Woodlands.co.uk

Our Team

Ruth and James Feltham

Ruth and James Feltham

Ruth Feltham is our manager for the South East of England supported by her husband James. They have recently taken over from Simon (James’s father) who served as an agent for almost 20 years.

Ruth and James have seized the opportunity to return to their country upbringings and work outside in the woodlands. They share a passion for the great outdoors and together with their two sons they regularly embark on camping and mountain biking expeditions. ‘Spending time in woodlands with the family is a fantastic way to ensure a healthy lifestyle which counters the modern trappings of life. It allows the children to learn about the natural world around them and encourages them to respect the environment’.

Telephone: 07812 165081

Email: [email protected]

South East England

Dan Watson

Dan Watson

Dan and Liz Watson are our managers in Northern England. They have been involved with Woodlands.co.uk for nearly 20 years, and they own their own family woodland.

Working with wood is Dan’s passion and he undertakes a wide variety of traditional crafts including coppicing, bushcrafts, hurdle making, bowl and spoon carving and constructing timber frames using green oak. ‘There's nothing better than to be able to spend time in the woods with my family and friends.'

Liz combines her landscape architecture and garden design business, Land Design, with work for Woodlands.co.uk. ‘I adore being out in our wonderful British countryside and feeling part of the changing seasons. It’s great to hear customers recount stories of how they and their families have reconnected with the natural world’.

Telephone: 07970 116 515

Email: [email protected]

Northern England

Ash Charlwood and Helen Iles

Ash Charlwood and Helen Iles

Whilst Ash only arrived in Snowdonia 25 years ago, Helen is born and bred in this amazing landscape. Woods have always given Ash a place to play, live and generally escape from the pressures that life can throw at us all. As well as being in woodlands Ash enjoys developing people to be safe and confident in wild places, whether teaching skills like navigation, campcraft or first aid or organising Dolgellau parkrun on a Saturday morning. Helen, a welsh speaker, has always been adventurous in the outdoors, from accompanying her Dad as a young teenager on dive trips off the welsh coast to discover wrecks to now exploring the mountains around home and away. With more than 20 years on the Barmouth Lifeboat and as the training officer for the local Mountain Rescue team, Helen loves volunteering in the community that they both love.

Telephone: 07901 718474

Email: [email protected]

North Wales

Ash Charlwood and Helen Iles

Ash Charlwood and Helen Iles

Whilst Ash only arrived in Snowdonia 25 years ago, Helen is born and bred in this amazing landscape. Woods have always given Ash a place to play, live and generally escape from the pressures that life can throw at us all. As well as being in woodlands Ash enjoys developing people to be safe and confident in wild places, whether teaching skills like navigation, campcraft or first aid or organising Dolgellau parkrun on a Saturday morning. Helen, a welsh speaker, has always been adventurous in the outdoors, from accompanying her Dad as a young teenager on dive trips off the welsh coast to discover wrecks to now exploring the mountains around home and away. With more than 20 years on the Barmouth Lifeboat and as the training officer for the local Mountain Rescue team, Helen loves volunteering in the community that they both love.

Telephone: 07901 718474

Email: [email protected]

The Welsh Marches

Tamsin and Matt Brown

Tamsin and Matt Brown

Tamsin and Matt Brown are our managers for woods in West and South Wales and Herefordshire. Running a smallholding in West Wales with their young family, Tamsin and Matt believe it's important for children (and adults) to have space to grow. Matt's childhood love of the Welsh Countryside is shown in the way he has established a forest garden and grows various herbs.

Having lived in London for 16 years, Tamsin knows the value of a strong connection with the natural world: "getting into the woods can provide sustenance and stimulation on many levels - mental, physical, spiritual and, with luck, some really good mushrooms too." Tamsin's background in set design and furniture making means she's always got an eye out for interesting bits of fallen timber but, to be honest, prefers her trees alive and growing."

Telephone: 07956 256101

Telephone: 07950 379533

Email: [email protected]

West and South Wales and Herefordshire

Matt Marples

Matt Marples

Matt Marples is our manager for East Anglia. He joined Woodlands.co.uk after selling his London media agency and leaving the “big smoke”. He is now able to enjoy the sort of lifestyle he loves, and that means being outdoors as much as possible. Matt has always worked with trees, and aside from woodland management, he is also a professional deer manager who works for a number of estates and woodland owners.

Matt says, ‘Family forestry is a new and exciting industry which offers people contact with nature and the outdoors and also means that lots of woodlands can be regenerated. I’m enjoying being a part of that!’

Telephone: 07979 755 118

Email: [email protected]

East Anglia

Stuart Brooking

Stuart Brooking

Stuart Brooking is our manager for Devon. He holds a degree in Environmental Protection and is passionate about woodlands. He enjoys the hands-on approach that working with Woodlands.co.uk affords him, clearing tracks, putting up gates and fences and getting people started with their woodland. Stuart teaches conservation to NVQ level and is very involved in practical conservation work, carrying out bat surveys, dormouse surveys and building artificial badger sets.

Telephone: 07801 789215

Email: [email protected]

Devon

Stuart Brooking

Stuart Brooking

Stuart Brooking is our manager for Devon. He holds a degree in Environmental Protection and is passionate about woodlands. He enjoys the hands-on approach that working with Woodlands.co.uk affords him, clearing tracks, putting up gates and fences and getting people started with their woodland. Stuart teaches conservation to NVQ level and is very involved in practical conservation work, carrying out bat surveys, dormouse surveys and building artificial badger sets.

