The Surrey Hills Portrait

Claire from Harbour Kitchens joins me for this episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, recorded at their workshop and showroom on a farm in Cranleigh. Claire and her husband Oli came to kitchen design from an unusual direction.  Both have backgrounds in the superyacht industry, working with engineering, 3D design and the exceptionally high standards of finish demanded in that world. When starting a family made the international travel involved less practical, they began looking for a way to use those skills closer to home. Harbour Kitchens started in a four-metre-square shed at the end of their garden, where they built their first three kitchens. Today, the business designs and manufactures bespoke kitchens from its farm workshop, bringing an engineering mindset to both construction and design. We talk about why sustainability became such an important part of the business, including their use of boards manufactured from agricultural by-products rather than conventional MDF.  Claire explains the practical challenges of working with less widely available materials, as well as their aim to create kitchens that are durable, non-toxic and made with greater consideration for the environment. We also explore how the way we use kitchens has changed. They are increasingly places for family life and entertaining rather than simply rooms for preparing food, although Claire is also seeing growing interest in pantries, back kitchens and other spaces that allow some of the practical mess to disappear from view. Claire talks about the challenge of growing a highly bespoke business without losing the attention to detail and personal service that define it, and why finding the right people to train and develop will be an important part of Harbour Kitchens' next stage. We finish by discussing the company's connection with the Surrey Hills, the influence of the surrounding landscape and natural materials on their work, and the mix of people and creativity that makes this part of the world such an interesting place to build a business. Find out more about Harbour Kitchens at harbourkitchens.com. The Surrey Hills Portrait shares stories from the people who live, work and create here.

What happens when two young paralegals start talking about one day creating their own law firm, and actually keep that idea alive for 15 years? In this episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, I sit down with Amy Jacobs and Dan Crate, founders of Reigate-based law firm Crate Jacobs. Amy and Dan met while working together at a law firm in Dorking. Lunchtime walks soon turned into conversations about their ambitions for the future, including a shared idea that one day they would create a firm of their own. Rather than being a sudden leap, it became a long-term plan that survived qualifications, career changes, Covid and, more recently, the arrival of artificial intelligence. We talk about the reality of becoming a lawyer, with both Amy and Dan spending much of their twenties studying alongside full-time work. Amy describes legal training as a marathon rather than a 5K, and explains why she now mentors younger people considering the profession. We also explore their different areas of law. Dan specialises in intellectual property, working with creative businesses on areas including copyright, brand protection and design rights, while Amy works in dispute resolution, helping clients navigate disagreements before and during litigation. AI inevitably enters the conversation too. Dan explains how it is already affecting intellectual property law and the way clients communicate with lawyers, while Amy talks about the unusual experience of effectively finding herself arguing against an AI-generated opponent. They also explain why putting confidential legal advice into unsecured AI tools can create very real problems around legal privilege. Away from the technical side of law, Amy explains how years spent resolving disputes have taught her to look for both sides of a story, while both she and Dan talk about mentoring, opening doors for younger lawyers and the importance of making genuine human connections in a profession that has historically been difficult to access. And, because this is The Surrey Hills Portrait, we finish closer to home, talking about why Reigate works so well as a base for Crate Jacobs, the community of independent businesses around them, and the value of building a business somewhere where people genuinely support one another. A conversation about friendship, patience, professional ambition, AI, entrepreneurship and what it really takes to turn a teenage idea into a business of your own. Find out more about Amy, Dan and Crate Jacobs at cratejacobs.com.

