Training Testimonials

November 2024 - The most amazingly 4-week combination arb-training!
First day we had a total shock, when our knowledgeable instructor Bill started firing technical names of bits that make a chainsaw tick. We had an evening to go over it, and on Tuesday morning Bill continued with even more technical bits. However, we all learnt to take a chainsaw apart, name everything, sharpen the chain, clean it and put it back together. Then we moved on to a chainsaw cold start, on one of the coldest days of the year. It was very, very difficult to get that blooming thing kick in. There's a whole sequence of actions you have to do, in an awkward position, with terribly uncomfortable chainsaw gloves too. When the saw is ticking, you’re ready for the safety checks. After that, you are ready to roll with a warm start. Don't forget the visor must be down. I/ we, kept forgetting. Learning the Basic tree inspection was more about looking and discussing and Bill was right; it completely changed the way we see trees. Wood chipper course was relaxed too, it utilised greatly what we had already learnt about chainsaws.
Second week was all about felling trees. Big boys\' playground. We panicked every time our infinitely patient instructor Mike showed us a new cut we had to learn. We learnt from our mistakes. Everything has to be precise. When you go off a little or don't hold the saw just right, god forbid don't do a parallel cut with an almost perfect 10% hinge, you can lose the control of the tree. D cut through his hinge and the holding wood. I just had time to yell 'No! Run!' not that he heard me, with his ear defenders on, the chainsaw screaming. The tree spun in the opposite direction and started coming on top of his head. He looked up and held his arm up like the Greek God Atlas, and then had the sense to get out of there. I got my saw stuck in a tree a few times, and also caused a little 'barber chair'. Nothing tragic, but if you want to see something incredible, type barber chair tree on YouTube and watch a big tree practically explode. There\'s a specific cut that prevents the scary timber explosion, the Dog tooth cut. We practised it over and over, on coppice trees, that had to be processed afterwards - cut to 3m logs and tidied onto piles. We also practised on logs tied to trees, over and over, until I could barely lift my chainsaw. We did this for four days, learning new cuts every day. Our favourite was scary and complicated but fancy-looking Danish pie cut.
Week three was all about climbing trees and practising aerial rescues, with our wonderfully mad instructor Jamie who looked after us for two weeks. We started on two tall looking oaks, then graduated onto two massive, majestic royal oaks, about 50 feet high. We all had to learn to trust our gear, which started to be more difficult half way up, and even more so as we reached the very top.
We also learnt to use spikes and pass our little bravery tests-changeovers. It wasn’t easy to chill when the whole tree moved with the breeze; again, we had to learn to trust the gear. Also, it was comforting to know that however freezing cold you were climbing up the tree, you would be sweating on the way down.
Last three days were about using a chainsaw from ropes and harness. We started by hanging about half a metre above the ground, practising working on a branch that wouldn't support our weight. We had to use a side strop to strap ourselves onto it AND start our chainsaw AND do a little cut. Gosh, the first time doing it was pretty impossible. Third time round was almost ok. After just about half an hour of 'play', we were exhausted but made progress, which, Jamie told us, was exactly the purpose of the exercise. The next day we climbed higher up and practised the same thing in a much easier scenario, Jamie promised. He was, as usual, right.
When we shook hands at the end of our last assessment, there were lots of emotions. The end of a wonderful, one month learning journey, that was tough but rewarding, with the best possible instructors and a fun group of buddies one could have hoped for. I am eternally thankful.

Great course, very knowledgable and friendly trainers.

Instructors were top class. Ensured all aspects of the course were consolidated leaving me confident for each assessment. Great place and people! - CS39 Aerial Cutting Course 

I recently took the Lantra PTI with Kingswood Training and found the course very informative and well taught. The whole process of registering was smooth and easy thanks to the help of Rose and Michelle who were absolutely brilliant. The course was taught by Mr Simon Cox who is a fountain of knowledge. He gave us all the support and information we needed to guide us in the right direction to make good decisions. The location of the course was absolutely amazing, a very peaceful and beautiful place. Simon is by far one of the most knowledgeable arboricultural professionals I have come across and he is a credit to the organisation in my view. A wide range of topics were covered and everything was explained clearly and concisely. I would recommend that who ever wishes to take this course has some experience in tree inspections. I was so happy when i heard i passed and this is a greatly respected certificate to hold in the Arboricultural world. I would definitely recommend Kingswood Training to others and I will hope to take another course with them soon.
Thanks guys... its been a fantastic eye opener and experience. Well Done!

