Training Testimonials

It was great and I feel that I now have an understanding of how to use a chainsaw.

Course 201 - Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross-Cutting with Mike.

Really informative, Jamie helped a lot with positioning and different cuts.

CS39 - Tree Cutting course with Jamie.

Good thorough training, easy to follow and take in information. Great practical aspect being shown and then watched being hands-on. Good input from Mike throughout the day.

Wood chipper course with Mike.

Instructor was great, can't criticise at all, was incredibly patient and explained things clearly. Only criticsm was there not being enough trees to work on but that's not a reflection of the instructor.

CS39 course with Rich M.

Fantastic course, Rich has been an amazing teacher - super friendly and professional. Thanks Rich!

CS39 course with Rich M.

Great training and teaching on all grounds! Highly recommend Mike and Bill both superb teachers.

Course 201: Chainsaw Maintenance & Cross-Cutting and Course 202: Felling >380mm

Very good content, Roy helped guide us through the course, plenty of practice on the chainsaws.

Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross-Cutting course with Roy.

The course was great, very informative and Roy was a very encouraging and patient instructor.

CS30 Chainsaw Maintenance course with Roy.

Very interesting, insightful and encouraging to know how in depth the safety aspect of tree felling is. Michael is an excellent instructor, really helped me to understand the process.

CS30/31 course with Mike.

Great course, super informative and hands on. Instructor was clear and patient. Demonstrations were repeated if I needed a better understanding which was appreciated.

Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross-Cutting course with Mike.

Amazing! First time doing anything like this and it was easy to follow and hands-on. I\'ve been nervous but I am fully excited and no longer nervous.

Woodchipper course with Mike.

I thought that it was well organised, practical, clear and enjoyable. Michael was a great instructor.

Brushcutter course with Mike.

Great instructor with very clear guidance but maintaining a relaxed approach making learning easy.

Pole saw course with Mike.

The CS39 course was great, lots of tips learnt and making sure I am performing cuts safely.

Excellent very knowledgeable instructor - Consistently adjusted teaching and delivery style throughout to keep it interesting yet still fun,

CS38 Course with Jamie.

Very informative, Jamie was very easy to work with and very knowledgeable throughout the course.

CS38 Course with Jamie

The course was very informative, especially if someone has limited knowledge of arboriculture, Jamie is very knowledgeable and calm at explaining points with no stress at any points.

Very informative, and at a nice pace, Mikes a legend.

Unit 202 CS31 Felling Course with Mike.

 

Course was great.

Unit 202 Course with Mike

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.

Excellent tuition from a clearly experienced trainer. Very attentive. Admin staff were very reliable.

Rigging Course with Dave Daniels

Great course, very knowledgable and friendly trainers.

Brilliant. Covered everything and made it very adaptable for beginners. Very understanding of all levels of experience and set out in a very progressive way, clear, precice, informative. Thoroughly impressed.

Unit 201 C-Saw/ Maintenance cross cutting.

Really helpful and informative. I struggled in the tree a few times but Jamie helped me push through and complete everything. Couldnt ask for a better instructor.

UNIT 203 CS38 Course with Jamie

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 

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative feel well prepare for assessment.

Unit 203 CS38 Course with Jamie

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!

Great Course in a beautiful setting.

Rigging Refresher Course with Dave Daniels

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.