Lowe Maintenance was recommended to me in October 2020 by Tommy Lowndes a good Loler Inspector in Scotland where I am based. I was looking to get my City & Guilds Tree Climbing and Aerial Rescue. Tommy promised a very good training and a very enjoyable training into the bargain. One month later, to the day, I was in Settle North Yorkshire on the Course. To put it plainly and in shortest form, I passed, the experience was excellent, I booked my next course immediately. I returned to Settle eight weeks later on the 1st of February this year for Aerial Cutting of Trees with a Chainsaw Using Free-Fall Techniques 21-08 (formally CS39). This second course was just the same, excellent, and I came away with another good pass and my second ticket. Might be worth noting that I am 58 years of age, came to tree work late, and I have only average abilities…on good days. That is a fair and accurate assessment – I’ve only been moderately competent for perhaps a year. The training days themselves go like this: firstly, Phill won’t answer his phone – a simple indicator that he allows himself no distractions, he is totally focused on the candidates, all questions asked are of interest to him and you receive a complete and in depth answer. Phill’s knowledge inspires interest and a kind of further reading about the world of trees and working safely with them. If we are up the trees putting what he is teaching into practice then Phill is there and no where else. He is not sitting in the back of the Land Rover writing a memoir. You know he is watching and listening to everything that is going on up above because you will hear from him if you are heading into any difficulties – rest assured that he will usually spot a problem or a better way to climb before you do. He is the calm clear voice from below with the right suggestion right on time. I’m a master at finding the difficult part of a tree and Phill has often quietly calmly averted my impending predicaments from the ground. It is often humorous and alway calm and safe. The training is a safe, relaxed, and fun experience by some sort of Lowe Maintenance magic. You simply have fun, gain knowledge, build confidence. Although there is no requirement for Phill to attend your assessment day, he will be there to offer support if at all necessary. To see his candidates through to the completion of their assessment is typical of Phill’s comprehensive solid approach and speaks volumes. For anyone about to spend their hard earned money and precious time on training, improving, achieving necessary qualifications, I would ask you to consider this: for me Lowe Maintenance is a 368 mile round trip, hours in the car (not a fast driver), an expensive stay in a hotel for the duration….so why not do my training nearer home in Scotland? My answer is that I discovered the Lowe Maintenance Training which is in my opinion exceptional and totally justifies the extra effort and all the scrimping and saving I have to do. Further, I am going back for Light Rigging and probably other courses as circumstances permit….won’t be long.
