Ben West

Ben’s interest in natural history started around the age of ten when he reared an abandoned fledgling.  Attempting to identify it, he borrowed a copy of ‘The Complete Guide to the Birdlife of Britain and Europe’ by Peter Hayman and Rob Hume and soon became an avid birdwatcher with a particular interest in bird song. Growing up between the River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal, Ben became a keen angler and developed a good understanding of a wide range of freshwater fish species and other aquatic life. Birdwatching took him into the local woods where the discovery of an ancient sett led to a lifelong fascination with badgers. Working as a gardener in his twenties he developed a passion for plants, which led to an interest in insects, initially with a focus on butterflies but later expanding to encompass moths, bees, dragonflies and hoverflies. Moving South in his early thirties satisfied a childhood desire to explore the chalk landscapes of the North and South Downs of Surrey and Sussex and the chalk hills of Hampshire and Dorset. For the past ten years Ben has expanded his learning into the arena of edible and medicinal plants, seaweeds and fungi, studying with some of the finest bushcraft teachers in the country. Ben has been leading tours since 2020 and has travelled worldwide in search of wildlife.