayed with the Berbers and began her desert survival training. Jo also manages the retail aspect of our business. Show less
Mark qualified as an instructor for Woodland Ways in 2019 after a two year apprenticeship. He was inspired after spending four seasons living, learning and experiencing insights into primitive lifestyles during our Bushcraft Year course. Feeling bereft after the course ended, he signed on to the 2 year Woodland Wayer to stay in the woods and keep living in the primitive shelter he called home.
Mark has been on a number of expeditions including to the Sahara, Sweden, Kenya and South Africa and is always looking to do more.
He also enjoys travelling and has visited many parts of the world looking for adventure. Including life changing experiences travelling solo in the Ladakh and staying with the semi nomadic Ladakhi people; staying with the Karen and Akha in northern Thailand; floating down the Mekong on the Laotian side and bumbling around West Africa. There are many other places he has visited ... and even more on his hit list! When not out in the woods Mark enjoys running, martial arts and carving spoons. Show less
As a child, Nicola spent every hour possible up trees and crawling through hedges, and this hasn't particularly changed! She has spent years learning tree and plant lore, for foraging, medicine and in use as crafting materials for everyday life.
Having completed a Masters in woodland and experimental archaeology at Exeter University, she is particularly interested in human uses of woodlands, from the Mesolithic to the present day. These aspects of her research are influenced by and in turn impact upon her bushcraft. Show less
Richard has always felt at home outside, as a child he was the little boy who lived at the end of the lane and loved playing in the ditches, climbing trees and wild camping with his brother and mates. The Bush Tucker Man Les Hiddins TV show and Lofty Wiseman's SAS survival handbook inspired many adventures that often involved abseiling out of the biggest tree in the wood and cooking food on open fires. It was no surprise that he decided to make his career working in Horticulture so he could be outside.
Having spent over 20 years being outside through the seasons with his horticulture and often saying to friends and family that he would like to develop his outdoor skills further he took the plunge In 2013 as a customer on the Woodland Ways Bushcraft and Survival Weekend and has been hooked ever since. Adam Logan was a great inspiration on that first course and helped him to realise how he could develop his outdoor skills. Richard went on to join the 2 year Woodland Wayer and became an apprentice instructor. This was a big commitment for him as it meant many weekends away from his growing family, but the draw of the woods was too strong to resist. The obsession with learning was well and truly underway. The depth of knowledge on the Wayer has stood him in good stead for his onward development. In the autumn 2019 he realised his goal of becoming a Woodland Ways Instructor. Richard is fascinated with the natural world and passionate about sharing its many secrets with others. A passion for plants has always been in his heart and he loves sharing this with customers. Among his other passions Richard enjoys hide work, tracking, bird watching, spoon carving, foraging and learning primitive skills by researching hunter gatherer practices. He is currently interested in the way in which the brain processes information in nature leading to fast intuitive thinking versus slower thinking and how this can be developed to become a better outdoors man. He shares his life with his wife and four boys in south Cambridgeshire where, in his spare time, he can be found in the woodlands of the local area passing on his love of nature to his children. Show less