OUR SPECIALISTS
CONCEPT DEVELOPERS, PROJECT MANAGERS & OPERATIONS
ELIZA BROWN
Founder & Creative Director.
Eliza grew up on a small family farm, surrounded by animals, nature, and what she describes as “good chaos.” The rhythms of rural life and the traditions passed down through generations, from her grandfather to her father and then to her, shaped her early years and instilled a deep respect for the land. Those lessons in practical knowledge, self-sufficiency, and living in balance with nature laid the foundation for everything that followed.
From a young age, she felt out of step with societal expectations. Conventional education never suited her practical, creative nature, so she chose to learn through experience. She sailed across oceans, rode through remote landscapes on horseback, and led expeditions to far-flung corners of the globe, always seeking to expand her skills and deepen her understanding of how to live more closely with the natural world.
Throughout her career, Eliza has met custodians of landscapes whose wisdom and traditions remain intact. Their stories, passion, skills and knowledge ignited a desire to amplify their voices to help others reconnect with the knowledge and ways of living that modern life has buried.
In a world consumed by speed and distraction, she set out to offer an alternative: a slower, more meaningful way of living. She believes the most valuable gift we can give ourselves is knowledge - the skills that connect us to the land, the confidence that comes from self-reliance, and the sense of wholeness that comes from living simply and in rhythm with nature.
That belief, and a deep love for the wild, became the foundation of RVIVAL: a space to bring together some of the most skilled and passionate people and share their knowledge through immersive escapes - from cooking over fire and foraging to building, crafting, and living from the land. To Eliza, these encounters do more than teach practical skills; they shift perspectives and encourage a deeper sense of balance and sustainability in everyday life.
NELL KIRKBY
Project Manager at Monachyle Mhor & Logistics Coordinator
With a lifelong love for the outdoors, Nell brings a grounded energy and thoughtful precision to the RVIVAL team. Growing up, she spent every possible moment outside - playing sports, exploring, and finding joy in movement and fresh air. After finishing school, she moved to Vancouver Island, where she discovered the beauty and the importance of slowing down to notice the world around her.
Returning to the UK and completing university, Nell made a conscious decision to shape her life around what she’d learned during her time away - to live and work in a way that stays close to nature and prioritises real connection. She began gaining outdoor qualifications, both on the water and in the hills, turning her hobbies into her profession and deepening her knowledge of the natural world.
A chance meeting with RVIVAL’s founder, Eliza, in the same small Shropshire town where they’d both once attended the same rural school, led to an opportunity in the far northwest of Scotland. There, Nell spent eight months living and working in a truly wild landscape - an experience that amplified her connection to the outdoors and solidified her commitment to a nature-first way of life.
Now a full-time member of the RVIVAL team and based at Monachyle Mhor, Nell plays a pivotal role in delivering RVIVAL’s experiences, blending planning and organisation with a calm, on-the-ground presence. She manages logistics, operations, and guest communications, ensuring every detail reflects RVIVAL’s ethos.
She would jokingly say she’s a 'townie' - now on a mission to live more in sync with nature and its changing seasons, and continue expanding her skill set by learning from the people who surround her.
HARRIET SYKES
Guest Journey & Operations Coordinator
With more than eight years of experience in production management, Harriet brings a wealth of expertise in planning, coordination, and delivery to the RVIVAL team. Her career began with rigorous training at the BBC, where she developed a deep understanding of broadcast production before moving into the independent production sector. There, she expanded her skill set across live and scripted programming, large-scale events, online media, games, apps, and branded content.
This diverse background has shaped Harriet into a meticulous planner and natural communicator. She has managed complex projects from pre-production through to post, consistently delivering creative work on time and on budget. That same precision and foresight now underpin her work at RVIVAL, where she oversees the entire guest journey - from enquiry and booking to pre-trip preparation and post-expedition follow-up.
Harriet writes itineraries, safety documents, contracts, and guest communications, ensuring every detail reflects RVIVAL’s tone and values. She coordinates operations with the guiding team, manages supplier relationships, oversees financial administration, and keeps systems running smoothly behind the scenes.