As a complete beginner in the industry, whom had never used a power tool, I found the course to be incredibly well taught. Great detail given without being overwhelming, and the advice past on will be repeated in my head for the rest of my time in the industry.

The climbing instructor - Quentin - was very helpful and patient and understanding of the fact I was a novice

I thought it was really well prepared and interesting chainsaw course

Very informative and relaxed, Robin was very polite and aware of peoples level of understanding

Brilliant, really enjoyed the climbing course. Jamie is a great instructor.

I was happy with using a chipper beforehand but during the course I learnt a lot of new things so overall a good experience and really helpful. Thank you.

Very informative and well structured Woodchipper course, learnt heaps.

I thought it was an interesting course. I learnt a lot about how to use a chipper machine correctly and I feel I will be able to do it right. The instructor; Mike was helpful

Great climbing course and very satisfied with what I learnt. Will be coming back for more courses. Great instructor; Jamie, who is good at what he does. Would recommend.

I thought the course was very interesting and it showed many different situations for being able to demonstrate and use various techniques for felling.

Excellent, really thorough with loads of time to practice all aspects of climbing relevant to CS38 course. Instructor Jamie was very good - always knew what was happening with my knots and ropes. Helped me to work on the things I needed with a very cool and relaxed approach and did not give me any stress.

Good course. Great exposure to felling with a lot of hands on experience.

Great place for training, was recommended to take my course here by a work colleague. I have done the CS30/CS31, would definitely recommend training here to anyone starting their forestry career. Everyone was friendly and easygoing and made a comfortable learning environment. Will be coming back in the future definitely to take on other courses, wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.

Excellent course at venue with good facilities.

I really enjoyed the course. The trainer and office staff were all very helpful and knowledgeable.
I had ZERO experience and passed both the courses I took.
I have come out of the course feeling I have a good understanding and have since gone on to get a job within the industry and am really enjoying my new career.

Great courses in chainsaw use. Great instructors.

A full week attending the 201/202 with Jim (saw maintenance cross cut and felling ) superb week made to feel really welcome and looked after, so much knowledge built in a week and helped pass my test, highly recommended to all venturing into forestry arborist felling coppicing it's endless, thanks all so much.

Absolutely fantastic tree climbing and aerial rescue course with Jamie. All staff amazing and a really inclusive environment. Would recommend to anyone nervous about starting out in the arb world!

Really enjoyed the course as it was fun but informative. Jamie is a super nice dude and helped me to feel confident about what I was doing which meant I did things quite quickly.

Built my confidence and helped me understand all of the cuts I could use for felling so I am happy to use a saw in different situations. The trainers were really helpful and took time to explain anything I asked about. It was a relaxed learning situation and everyone was catered for.

Well presented and engaging course

I had recently started a firewood processing business and required the Tree Felling and Chainsaw qualification; I had spent two months searching various providers online and been let down by a recommendation. I decided to stop procrastinating and make an informed choice which based on reviews, location and price was Kingswood Training.
The course is based in the easy to access village of Sevenoaks Weald from South London in a beautiful setting and with glorious sunshine the weather was a little too hot for what was an intensive well-structured course. The first day was spent in the classroom and covered all aspects of chainsaw maintenance, use and safety, with a well-stocked workshop and relaxing learning space.
The next four days were spent out in the forest felling a good range of various diameter Silver Birch trees, using multiple felling techniques also covering cross-cutting, limbing and taking down hung-up trees with a major focus on safe working practices and use of hand-tools.
This course consists of a maximum of four people and I learnt from the experience of the group as well as from a range of instructors with their varying styles. This course is intensive and I would recommend doing as much pre-learning and hands on practice prior to attending (what would I do without YouTube!), this will stand you in good stead for what is an excellent well-structured course, where there is a culture of encouraging all students to participate fully.
Thank you, Kingswood Training, for a great week’s training, I thoroughly enjoyed my course and am using techniques and have implemented a daily, monthly and annual checklist based on safe use of my chainsaws in the woodyard.
What are you waiting for get online and book your next forestry course with a great training provider.

Where do I start….from the moment I arrived it felt like a close nit family as everyone was so lovely, genuine and very welcoming for what is a big step in a direction you may want to take in life. I would 100% recommend doing any variety of the courses here as the knowledge of the instructors is incredible and the detail they go in to is top draw, very understanding and patient. Can’t wait to go back to do future courses as I wouldn’t want to go any where else. Hope this helps your decision on going to Kingswood as you will not forget it and not be disappointed.

