Ben McNutt spent his early years exploring the wilds of Donegal around his home, on the North West coast of Ireland. After a formal education in fine art he returned to his love of wild places, spending five years studying and training under the expert guidance of Ray Mears. Ben worked as part of Ray’s team, within his company ‘Woodlore’ for four years, and gained full instructor status in the year 2000. Ben combined his skills in art, with his passion for bushcraft when he was invited by Ray Mears to illustrate his best selling book - 'Bushcraft'. Ben has been invited to lecture to various audiences, including a short talk for the ‘Explore’ audience at the Royal Geographical Society. His ardour for bushcraft and wilderness skills is clear, and his teaching style can only be described as infectious.



Lisa Fenton has a passion for travel and adventure, her first independent travel experience was an intrepid journey through Northern India, when she was just eighteen. Since then, her wanderlust and interest in native survival skills has taken her to the deserts of Utah, deep into the Malaysian jungles of Kelanatan, through Laos, and to remote regions of Thailand, learning about life in the jungle. Lisa began her formal bushcraft/survival training in 1998. The following year she joined Ray Mears company 'Woodlore' as an assistant instructor, where she and Ben worked for the following four years. Currently combining Woodsmoke with study, Lisa is presently undertaking a Masters degree in Ethno-botany; the relationship between people and their use of plants. Ethnobotany often relates more specifically to indigenous plant use: for food, medicine, shelter and clothing and so on. Skilled and capable, Lisa adds enthusiasm, knowledge and experience to the Woodsmoke team.

Ben and Lisa have worked together teaching bushcraft, survival and wilderness skills for almost ten years, and together they founded Woodsmoke in 2002. Competent and experienced in many aspects of expedition life, they are both qualified Summer Mountain Leaders, and work as Expedition leaders, often in remote areas of the globe. Working closely with field scientists, they have led conservation expeditions tracking wolves, lynx and brown bear in the freezing winter conditions of the Polish Carpathian Mountains. In 2003 they spent 3 months working closely with scientists and San Bushman trackers monitoring cheetahs, leopards and their related prey species, on the fringe of the Kalahari Desert in Namibia. Since then Lisa and Ben have visited Namibia many times, also spending time off the beaten track with the Himba people of the Kaokaveld. In addition, during 2005 they planned and facilitated an intrepid adventure race deep in the Belizean jungle. Ben and Lisa are both qualified and experienced in Wilderness first aid, and off-road 4x4 driving.

Steve Smith has been instructing for Woodsmoke since its inception. His knowledge of Woodland, River, Lakeland and Mountains alike, reflect his lifelong love of the outdoors. Steve studied ‘Outdoor Education’ at Bicton College, and then went on to lead outdoor activities, at various centres, in and around the United Kingdom. Now, he combines wilderness bushcraft with his other big passion - Open Canoeing. Steve has been an instructor of canoe-craft for many years and builds his own beautiful Cedar Strip Canoe’s, based on American Indian designs. Steve has successfully led a challenging, two-month open canoe expedition down the Orange River in South Africa, a three-month expedition around the north east coast of North Island New Zealand, and is now embarking on a 2-month canoe trip across Lake Malawi, followed by an excursion down part of the Okavango River. All these expeditions are completed in ‘stitch and tape’ canoes that Steve makes himself in country, from plywood. While continuing to instruct and lead courses for Woodsmoke, Steve also runs his own venture - Open River Canoe Adventures (ORCA), and leads canoe courses in conjunction with Woodsmoke (Lakelander & Voyageur Courses).




Matt Upson joined the team in 2005, having begun his formal bushcraft studies with Woodsmoke in 2002. Following 3 years of full time training and study Matt achieved his instructor’s knife in 2007. Matt is an integral part of the Woodsmoke team. He has an extensive knowledge of the many and diverse aspects of bushcraft, survival and the natural world. The interdisciplinary facets of wilderness living skills suit Matt’s thirst for learning. He is a resourceful leader and a capable woodsman, with an inherent ability to inspire and share his skills. An accomplished tool-smith and green woodworker, Matt spends most of his year outdoors, teaching bushcraft or honing his skills; making woodland crafts. Matt has spent time hiking in the mountains of Norway and exploring the jungles of the Solomon Islands, where he spent months paddling the lagoons, fishing and experiencing the local way of life.