Her ability to blend creativity with operational excellence ensures that every expedition unfolds seamlessly. Harriet’s work shapes how guests experience RVIVAL: clear, thoughtful, and deeply intentional from the first conversation to the final farewell.
AILISH EADINGTON
Kit & Sauna Coordinator
Ailish holds a unique dual role at RVIVAL, balancing the sensory richness of the sauna experience with the precision of kit logistics. Calm, grounded, and detail-focused, she ensures that both wellness and wilderness are delivered to the highest standard.
As Sauna Lead, Ailish oversees all aspects of this offering - from guest communications and bookings to setup, fire management, and guest briefings. She maintains strong coordination with the Monachyle Mhor team and upholds the wellness ethos through carefully developed checklists and operational protocols. Her attention to detail ensures the sauna is consistently clean, safe, and ready to provide a nourishing experience.
On the systems side, Ailish manages RVIVAL’s gear turnaround between trips, maintains kit inventory and storage, and works closely with the Ops Coordinator to ensure readiness and flow across all field operations. Whether she’s prepping equipment or tending to a fire, Ailish brings a steady presence that supports the team and elevates the guest journey from start to finish.
SPECIALISTS
ZEKI BASAN
Hunter & Traditional Skills Guide Specialist
Zeki is a wilderness guide, storyteller, and naturalist, often described by guests as a bridge between worlds. Born into a family deeply woven into the fabric of traditional Highland culture and knowledge of the natural world, he moves through these wild landscapes with a deep respect for the land he calls home.
The remote landscapes of the Cairngorms, where he still lives, offer him the opportunity to practise traditional outdoor skills as part of daily life. This lived connection underpins everything he shares with others: practical knowledge passed down through generations and taught through direct, hands-on experience in the wild.
At RVIVAL, Zeki teaches ancestral skills and crafts that once defined human life - from foraging, fire-craft, and fire cooking to trapping, traditional fishing techniques, tracking, hunting, butchery, tool making, tanning and leatherwork, shelter building, basketry, wood carving, and more.
Zeki’s expertise extends far beyond the forests and glens of Scotland. He has worked as a glacier guide in Iceland and, as part of RVIVAL’s Wild Lives experience in Greenland, leads guests across the vast expanse of the world’s second-largest ice cap. His time spent with Indigenous communities, including the San Bushmen, has shaped his understanding of traditional hunting, gathering, and living closely with the land - wisdom that deeply informs his approach to guiding and teaching.
A filmmaker and storyteller, Zeki also documents his work and has appeared in numerous documentaries exploring traditional skills, wild living, and humanity’s evolving relationship with nature.
Through his work with RVIVAL, Zeki offers something rare and essential: a chance to slow down, listen closely, and remember what it means to live in rhythm with the natural world. His experiences reconnect people with something older and deeper - a sense of belonging, resilience, and reverence for the land.
GILLY MCARTHUR
Cold Water Coach
Born in the north of Scotland, Gilly is a cold water swim coach and free climber whose work explores the powerful intersection of nature, movement, and mental well-being. With a lifelong love of wild water - and a particular fondness for iced-over tarns - she helps others find grounding, resilience, and freedom through immersive experiences in the natural world.
Gilly has spent more than two decades exploring wild places, travelling extensively in pursuit of cold water and high ground. This global perspective shapes her coaching approach, which blends technical skill with emotional depth. Her sessions guide individuals - from CEOs and high-net-worth clients to charities, community groups, and healthcare professionals - into deeper connection with themselves, their environment, and the natural rhythms that sustain both.
Her work has been featured in National Geographic Traveller, the BBC, and a range of award-winning films, books, and publications. She is also part of the coaching team for Outside2, a pioneering UK-based university programme exploring the therapeutic potential of outdoor swimming for NHS patients.
With more than eight years of ice swimming experience, Gilly holds qualifications as a cold water swim coach and open water lifeguard. Beyond the water, she is a skilled presenter and speaker, known for her eloquent exploration of how nature - and cold water in particular - can cultivate stillness, mental clarity, and a deeper sense of well-
Gilly's warm, empowering presence has touched the lives of clients around the world and built thriving communities of change within the outdoor space. Through her work with RVIVAL, she brings both passion and precision to every experience, helping guests reconnect with wildness, rediscover their own inner strength, and find stillness in even the coldest waters.