When The Six Bells in Newdigate closed in September 2025, Jo and James Dearsley felt its absence almost immediately. They'd lived in the village for more than 20 years, watched the pub go through various incarnations and, like plenty of locals, had often talked about what they'd do differently if they were running it. Then they actually did it. Despite having never run a pub before, Jo and James took on The Six Bells and set about bringing the building back to life.  Their aim wasn't simply to reopen a traditional village pub, but to create something closer to a community hub. Somewhere for coffee in the morning, lunch, drinks, events, dog walks, workshops, live music and, perhaps most importantly, somewhere people can meet. In this episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, we talk about why they decided to take the risk, what they've learned about the pressures facing Britain's pubs, and why they think village pubs still have an important role to play. Jo and James also share the reality of learning an entire industry from scratch, from beer and cellar equipment to the rather more urgent problems created by an old building packed with customers. We talk about their zero-alcohol evenings, cider tastings, dog walks, food nights, live music and creative workshops, and why involving the village in their decisions has helped people feel that The Six Bells belongs to them too. It's a conversation about pubs, community, entrepreneurship and the slightly mad decision to take on a business that keeps you in the public eye for almost every waking hour. And about what can happen when two people look at a struggling village pub and decide they can't simply stand by and watch it disappear. The Surrey Hills Portrait: Stories from the people who live, work and create here.

Will Hammond didn't set out to work in the charity sector. He trained as a primary school teacher, moved into sports coaching and later worked in care before finding his way to Cherry Trees, the East Clandon charity providing short breaks for children and young people with complex disabilities. In this episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, I visit Cherry Trees to talk with Will about his own route into fundraising, the families the charity supports and why respite care is about far more than simply giving parents a break. Cherry Trees was founded in 1980 by Dr Helen Foley and a group of parents who recognised the lack of short-break provision for families caring for children with complex disabilities. Today, children can stay for anything from a short visit to more extended periods, giving families time to rest and recharge while the children enjoy what Will describes as a genuine "home from home". Will explains why the experience is designed around fun, familiarity and choice, from favourite meals and activities to trips out, entertainers and time spent simply doing what each child enjoys. The aim is to create an environment that feels as normal and comfortable as possible, while providing the specialist support each child needs. They also talk about the scale of the fundraising challenge. Across its services, Cherry Trees costs around £3 million a year to run, with roughly half coming from local authority funding and the remainder needing to be raised through the community, businesses, events and individual supporters. Community has been central to Cherry Trees from the beginning. Will shares how local people helped secure the charity's East Clandon home, how relationships with neighbouring businesses and organisations continue to support its work, and why small local charities depend so heavily on genuine, long-term connections. The conversation also covers the charity's expansion into Hampshire with Goldcrest Lodge, opened earlier this year in response to growing demand, as well as the different ways people and businesses across Surrey can get involved. For Will, supporting a local charity shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all relationship. Cherry Trees invites people to visit, meet the team, understand the work and find a way of helping that feels meaningful to them. It's a conversation about care, community, fundraising and the importance of giving families space to recharge while making sure children still get to enjoy life on their own terms. In this podcast, the terms "learning disability" and "Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP)" were incorrectly referred to as "mental disability" and "emergency healthcare plan."

Lisa Duncan lives at the foot of Holmbury Hill, surrounded by some of the most beautiful woodland in the Surrey Hills. It's also where she practises something many of us have heard of, but perhaps do not fully understand: forest bathing. In this episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, Lisa joins Martin in the pinetum on Holmbury Hill, surrounded by more than 30 varieties of conifer planted around the millennium. Lisa explains that forest bathing has very little to do with covering miles or reaching a destination. Instead, it's about slowing down, using the senses and becoming properly present in the landscape around you. She talks about the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, the research behind spending time among trees and why an ordinary walk in the woods, especially with a dog, children or a friend, can feel very different from a guided forest bathing session. Lisa also shares her own journey. Born in Hawaii to a Japanese mother and American father, she grew up with both a strong connection to nature and an appreciation of Japanese culture, including its close relationship with the seasons. Her career initially took her in a very different direction, working in strategy at Sony. Years later, as her daughters began leaving home and the Covid pandemic changed daily life, Lisa found herself returning to something that had always been there. A former Sony colleague had gone on to become involved with forest therapy in Japan, helping introduce Lisa to the practice. She trained as a forest bathing practitioner and created HINOKI Forest Bathing here in Surrey. Lisa explains some of the invitations she uses during a session, from searching for particular shades of green to noticing birdsong, smelling different trees and simply moving through the woodland at a much slower pace. She also talks about why phones and cameras stay firmly out of sight. The conversation ends with another Japanese influence: tea. Lisa incorporates a tea ritual into the end of her forest bathing sessions, using herbs and plants chosen for the season and setting. Sitting beneath the trees, she prepares a tea of Scots pine and mugwort and explains how even drinking a cup of tea can become an exercise in slowing down and paying attention. It is a conversation about nature, attention, Japanese culture and what we might discover when we stop trying to get somewhere and simply notice where we already are.