Steven Hanton joined Woodsmoke in early 2007 and soon become firmly ensconced as a full time part of the Woodsmoke instructional team. Following a childhood of exploring the outdoors, bushcraft quickly became Steven's passion, attending his first course in 2001. Keen to gain a background in the more formal and adademic aspects of outdoor education, he completed a degree in outdoor education at Edinburgh University, meanwhile continuing in the pursuit of bushcraft knowledge and experience. His interests have led him on expeditions to remote areas of Alaska and Norway, as well as months spent on tracking conservation projects in the North Maine Woods; where he developed an affinity and ability for passing on his knowledge. A lover of books, Steve is inspired by tales of the backwoods. Accomplished in wilderness skills and bushcraft, he is an ardent naturalist. In addition Steven is a talented and knowledgeable botany enthusiast and wildlife tracker. He insists that those who enjoy the great outdoors should work hard to develop a deeper understanding of the creatures that accompany our journeys in the wilderness, and enrich our experiences there. Steven is also a very talented musician, and keeps us all entertained from time to time around the campfire!

All of our full time instructional team hold first aid, wilderness first aid, 4x4 off road driving, and food handling and hygiene certificates as a basic requirement.

Guest Instructor Profiles

Ben Orford is one of the UK’s most talented green woodworkers. During the many years he spent learning his craft, Ben apprenticed green woodworking ‘guru’ Mike Abbott for several years, and spent time in North America, working with the Hupa tribe, who invited him to their reservation to teach advanced woodworking skills. An accomplished green woodworker, chair bodger, tool-smith and woodsman; Ben also makes the ‘Woodlander’ knife exclusively for Woodsmoke, and is a guest instructor on our ‘Axe Work-shop’.




Werner Pfeifer was born in Namibia, where he has worked as a professional hunting guide and as a Nature Conservation Officer, often involved in anti-poaching operations. In 1990, he moved to Germany where he studied at the university of Kiel to become a teacher, during this period he met Harm Paulsen (of the Schleswig State Museum) who taught him Stone Age skills. Since then Werner has specialised in teaching primitive technology, and has run courses at many of Europe’s living history museums. He returned to Namibia in 2003, where he now runs specialist tours, including wilderness bush safaris and archaeological explorations. He is currently involved in initiating a fair-trade living history museum with the San Bushman - by the people, for the people. Werner will be leading the ‘Bowyer’ courses in 2007.



Rob Pickering grew up in Kent and spent his childhood on the North downs studying natural history with his mother. After many years in the music industry, Rob returned to his love of nature and attended his first course in bushcraft, studying with Ray Mears at ‘Woodlore’ in 1999 .

Since then, Rob has honed his bushcraft skills and has acquired the green woodworking skills of hedge-layer, hurdle making, coppicing, axe work, wood carving, leather work and tool making. With a keen interest in sustainability and self -suffiency Rob has acquired an NVQ in horticulture. An avid believer in life time learning Rob is currently studying pottery. A keen fisherman, Rob is frequently found on the Dorset coast, he is a wild food fanatic and a keen forager of free foods. From Spring to Autumn, he is constantly refining his recipes for soups, hedgerow jams/ syrups, wild meats and alcoholic beverages! Rob joined the Woodsmoke team in 2003 and is a guest instructor on the wild food courses and axe work shops.

Jude Sage was introduced to foraging by her parents in the countryside and coastline of Kent. Encouraged by her love of the outdoors she made a conscious decision to try and live a more eco-sustainable lifestyle and has recently stopped buying air freighted produce, instead sourcing local produce, growing her own fruit and vegetables and foraging in the countryside. Jude loves to experiment with wild foods and has developed a lot of her own recipes including wild herb pestos, sauces and risottos, wild fruit and nut chocolates and hedgerow wines and liqueurs. Jude was introduced to Ben and Lisa by her foraging partner Rob Pickering. Keen to share her enthusiasm (and her wine!), Jude has assisted on the wild food courses since September 2006. Both Rob and Jude happily share their recipes around the campfire on the wild food courses.