We had 2 delegates on the aerial rigging course and they were really impressed with the course. They said it was excellent, informative and enjoyable.

Highly recommend Kingswood training from the booking with Michelle was so smooth.
To the training with Matt was excellent very nice guy and so helpful.
Through to the examiner Tony
Can see why it's UK 1 training center
Thanks you to all kingwood training staff look forward to seeing you again soon 👍

Just successfully completed an aerial climbing and rescue course and couldn't be more happy with my experience. I had fun but more importantly I learned and gained a very useful qualification.
Climbing up a 15m+ tree is intimidating at first if you have never done it before, but the way you are taught gives you confidence in your rope systems so that you know you won't fall as long as you are paying attention. They are very accommodating to beginners who are willing to put in the effort. It is all very straightforward in theory.
They are also very sensible about Covid precautions, equipment hire is spot on and the office are very helpful with queries. I am looking forward to my next course.

4-week Combined Arb course 

I’d like like to start by saying I’ve been on many training courses across many industries and I’m not one for leaving reviews, to be honest I usually can’t be bothered. However, my experience at KingsWood from start to finish was so impressive I feel compelled to share it with you. 

The office staff were not only efficient but friendly. Not the sort of ‘put on’ ‘in business’ friendly but genuinely helpful welcoming and efficient. This doesn’t just stop at the office staff, trainers also not only have a broad wealth of experience but a passion to share it. The locations we were lucky enough to work in were set in breathtaking Kent countryside not just a training rig in some carpark. The holistic result of these key items makes for something really special. You don’t feel like you’ve turned up at, what could be any of a number of perfectly good training centres to sit your course and be on your way. Instead you feel part of a family, people who genuinely want to see you succeed. As a result, I wouldn’t entertain any other training provider for anything related to arboriculture. KingsWood are top of my list and I’m sure you will agree once you’ve also experienced it for yourself. 

Another thank you to yourself, Tony and the rest of the team for another interesting and informative (and fun) course today.

I attended a combined CS30/CS31 (maintenance and cross-cutting, felling small trees) course in November 2021 and was
very pleased with how it went.
The instructors are great; they don't rush, they recap everything, they make sure you are safe, they show you how to pass the assessment and also inform you of the practicalities of working in the industry.
The facilities and administration are great too.

Recently completed my Aerial Rescue at Kingswood. Michele, Pat and Tony were incredible, from the booking process which was so smooth and efficient, the training and assessment which was thorough and professional - had some enjoyable chats with Tony about his off-road adventures in Wales and tree work which made me feel relaxed and less nervous - these guys know what they're doing, they have heaps of industry experience and pedagogical know how. The entire course felt well prepared and the theory was no problem either because Pat continuously drills and consolidates our learning all week so the knowledge is easily retrievable on the test day! I should mention he was super patient and friendly with us all too, even when we're bombarding him with non-stop questions. And the icing on the cake was getting to ride shot-gun in his V8 custom landrover. If you're planning to do your training at Kingswood, you'll be trained and prepared well and have a great time doing it.

I signed on to the Kingswood Training 4 week combination arborist tree surgery course in April 2021 and it was a well run professional and enjoyable experience from the start. Having had no experience with chainsaws or climbing before, starting from scratch was a difficult way to begin. However all the trainers were incredibly patient, knowledgeable, and thorough in both the theory and practical side of each unit. Personally I was trained by Tony, Pat, Matt and Dave. All these guys made each element of the course interesting, fun and enjoyable as well as helping develop our skills each day to bring us up to a competent level to pass the assessments comfortably. I'll be back for more advanced courses and couldn't speak more highly of them. I'd recommend their training services to anyone interested in tree based training. They're a 10 out of 10 all round.
Thanks again for your help Michelle and please thank the trainers again for me. I'll be back for more soon!

Just completed CS39 great course and excellent instruction as always , the team always go above and beyond to help , hopefully be back soon

Had such a great week with Kingswood! Trainer (David) couldn’t of been more thorough with all the information for the assessment! The assessor (Tony) was so reassuring and put my nerves to ease making feel comfortable!! All round top experience and will definitely be doing further courses through them!! Can’t fault anything with my experience. Thank you very much everyone at Kingswood! I’m sure I’ll see you soon!!