HAMISH MARTIN
Botanist, Land Regenerator & Nature Steward
Hamish Martin is a botanist, land regenerator, and storyteller whose life has become an invitation back into deeper relationship with nature. After years in the world of wine and entrepreneurship, he and his wife Liberty reimagined what “home” means - leaving city life behind to begin a journey of ecological transformation in Highland Perthshire.
Born in Scotland and guided by a lifelong fascination with plants, Hamish trained in herbology and has since woven that knowledge into every facet of his work. He applies this expertise to restore ecosystems: removing invasive species, planting tens of thousands of native trees, rewilding habitats, and creating wetland corridors to support biodiversity.
His work is deeply rooted in both science and story. He lectures and writes about plants, ecology, and our place in the living landscape; most recently contributing as a columnist for Scottish Field. He sees his role as a steward, helping people reconnect with the more-than-human world by revealing the magic, utility, and hidden narratives of plants, soils, and place.
In joining RVIVAL, Hamish brings this regenerative perspective to our experiences. His presence deepens every trip with botanical knowledge, ecological awareness, and a grounded commitment to restoring balance.
TOM LLOYD
Horseman & Pack Pony Specialists
Tom is a lifelong horseman, filmmaker, and storyteller whose work honours the timeless partnership between people, ponies, and wild landscapes. As the owner of the Hades Hill herd of Fell ponies - a lineage first established by his father, Walter Lloyd, in 1957 - Tom continues a family tradition that celebrates the art of slow travel and deep connection to the natural world.
His bond with Fell ponies began in childhood, when long journeys across Britain taught him to appreciate the quiet rhythms of nature and the power of moving through landscapes at the ponies’ pace. In 1995, Tom undertook an extraordinary adventure, driving a pair of ponies the length of England and back, an experience that cemented his belief in the unique freedom and intimacy this traditional way of travelling offers.
In 2010, he expanded that philosophy into multiday pack pony treks - journeys that allow travellers to slow down, carry less, and move more intentionally through wild places. This method of travel not only provides comfort and capability in remote environments but also fosters a profound sense of connection to the land, the animals, and the journey itself.
Beyond the trail, Tom is an award-winning filmmaker and podcaster, capturing and sharing stories from the landscapes he explores and the lives shaped by them. Working alongside his daughter Flo - an accomplished equestrian who has competed in the British Carriage Driving Junior Championships and holds a National Diploma in Equine Management - he continues to celebrate and evolve the heritage of Fell pony travel.
At RVIVAL, Tom brings a rare depth of knowledge and authenticity to our expeditions. Their work embodies the value of slowness, presence, and partnership - offering guests the chance to step out of the rush of modern life and rediscover the joy of journeying through nature in its most timeless form.
NALA HURST
Movement Specialist
Nala Hurst is a movement guide and somatic practitioner whose work explores the deep relationship between body, nature, and instinct. With more than two decades of experience studying and teaching movement, she helps people reconnect with their physical intelligence and rediscover a sense of presence, curiosity, and belonging in the natural world.
Her journey began in the world of performance and movement arts, but a desire for a deeper, more meaningful connection to her body led her away from structured spaces and into the wild. Travelling across remote landscapes in Africa and Asia, she immersed herself in practices that honoured the body’s natural rhythms - learning how movement could be used as a bridge between inner awareness and the living landscape around us.
Drawing on principles from evolutionary biology, somatic therapy, yoga, breathwork, and embodied movement practices, Nala’s approach is both intuitive and grounded. She guides people to move beyond habitual patterns and into more instinctive, embodied ways of being - rooted in the intelligence of the body and the wisdom of the land.
Through her work with RVIVAL, Nala creates movement experiences that help guests reconnect with their physical selves and the environments they move through. Whether guiding barefoot walks through ancient forests, leading grounding practices by water, or facilitating deep somatic explorations under open skies, she invites participants to tune into their senses, trust their bodies, and rediscover their innate capacity for movement.
TOM LEWIS
Chef & Owner of Monachyle Mhor Hotel.
