MEET THE BOXWOOD TEAM

MEET THE TEAM

Sue Macdonald

Kew-trained, professional horticulturist Sue Macdonald managed the Palm House at Kew and then lectured at the English Gardening School before starting Boxwood Tours in 1990. Sue enjoys using her love and long experience of gardens and travel to dream up entirely new programmes of superb, fresh tours every year.

Mellissa Taylor

Mellissa acquired her travel experience whilst working for companies ranging from the luxury brand, Elegant Resorts, to an educational tour operator and a specialist destination company. Mellissa oversees Arena Travel’s Cultural and Garden Tours office in Buckingham.

Steve Goodenough

Steve gained his extensive knowledge of the travel business over many years before he joined the special interest company, Arena Travel, in 2016 as Managing Director. Steve is based in the Market Harborough office, where he takes overall responsibility for all the Arena Travel brands. Helen Greasby

After studying Tourism Management at University, Helen travelled extensively in Europe and beyond before working for several UK Tour Operators and joining Arena Travel’s Cultural and Garden Tours team. Excellent customer service skills and attention to detail enable Helen to organise your travel requests with all the knowledge necessary to offer you a dedicated service.

Claire Jamieson

Before joining Arena Travel’s Cultural and Garden Tours team in 2013, Claire managed an independent travel agency. This work took her around the world researching the finer points that make inspiring trips. Claire’s wide knowledge of travel makes her the ideal person to oversee all aspects of Arena Travel’s cultural tour arrangements.

Amy Ballinger

Amy joined Arena Travel’s Cultural and Garden Tours team two years ago and her role is Brand Marketing Assistant. Amy is able to use her creative flair and organisational skills to oversee marketing throughout our Cultural tour division. Amy enjoys writing her own tea and lifestyle blog in her spare time.

Julie Kirkup

Living in France for four years, working as a bilingual PA, gave Julie excellent skills which help her in her role at Arena Travel’s Cultural and Garden Tours office. Julie works in the Buckingham office and is responsible for putting together our programme of Cultural Tours to France and Spain.

MEET OUR EXPERT TOUR HOSTS & TOUR LEADERS

Helen Yemm

Helen Yemm is probably best-known for her weekly Thorny Problems page that has been a fixture for nearly 20 years in the Saturday’s Daily Telegraph. In ‘real life’ she is a hands-on, self-taught, keen-as-mustard gardener and lecturer with a garden in East Sussex that she occasionally opens for small groups. Helen is a sometime television presenter and is the author of several gardening books. She is also a regular feature writer for The English Garden magazine, however hosting garden tours is, she says, the icing on the cake – she gets enormous pleasure from discovering gardens in the company of others who share her passion.

Charles Fox

Charles Fox comes from a long line of gardeners who are responsible for the creation of at least three remarkable Cornish gardens: Penjerrick, Trebah and Glendurgan. In the early 1990s Charles qualified twice as a garden designer, at Kew Gardens with Merit. Since that time he has led many garden tours in the south west, and having lived in Cornwall most of his life is well qualified to talk about the county’s history. He has written one book about Glendurgan, the property where he and his family now live, and which was given to the National Trust in 1962.

Charles-Quest Ritson

Charles Quest-Ritson started out as a lawyer but is better known as a writer, journalist and translator. His many books include The English Garden Abroad (1992), Olive Oil (2004) and Ninfa (2009). He has also edited the RHS Year Book and written two prize-winning books on roses. He and his wife Brigid garden in Hampshire (2½ acres of chalk) and Normandy (12 acres of woodland and apple orchard, where they grow 1200 roses.) He is a popular lecturer and columnist for Country Life magazine.

Virginia Affleck

Virginia Affleck was raised in county Victoria, Australia. Following a Degree in Fine Art, four year’s at Sotheby’s Australia ensued which furthered Virginias love and understanding of art, along with an intrigue for anthropology. Virginia has spent time living in the Indian Himalaya, Nepal, Tibet, Istanbul and Paris, which eventually led her to Morocco where she now resides in Tangier, the northern most point of this beautiful North African country.

Tom Attwood

Tom Attwood started working with plants in his parent’s garden before working in a traditional Cumbrian nursery roused his passion. He then went on to formally train at Edinburgh and Kew before taking on head gardener posts in the Lake District and Lancaster. Tom now manages the gardens at Halecat Estate. Tom has lectured at Newton Rigg College and writes for Cumbria Life, Living Magazine, Garden Design Journal and Gardens Illustrated.

Stephen Anderton

Stephen is the long-standing garden writer for The Times, as well as a journalist, broadcaster, lecturer and author. Trained originally in Drama and then Landscape Design, he worked in historic gardens where, latterly as National Gardens Manager for English Heritage, he was responsible for several major restoration projects. His book Discovering Welsh Gardens was published in 2009 and his official biography of Christopher Lloyd appeared in March 2010. He now lives in the Black Mountains where he is making a new landscape garden of 20 acres.

Michael Marriott

Michael Marriott is technical manager and senior rosarian of David Austin Roses and is one of the world’s most-respected rose experts. He is also well-known for his rose garden design and his common sense approach to gardening. In his work he travels the globe, often sharing his expertise in lively radio, TV, newspaper and magazine interviews.

Keith Wiley

Keith Wiley was head gardener for 25 years at The Garden House, a 10-acre garden in Dartmouth, where his creations were described as ‘one of the most exciting and innovative gardens in Britain today.’ Keith has lectured widely on both sides of the Atlantic and is a regular contributor to horticultural and lifestyle magazines. He has written three books ‘on the wild side’, ‘shade’ and ‘designing and planting a woodland garden.’