About Us...

We are Ian & Lisa Holt-Jones.
We emigrated to Canada from North Wales - UK, along with our 2 Flat Coated Retreivers 'Bob' & 'Erik The Viking', in Sept 2008, having bought Tickle Trout Lodge, back in 2001 as a holiday retreat - returning several times a year to savour the friendliness of the local community, the wonderful wildlife & the peace that is Cape Breton.
During that time Ian has been working hard & honing his Bushcraft skills under the expert tutelage of John Rhyder on the NCFE Bushcraft Leadership Course. John prior to opening his own Bushcraft & Nature Awareness School was chief instructor for Ray Mears.

About Ian:
I spent my formative years in the UK ‘playing in the woods’ but it wasn’t until I was older that I was able to take time out & attend Ray Mears’ fundamental Bushcraft course & this inspired me to train professionally as a Bushcraft Instructor, with Woodcraft School.
I learnt the skills to live comfortably in the woods through the use of ancient & modern techniques and gained valuable experience teaching these methods to children and adults from all walks of life.
I’ve always had a desire to craft items out of wood & a passion to make things with my own hands, and this has led me to make traditional English Longbows, one of my proudest achievements.
One of the most satisfying and fulfilling skills is to make fire by friction and to pass this onto students & see their emotions when they too achieve it. It’s fantastic!
I have spent the last 2 years working part time with Wrexham Borough Council helping to run courses for underprivileged children / children with learning difficulties, teaching them to embrace and enjoy the outdoors.
I am looking to expand my skills by learning to make traditional snow shoes & toboggans and improve my outdoor winter living skills.
The Bushcraft school is based on our own private land in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and hopefully will inspire more people to appreciate the skills our forefathers took for granted...