(RVIVAL's Homebase)
Chef and owner of Monachyle Mhor, a family-run hotel and working estate in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. It’s here, in the kitchen and landscape he knows so well, that RVIVAL has been welcomed to also call its home and base - a place where food, nature, and shared philosophy come together.
Tom and his team leads the culinary side of our experiences and bringing a deep respect for seasonality, provenance, and place to every meal. Ingredients are sourced from the surrounding land and waters - foraged and caught by the RVIVAL team, produced on the hotel’s farm, or grown in its kitchen garden - and are often cooked over fire to let their story shine.
Tom is the life and soul of Monachyle Mhor. You’re bound to see him on any visit - out foraging for the restaurant, laughing loudly, chatting with guests, fixing something here, tending the garden there. He lives on the estate with his wife, Lisa May, and is always around, keeping the place buzzing with energy, warmth, and curiosity.
Tom is a collaborator and custodian of the land. His approach to food mirrors RVIVAL’s wider ethos: slowing down, paying attention to what nature provides, and creating meals that nourish both body and mind. Each dish is an invitation to connect more deeply with the landscape - to taste your surroundings, seasonality, and simplicity that define life here.
CHARLIE WOODBURN
Remote Ropes Specialist
Charlie is an exceptional free climber rooted in traditional climbing, whose life revolves around vertical terrain. Originally from London, his climbing career has pushed him to the edges of the sport, he has ascended numerous routes rated up to E9 and 8c. His true passion lies in trad climbing, where risk, focus, and raw connection with the rock converge.
Alongside RVIVAL, Charlie brings his mountain instincts to the film world. He works in the aerial helicopter unit on major productions including Black Hawk Down, the Harry Potter series, James Bond, and natural-history documentaries. His role involved rigging, camera stabilisation, and aerial cinematography across some of the world’s most challenging locations.
Charlie’s climbing is not without its trials: he was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a chronic form of arthritis, yet continued to push boundaries. He has completed first ascents such as Something’s Burning(E9) at Stennis Ford in Pembroke.
Today, Charlie combines his mountain leadership, technical skills, and aerial expertise as part of RVIVAL’s guiding team. He offers guests insight, challenge, and a chance to deepen their own relationship with nature.
Beyond the rock face, Charlie is deeply interested in health, nutrition, and the mind–body connection. Whether leading on the wall or holding space on the ground, he brings calm confidence, precise technical knowledge, and an intuitive sense for how nature can centre and steady us.
Through his journey - climbing feats, film work, and his personal physical challenges - Charlie carries a message: pushing edges isn’t about conquering land, but about discovering resilience, humility, and deeper belonging in wild places.
NIGEL HAWKINS
Falconer
Nigel is an expert Falconer whose work explores one of humanity’s oldest and most profound relationships - the bond between humans and birds of prey. With more than 20 years of experience working with multiple raptor species, he has dedicated his life to flying birds as close to their natural state as possible, offering a rare and powerful window into the wild world of falconry. Through this ancient alliance, Nigel helps people step outside the noise of modern life and reconnect with the natural rhythms that have shaped us for millennia.
A former British Army infantryman and firefighter with 28 years of service in a specialist technical rescue unit, Nigel’s lifelong fascination with flight has shaped his career both on the ground and in the air. From speed-flying and BASE jumping to cross-country vol biv paragliding in the Alps, his pursuit of human flight has taken him to extraordinary places - even paragliding alongside his birds in a pioneering practice known as parahawking. This unique perspective has deepened his understanding of raptors, their behaviour, and the delicate ecosystems they inhabit.
Nigel’s work is not only about the thrill of flight but also about the responsibility it carries. His worldwide nature-watching expeditions and decades of field experience inform a passionate commitment to conservation and environmental stewardship. By introducing people to the ancient art of falconry, he invites them to witness the intelligence, grace, and power of raptors - and to understand the vital role they play in the balance of wild landscapes.
As part of the RVIVAL team, Nigel brings his expertise, depth, and a sense of wonder to our experiences. His work reminds us that true connection with nature often begins with observation - watching a hawk ride a thermal, feeling the wind shift, or standing still long enough to witness the seamless dance of predator and sky. In these moments, we are reminded of our place within the natural world and our responsibility to protect it.