About me
Born and bred in Suffolk – which is one of the flattest regions in the UK – I did not expect to end up having the adventures I have been so lucky to have. Suffolk’s biggest hill is probably the result of a busy mole.
As a child my passion was always for the outdoors and wildlife, all driven from my family. From a young age, a passion for mountains and birds was instilled in me from my father and a love of nature and wildlife from my nanna.
My father always wanted me to get into manly things such as rugby, but it was my mother and nanna who encouraged me to do otherwise, as we pressed flowers, looked for slowworms in the compost heap and collected creepy crawlies.
A natural direction for me was a career in arboriculture/tree surgery, which continued as my profession for 10 years. As a fully qualified arborist, I eventually took my skills to London where I learned that simple canopy reductions and dismantles in built-up areas suddenly involved more technical rope work over expensive cars and buildings, leading into tiny drop zones. I was hooked.
To this day I have pursued my passion for the outdoors and travelled the globe with it, leading expeditions all over the world, with technical cave descents and climbs in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and Mexico. I mix my expertise in rope work and safety with my passion for wildlife and nature, which can mean leading technical cave and canyon descents one week and running wildlife and birdwatching trips the next.
I have much experience of working in hostile environments, from West Papua with machete wielding tribesman to rigging ropes into sharp, fragile lava caves in Saudi Arabia, and from rigging 400m descents into the Cave of the Swallows in Mexico to remote canyons and long cave descents in Oman.
I have been based in the Middle East for the past 15 years and am the go-to person for the region.
I have found myself leading expeditions, guiding, offering instruction and training for adventure activities such as climbing, caving and canyoning, while also being fully qualified in first aid and rescue. My film support work includes technical rigging and safety roles for filming, and I lead mountain rescue teams in Oman, provide safety and rescue support for events such as the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc in the Western Hajar Mountains and I also offer consultancy for adventure tourism in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Even with all these adventures behind me – and with so many more to come – I still think one of my happiest moments was being awarded a Blue Peter badge!