Marketing and Communications Manager
I grew up in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia, so at weekends spent more time in a Laser or on a windsurf than on a bike. Once my family moved back home to North Yorkshire, we spent many happy times fell walking in the Moors, the Dales, and the Lakes and I’ve loved the outdoors ever since.
I read English & Linguistics at Bangor University, which gave me plenty of opportunities to explore Snowdonia. After graduating, I spent two years at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, converting to law and completing my solicitors’ training with a view to following a legal career. But 3 months of backpacking on the east coast of Australia at the end of it convinced me that going back to law until retirement would send me to an early grave, so I decided to retrain in marketing and PR via the CIM, allowing me to connect more easily with my creative soul. I began with B2B and then moved into the charity sector, working for a couple of national charities and then back to SMEs in the private sector. I initially began working for Marmot Tours in 2017 as a freelance consultant, but in 2019 I jumped in with both feet and I’ve headed up the marketing and communications ever since. It’s a massive job!
I’m a married mum of three teenagers and with my husband, we live in the buzzing village of Rode, near Frome in Somerset. When not ferrying kids to rugby or football matches, we enjoy family time outdoors, especially walking and bike riding in the Somerset and Wiltshire countryside. I love keeping fit and also play regular club tennis, enjoy running, open water swimming as well as a variety of fitness classes, as long as they’re accompanied by some old skool rave tunes. I came to road biking quite late in life and now that I’ve got more used to the saddle (!), it’s something I’m inspired to spend more time doing, hopefully on Marmot Tours trips! My first epic climb was Mont Ventoux and since then, I’ve been bitten by the bug. I took up playing the ukulele in 2016 when with a group of five girlfriends, we formed The Daisy Ukes. Before the pandemic, we sang and played at local pubs and festivals, but since then need to rediscover our music mojo – a challenge for this year, then!
The best thing about working for Marmot Tours? The people. I’m thankful to be part of such an energetic, passionate, and truly remarkable bunch. The service level and acute attention to detail are quite exceptional, plus the total dedication of everyone who works here, ensuring every single client’s holiday is the very best it can be, in every single way.