Telephone: 07801 789215

Email: [email protected]

Cornwall and West Devon

Daniel Sharp

Daniel Sharp

Daniel Sharp is our manager for England’s central region. He is also one of life’s multi-taskers. He has four children and a dog, works as a Bath firefighter, owns and runs an events and travel company in addition to working with us.

Daniel grew up on a hill farm on Exmoor. ‘That’s where I learnt to enjoy life outdoors,’ he says. He learnt about property sales during a previous career in planning and development. When he’s not selling woodlands, fighting fires or organising events, Daniel likes to enjoy local woodlands with his family.

Telephone: 07780 900192

Email: [email protected]

Central England

David and Sarah Alty

David and Sarah Alty

David Alty is our manager for Cumbria, Northumbria and Southern Scotland. He has been working for Woodlands for over ten years. Living in Cumbria with his lovely wife Sarah, he undertakes forestry and tree work, teaches bushcraft skills, wild food cooking and cob oven building. "When I am not working I love nothing more than to spend time with friends and family in the woods; wild camping, foraging and photographing the landscape and wildlife that I am privileged to live and work amongst"

Telephone: 07795 104 594

Email: [email protected]

Southern Scotland and Northumberland

Torquil Varty and Rachel Bower

Torquil Varty and Rachel Bower

Torquil Varty and Rachel Bower are our managers for northern Scotland. Torquil is a professional hedgelayer and fencing contractor and has worked for woodlands.co.uk for several years. He has been based in Scotland for seven years where he lives with his partner Rachel and their young family. Rachel has a love for the outdoors and a passion for woodland crafts. As well as her work for woodlands.co.uk she is a professional basketmaker selling and exhibiting her work at local farmers markets and running willow weaving demonstrations and workshops.

Telephone: 01307 467393

Telephone: 07803 903 203

Email: [email protected]

Northern Scotland

David and Sarah Alty

David and Sarah Alty

David Alty is our manager for Cumbria, Northumbria and Southern Scotland. He has been working for Woodlands for over ten years. Living in Cumbria with his lovely wife Sarah, he undertakes forestry and tree work, teaches bushcraft skills, wild food cooking and cob oven building. "When I am not working I love nothing more than to spend time with friends and family in the woods; wild camping, foraging and photographing the landscape and wildlife that I am privileged to live and work amongst"

Telephone: 07795 104 594

Email: [email protected]

Cumbria

John Cameron

John Cameron

John Cameron is our manager for the north of the UK, incorporating oversight of Northern Ireland.

Telephone: 01667 452993

Telephone: 07785 736095

Email: [email protected]

Northern Ireland

Anton Baskerville

Anton Baskerville

Anton Baskerville manages and finds tree planting land. He wants to support the recent surge of interest in rewilding Britain’s countryside through planting trees, and returning marginal and ex-agricultural land to woodland that previously stood for thousands of years. Anton works to help individuals, families and organisations looking to plant their own woodlands by offering suitable land, providing a 'canvas' upon which they can begin their planting project.

As well as enabling tree planting, Anton has a workshop in South London, where he makes handmade wooden table and floor lamps, pursuing his passion for woodwork, design and craftsmanship. He studied Philosophy and Physiology at Oxford University and is a keen sportsman who enjoys playing cricket, football and hockey.

Telephone: 07952 694 652

Email: [email protected]

Tree Planting Land Manager

Colin Gordon

Colin Gordon

Colin and Trisha have had their own family woodland for several years now since the idea was planted by Trisha during her daily patient rounds as a Community Matron in and around Wiltshire.

They have four beautiful grand daughters who love to visit the woodland at any chance they get and are forever fascinated by those amazing tall things called trees, which we often take for granted.

Trisha and Colin also practice scything, charcoal making, pole lathe woodturning, woodland camping and also dabble with basic bushcraft skills.

Colin carries out woodland contracting work and is interested in the mapping and conversion of ex-agricultural land to woodland. He recognises the ever increasing demand for planting, especially by families that are now able to see the wood for the trees.

Telephone: 07775 726458

Email: [email protected]

Tree Planting Land

Richard Scholfield

Richard Scholfield

Richard Scholfield has been helping Woodlands.co.uk for thirty years. With a postgraduate degree in ecology, he initially combined his woodlands role with lecturing on environmental science. These days, Richard just doesn’t have time to lecture. Within Woodlands.co.uk he advises on agent support and estate management, as well as innovations within the company. He also takes an interest in mapping, advising on contracting works, surveying and mending the photocopier.

‘The work fits in well with my other activities and my interest in woodland ecology,’ says Richard, ‘I’ve seen so many different woodlands over the years, and have been able to watch them grow and develop.’

Telephone: 07811 818 277

Email: [email protected]

Estate Manager and Agent Support

Angus Hanton

Angus Hanton

Angus Hanton has had an interest in woodlands ever since he was a teenager. When his family decided to purchase their own wood they found the experience frustrating – woods were too big, too far away or too expensive. As a result, Woodlands.co.uk was created – a company that would sell manageable sizes of woodland to families/individuals for conservation and enjoyment. Says Angus, "Woodlands.co.uk is not just about supplying pieces of woodland to people: it’s also about reorganising the countryside and changing how British woodlands are managed."

Angus makes woodland purchasing decisions and works with colleagues to support those who have bought their own woodland.

Email: [email protected]

General Management and Purchases