Mandira Sarkar grew up on a tea plantation in Assam, in a childhood filled with elephants, ponies, leopards and boarding school in the hills of Shillong.  After studying in Calcutta and completing an MBA in Delhi, she moved to England with her husband for what was meant to be one year. Twenty-eight years later, Surrey is firmly home. In this episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, Mandira joins Martin at Silent Pool in Albury, the atmospheric setting for Mandira's Kitchen. She explains how a 17-year career in management consultancy gave way to a food business that began with £750, a social media post and a small pop-up supper. What followed was catering, handmade freezer meals, local farm shops, a kitchen inside a 400-year-old cowshed and, eventually, a café. Mandira also shares her determination to challenge British ideas about Indian food and restore some of the history, variety and power that spices have lost in the modern kitchen. The conversation takes a more serious turn as Mandira reflects on the immigration raid carried out at Mandira's Kitchen while she was away. She describes its effect on her staff, why she chose to speak publicly about what happened and the wider questions it raised for her about race, immigration and belonging in Britain. Mandira also speaks candidly about the reality behind the awards and public recognition. Despite praise from Nigella Lawson and 15 food awards, running an independent hospitality business remains demanding, financially difficult and all-consuming. This is a conversation about childhood, migration, identity, prejudice, entrepreneurship and the complicated reality of building a business you love. Find out more about Mandira's Kitchen at mandiraskitchen.com. The Surrey Hills Portrait: stories from the people who live, work and create here.

Ben Seale spent more than a decade working in television, with credits including The Repair Shop, the BBC Proms, Glastonbury, Hairy Bikers and the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance. But his journey into filmmaking was far from conventional. In the first episode of The Surrey Hills Portrait, Ben joins me in Dorking to talk about television, creativity and building a film company around the subjects that genuinely matter to him. Half British and half Swiss, Ben received an invitation at 18 to complete military service in Switzerland. He stayed for several years, becoming an officer in the Swiss Air Force and gaining experience in leadership, logistics and project management. Those skills would prove unexpectedly useful when he eventually started running his own production company. Ben describes how difficult it was to break into television without existing contacts. His first opportunity came through a production filming with Sean Bean in Belgium, where a connection with the director eventually led to work on Hairy Bikers and opened the door to the BBC. After 12 years in the industry, long periods away from home, shrinking production budgets and wider changes in television prompted him to consider a different path. Directed by Good grew from Ben's desire to make films about the subjects he cares about most: British history, heritage, traditional crafts, music, culture and the countryside. It also gave him the opportunity to create a business shaped by his own values. Through its Create With Care pledge, Directed by Good gives five per cent of every production fee to charity. Clients can add a further five per cent, which the company will match, allowing as much as 15 per cent of a project's value to support UK charities. Ben also speaks honestly about the less visible reality of starting a creative business. Alongside the cameras, fascinating people and interesting locations are contracts, release forms, administration, networking and the constant challenge of finding new clients. Looking ahead, Ben doesn't want Directed by Good to become an enormous production company. His ambition is to build a respected small team, producing distinctive work across the UK while offering good pay, proper holidays and a healthy working environment. Most importantly, creating the company has allowed him to reconnect with the things he loves, spend more time at home and start playing the tuba again with Mole Valley Silver Band. This is an open and thoughtful conversation about television, creativity, self-employment and building a business around work that matters to you. Find out more about Ben and his work at directedbygood.com. The Surrey Hills Portrait: stories from the people who live, work and create here.

Welcome to The Surrey Hills Portrait, a new podcast sharing stories from the people who live, work and create across the Surrey Hills. In this short introduction, host and portrait photographer Martin Bamford explains what inspired the series and what you can expect from the conversations ahead. Find out more at bamfordphoto.co.uk/podcast.