Pat, Dave, Matt and Tony were all fantastic, great communication skills, very approachable and keen to help me improve, really knew their stuff and very capable of explaining things in a variety of ways to help develop good understanding. Thank you!

Very good course; excellent and experienced instructor (David Hills), good area to work in and learnt a lot during the week. Good mixture of learning new techniques and also having time to practice what we had learnt to reinforce the instruction.
Only comment is that, as I had hired the equipment, one or two items were missing (angle gauge, for instance) and the chain saw chain was very worn (meaning I had to spend a long time sharpening it). A check-in and check-out of the boxes each time would avoid equipment going missing.
Otherwise excellent course.
Would like to hear about Tony\'s one day tree appreciation course (types, fungi, diseases etc.) and when it is next available.

I chose Kingswood's 4 week combination course as it seemed to be the quickest way to train for and take my qualifications. I wasn't particularly looking forward to the course but how silly was that- I ended up having a fantastic time, learning more than I have during 6 months on the job, and met some really interesting people. Thank you for making something that could be a bit scary, fun!

Attended the 3 day Professional Tree Inspection course November 2020. Extremely well organised and first rate communication. The course was delivered in an enjoyable, safe and respectful manor despite COVID restrictions. The standard of training was excellent, provided by an instructor who was very knowledgeable and did an outstanding job of delivering the content in a relevant and amusing way, despite the restrictions put in place to keep everyone safe. Thank you.

Just completed the CS30/31 , very professional well run course , top instructor, looking forward to doing my CS38 , would definitely recommend doing your courses with these guys

Everybody around was very kind and helpful. I really enjoyed this course!!

I attended the Combined 5 Day – Chainsaw Maintenance & Felling Small Trees (201,202 & 203) in June 2020. My instructor David was incredibly knowledgeable and worked hard, making the learning process fun and interesting throughout the course. He also ensured that he spent plenty of time with each of us individually to help iron out any weaknesses before the assessment.
I highly recommend Kingswood Training to anyone considering learning new skills or building upon pre-existing ones!

I would like the thank the whole team for the great two weeks I had with you at kings wood training. You all made me feel welcomed and were all soo friendly and helpful.
I would like to give a special thanks to Pat who I definitely wouldn’t of been able to pass without. I especially appreciate the little pep talk he gave us on the morning of the assessment.
His friendly and yet professional style of teaching is amazing and his ability to make his students feel at ease is exceptional.
Once again I would like to thank you all and will definitely without any hesitation recommend your company to others.
All the best
Kilian Ernst

Myself and a colleague attended the CS38 tree climbing and aerial rescue course and could not have asked for anything more from Kingswood. The course instructor (Patrick) was fantastic and committed extra time each day to allow us to practice elements of the course we were less confident with.
Following the 5 day training, we were assessed by Tony, who was similarly helpful and attentive, which put us at ease and helped us remain calm during the assessment.
Couldn't recommend a better course.

Many thanks to all the team for getting me through my first chainsaw course, special thanks to michelle for letting me do the recap and to tony for getting me through the practical, much appreciated guys thankyou.

Completed cs30/31 with Jim back in may last year, he was extremely knowledgeable and had a great taste in music... I was so happy with the course that i paid to come back and complete the cs38/39 in January this year. Pat (our instructor) was one of the nicest blokes i think i've ever met, he was a great teacher and worked extremely hard to get everyone in the group through the course which we all passed. Thank you to Tony who assessed us too he is also extremely knowledgeable and highly skilled. And also Michele who kept answering all my annoying questions and organised everything for me! i was a lucky enough to find a new job within the same month as this course thanks to their training. I would highly recommend the course to anyone looking to progress their skills and learn from some of best out there.

In January 2020 I completed NPTC Units 201/202/203.
My instructor was very thorough, knowledgeable and he motivated us to work hard.
The facilities for maintenance training were well equipped and easy to use. The site we practised felling in was large, varied and picturesque.
I thoroughly enjoyed my week and have learned a great deal.

Hi Michele,
Good to meet you today. I just wanted to say I really enjoyed the BTI course today, Tony was great. I\'d like to build up to the PTI but feel I need to do a bit of reading first, can you send me the reading list you recommend please, if poss highlighting the best ones.
I was also talking to Tony about the video you put up about 2 rope working. I randomly came across it last week and thought it was very good. I think it will definitely help people think about the regulations and ways they can implement it. A friend of mine who also runs a recreational tree climbing company saw the video too and had a similar opinion.
Cheers
John