about us

Nature's Trails is not here to be another bushcraft school, nor is it just another bushcraft shop, but a portal helping you to get closer to the wonder of nature....we invite you to look at the world around you in a whole new way. Our courses are intended to take you that one step further whether you are a bushcraft enthusiast or Naturalist.

If you want to reach a stage where you develop your skills to feel comfortable in the great out doors then one of our sister company's Fundamental Skills Courses will teach you how to relax and watch Nature happily and safely as it unfolds around you. In our opinion, the combined wealth of knowledge and experience of the sister companies we have chosen to work with, make them the top Bushcraft Schools in the country. In addition we also provide bushcraft tutoring for youth groups such as the Scouts, Guides and Army and Air Cadet forces etc ( JP is CRB checked through the Open Door mentoring scheme). 

Our aim is to guide you closer to nature, helping individuals from every walk of life to step back from the stresses of the modern world. With young adults as a priority, we work to encourage their understanding and respect for Mother Nature by not just teaching them how to survive, but how to thrive and spend time comfortably in the outdoors, able to observe the daily pattern of nature's wonders as they unfold.

Your guide on this journey is JP Lamoureux now a keen Natural Historian, Bushcraft and Wilderness Living tutor who, encouraged by his parents and inspired by the natural world from an early age, ventured from the cultured beds of his parents back garden, to the wild hedge rows and fields of the farm land which surrounded him. From the scouting movement to the Army cadet force (where he spent 5 happy years though nature rather than the military side of life continued to be his main interest), along with his numerous and varied pets! These ranged from the usual gerbils, hamsters and rats to racing pigeons and tropical fish... his keen interest for British wildlife also saw his menagerie expand to include tadpoles, newts, and the odd snake.

Much to his mother's dismay, this hybrid Gerald Durrell x Jack Hargreaves character then decided at 13 years of age that Ferrets and Tarantulas should also be welcomed into the house! The ferrets led to a place for many years on the committee of the Essex Ferret Welfare Society  and the Tarantulas took him to the committee of the British Tarantula Society (www.thebts.co.uk ) as Welfare Coordinator. As a result, expeditions to Borneo and Sri lanka found him collecting data and filming natural history footage for National Geographic, where his interest in the every day survival skills used by local tribes and native peoples also took shape (Jp still keeps Ferrets and Tarantulas to this day).

JP's enthusiastic and jack of all trades approach to all things wild also led to his assisting at country pursuit shows for many years. Also over the years helping and working with local countrymen, woodsmen and local game keepers, JP has learnt many skills that have now sadly been forgotten to most but skills which he still practices to this day in his Essex homeland. He is never happier than when mooching about the country side with his dogs, watching wildlife, hunting or foraging for a meal.

JP has been a Bushcraft instructor with Bearclaw Bushcraft for 5 years , running courses across the globe and tutoring Air Cadets, Scouts and Guides, and supporting small holders associations and charities such as MIND to name a few. JP now teaches bushcraft and survival skills for Bison Bushcraft ( www.bisonbushcraft.co.uk ) which is one of the longest running and most professional Bushcraft and survival schools in the UK.

Using nature and bushcraft as a therapeutic tool JP is also a Volunteer for Open Door which helps children in care, young offenders and potential offenders to deal with the problems today's society throws at them. This is something very close to his heart and he believes nature is the best teacher. Teaching people Nature's Ways is close to JP's heart and he always has time and a helping hand for any enthusiastic budding naturalist or Bushcrafter. So, if you need some help and are unsure how to go about it, don't be shy drop him a line. Come on board and we'll celebrate the wonders of Nature together.......

Contact JP on 07967417583