Meet Our Specialist Instructors
Established in 1983 Woodlore has achieved a renowned worldwide reputation for providing the highest quality of wilderness bushcraft instruction and expeditions. Through the companies long history we have acquired an incredible range of experience in delivering our service.
Our success is very much built upon our collaboration with our specialist instructors whose combined expertise, local insight, and deep understanding of the natural world is exceptional. Making it possible to create distinctive and unforgettable adventures around the globe.
Jamie Cooke
Carving Master Class with Ray Mears
Jamie started as Woodlore's medical training Instructor and provided all of the first aid training for the Woodlore team as well as the wilderness first aid courses. He, and his wife Sharon, have been working with Woodlore since 2008.
Jamie is a State Registered Paramedic with over 20 years' worth of experience in the emergency services starting in the Fire Service where he served for 6 years, then on to the ambulance service and now as a volunteer crew member for the Severn Area Rescue Association, a UK Mountain Rescue station as well as the largest independent lifeboat organisation in the UK serving on the river Severn, river Wye and the Usk.
Jamie is a Resuscitation Officer in the local acute NHS trust involved in teaching all grades of medical staff and is an Advanced Life Support (ALS) Instructor for the Resuscitation Council (UK) and an Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) Instructor.
Brian Desmond
Heroes of Telemark
Brian oversees courses in Norway and brings 25 years of British military experience, specialising in winter warfare. A former British biathlon champion, he has represented Great Britain in cross-country skiing and ski orienteering, including five World Championships.
In his final years of service, he worked as an adventure training instructor in Norway, running ski courses, assessing expedition leaders, and earning a Norwegian ski degree. After leaving the military in 1988, he settled in Norway and now manages the Joint Services Training Centre, leading long-distance expeditions and consulting for the Norwegian army, including training Dutch special forces.
A specialist in Norwegian war history, particularly the 1943 Rjukan raid, Brian contributed to The Real Heroes of Telemark and now leads Woodlore’s ‘Heroes of Telemark’ winter expedition.
Nev Kilkenny
Journeyman and Autumn Fungi Forager
Nev lives on a farm in East Lothian with his wife and two children, combining his passions for mycology, fungal ecology, and carpentry. He began his career in technical theatre and scenery construction before running a corporate entertainment business, then changed direction in 2007 to train in mycology at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh under Prof. Roy Watling.
During his apprenticeship, he discovered a fungus never before recorded in the UK and now works internationally as a mycologist and research associate. Alongside this, he is a Cub Scout leader, runs a local fungus recording group, and shares his enthusiasm for bushcraft and foraging.
Nev began working with Woodlore in 2017 as a mycology specialist on the Journeyman course and now contributes to courses including the Autumn Fungi Forager.
Graeme Taylor
Heroes of Telemark
An outdoor enthusiast since childhood, Graeme lives near the South Pennines and spends much of his time walking, climbing, biking, and sailing in the UK’s hills and lakes. Graeme holds a BA (Hons) in Outdoor Leadership and has extensive experience instructing within the Joint Services, delivering winter and alpine mountaineering courses.
Graeme has ski-toured and climbed across Europe and beyond—including Norway, Iceland, France, Austria, Canada, and Poland—while also leading UK-based mountaineering and climbing. More recently, he has delivered Nordic ski touring training in Norway and alpine touring in the Tatras.
Tony Pape (Blue)
Canoeing in the Ardeche
Originally from the Lake District, Blue developed a passion for the outdoors early, climbing England’s five highest mountains before age 12. He began canoeing at 15 and soon started instructing, launching a lifelong career in outdoor adventure.
After working across Europe, he settled in France, where he has spent over 20 years in the Ardèche, leading more than 1,200 canoe expeditions across 10 countries and three continents. He has managed activity centres, trained guides, and continues to lead adventures on remote rivers.
Blue now lives in the Ardèche with his family, directing an adventure learning company and working as a trainer and guide for both British Canoeing and the French Federation.
Stretch Combrink
Tracking Safari in Namibia
Stretch was born in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa and spent his early years playing in the bush with young Zulu friends. He is the third youngest of nine children and one of his elder brothers introduced him to snakes which led to a lifelong fascination.
After finishing compulsory army service he moved back to KZN where he was a voluntary wildlife ranger and he also ran a wildlife orphanage. After his divorce he volunteered at a bird rehabilitation centre, in Namibia for three months which became permanent as he offered to start a snake park at the newly established Mokuti Lodge.
His passion for reptiles and all other forms of life has followed him and in 2012 he moved to Swakopmund to assist with the Living Desert Snake Park doing animal wrangling for documentaries, movies and training staff on how to safely catch and relocate snakes. In 2019 the founder of the park retired and Stretch and his second wife, Angela purchased it and currently run it working on extending environmental education and snake training.
Remembering Those We Have Lost
Our story has always been shaped by the people who walked alongside us - instructors, craftspeople, and collaborators. They shared not only their skills but also their spirit. We honor here those who are no longer with us, yet whose influence lives on in our work today.
All contributed to a common vision: a deeper connection to nature, their field of expertise and sharing their knowledge with others. Their lessons are woven into our courses, products, standards, and values. Whether through a technique passed down, a philosophy shared around a fire, or a moment of encouragement given at the right time, their legacy endures in every student who leaves us more capable, more confident, and more connected. We honor them not only in memory but also in practice by continuing to teach with integrity, curiosity, and respect for the natural world. They were part of Woodlore’s journey and remain a part of its foundation. Their selflessness and humility inspires us still.
Rachel Mears
Director
Tell your story
Lars Falt
Arctic Instructor
Lars Fält was a legendary survival instructor whose influence reached far beyond Sweden. For 35 years he taught at the Swedish Army’s Ranger School in Kiruna and the Parachute Training School in Karlsborg, later founding the Swedish Army Survival Unit in 1980. Renowned for professionalism, endurance, humour, and deep practical knowledge, he also trained with many of the world’s leading Special Forces and authored 11 books. Lars and Ray Mears met in the mid-1980s and quickly formed a lasting friendship grounded in shared interests, remote travel, and a passion for authentic bushcraft and survival knowledge. Their collaboration over more than three decades led to important research and the co-authored book Out On the Land. Lars’s contribution to Woodlore was profound: he helped establish the Arctic Course in the early 1990s, and his principles continue to shape it today.
Stephen Wade Cox
Kinfe Maker
Stephen was one of Britain’s finest knife makers, a master craftsman, arguably the best of his generation. His exceptional craftsmanship was matched by a rare professionalism, he fulfilled orders with care, consistency, and a level of customer support that earned lasting trust and respect. His knives were defined by efficiency, balance, and quiet excellence, each one made to serve its purpose flawlessly in the field. His collaboration with Ray Mears on the Woodlore Pro Knife stands as a testament to his skill and character. Ray described it as a harmonious working partnership, an alignment of shared values, practical knowledge, and concepts. Stephen’s work spoke for itself, but those who knew him valued equally his integrity, humility, and generosity. He leaves behind not only remarkable tools, but a legacy of trust, respect, and enduring influence in British craftsmanship.
Chris Boyton
Bowyer
Christopher Boyton was one of Britain’s most respected bowyers, helping revive and sustain the tradition of the handmade longbow. His bows were admired for elegance, performance, and faithful historic design, each shaped with patience, skill, and a deep understanding of wood and form. A passionate advocate for traditional archery, he researched and preserved the techniques that define the English longbow, and through his making, teaching, and example inspired archers and craftsmen to value authenticity, discipline, and respect for the craft. More than a bowyer, Chris was also a gifted archer and true toxphilite. Those who knew him remember not only his mastery, but his generosity and quiet, cheerful enthusiasm: he shared knowledge freely, encouraged excellence in others, and leaves a legacy in the bows he created and the enduring tradition he helped protect and pass on.
Professor Gordon Hillman
Archaeobotanist
Gordon Hillman was one of the most influential archaeobotanists of his generation, reshaping understanding of early diets and the origins of agriculture. Trained in systematics, he brought exceptional precision to identifying and interpreting plant remains, uniting botanical expertise with archaeological insight throughout his career at University College London. Over a decade he collaborated with Ray Mears to investigate which wild foods may have been used by late British Mesolithic communities; their shared fieldwork and research informed the BBC series Wild Food and its accompanying book, linking academic evidence with practical knowledge. Remembered for kindness, attentiveness, and a love of field research, Gordon inspired colleagues and students alike in the field and the lab. A regular instructor on the Journeyman Courses, he is greatly missed, and his legacy endures in the deeper appreciation he helped foster of humanity’s long relationship with plants.
Dr Derek Reid
Derek Reid is remembered as an outstanding mycologist and a generous teacher. He joined the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in 1951 as assistant to R. W. G. Dennis, later succeeding him as Head of Mycology in 1975, a post he held until retiring in 1987. Woodlore Journeymen from the early 1990s recall his kind demeanour, gentle humour, and patient guidance; he brought the hidden world of fungi vividly to life, inspiring curiosity, precision, and deep respect for nature. A lifelong naturalist, he led field forays for more than 40 years, travelled widely, and published over 200 scientific papers as well as the popular guide Mushrooms and Toadstools. He described numerous species and produced around 2,000 detailed paintings that bridged science and art, with foundational work on groups such as Amanita, Lepiota, and Leucocoprinus. Species bearing reidii honour his name, but his truest legacy lives on in those he mentored, including Ray Mears.
