Our Trustees

James Boulding

After graduating with a Maths degree, James chose an unconventional career path, pursuing a profession in the watersports industry and travelling the world as a professional kiteboarder.

Along the way, he developed a passion for photography and videography, working as a freelancer for outdoor brands whose values are closely connected to nature and environmental stewardship. He is currently Marketing Manager for a leading watersports brand.

Spending much of his life on, in and around the water has given James a deep appreciation for the natural world. Experiencing rivers, lakes and coastlines firsthand has fostered a strong interest in protecting environments and supporting the conservation of the wildlife that depends upon them.

Living within the Cotswold Lakes, close to the Neigh Bridge Country Park, James enjoys spending time outdoors and regularly encounters kingfishers, otters, and a wide variety of other wildlife. He is particularly excited by opportunities to demonstrate how recreation and conservation can work together.

Through his involvement with the Cotswold Lakes Trust, he hopes to support the development of Cleveland Lakes as a place where people can safely enjoy watersports and open-water swimming while protecting and enhancing the habitats and wildlife that make the area so special.

Martin Kingston

Martin has had a lifelong interest in wildlife of all kinds, fostered by an enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable father and supplemented over my working life by involvement with projects which have had significant ecological elements of all kinds.

He is a keen walker and lives close to the Cotswold Lakes in Kemble, and takes full advantage of the amazing range of sites and walks that the area offers.

Having been a member of the bar since 1972 and a QC since 1992, the main focus of his professional life has been town and country planning and environmental law issues. For the last two decades he has specialised in major strategic scale projects and strategic planning issues. He has been involved with includes nuclear power stations, rail freight interchanges, new settlements and major urban extensions.

He has been involved with a range of development plan issues dealing with both urban and rural areas. My work has involved regular appearances in the higher courts including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Pippa Langford

Pippa is the Principal Specialist in Recreation and Access for Natural England, and currently also Co-Chair of the Outdoor Recreation Network (ORN). Pippa’s Natural England role includes providing advice and evidence to Defra and others about the management of recreation in the natural environment.

She is particularly interested in the accessibility of outdoor places, working with bodies such as the Disabled Ramblers, Cycling UK, Ramblers, British Horse Society, British Canoeing and Paths for All (Scotland) to understand and meet the needs of a wide range of people who want to do a wide range of activities outdoors. As Co-Chair of ORN Pippa guides the programme of conferences and workshops to support the development of outdoor recreation professionals and share knowledge from across the UK and Ireland.

Pippa has worked for Natural England and its predecessor, the Countryside Agency, since 2004, and before that was Director and Company Secretary for Wildlife and Countryside Link. She is also a Chartered Manager and a member of the Institute of Public Rights of Way.

She is excited by the Trust’s unique mission to benefit both nature and people and finds many synergies between her work and her role as Trustee. She enjoys the satisfaction of supporting the dedicated Trust staff and to help them improve the nature around the site and what it offers to people.

Mike Low

Mike lives in Ashton Keynes and knows the Lakes area well through his keen interest in cycling as well as dog walking. He also enjoys sailing, gardening and DIY. Having previously been a Trustee between 2012-18 he wanted to rejoin to help to move the Trust to the next phase.

In his last job he was head of British Standards and vice president of EU standards organisation. He previously ran Amey rail and before that spent 30 years in the power industry, ending as head of Nuclear Generation for British Energy.

He has been a keen proponent of environmental protection throughout his career and through his role as Trustee he is keen on ensuring the biodiversity of the Cotswold Lakes.

Jeff Sissons

With a breadth of commercial and charitable experience, Jeff is experienced in influencing at all levels of complex organisations as well as working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders in commercial and charitable sectors.

He has a passion for connecting with the natural environment, and serves as a trustee of the Field Studies Council (a leading provider of environmental education) and Ramble Worldwide Outdoor Trust (providing grant funding for a range of outdoor activities), in addition to the Cotswold Lakes Trust. 

He complements his long held personal interest in the natural environment with academic study as a mature student, graduating from the University of Gloucestershire in 2019 with the award of MSc Applied Ecology which included a dissertation focused on pollen collected by honeybees (Apis mellifera) in rural and urban areas of Gloucestershire.

When not fulfilling my duties as a trustee he is often found walking in the hills with his dogs, recently completing a six year journey to complete all 214 Wainwrights in the Lake District.

Chris Snook

Chris is a retired CEO of an international plc with extensive experience of running and developing businesses.

Having been a Cotswold Lakes Trust volunteer for a number of years, he felt that his leadership experience would be invaluable to the Trust. He wanted to give something back and the roles of volunteer and Trustee were a natural fit.

His interests in nature and photography are a natural fit for understanding and helping the Trust develop.

He lives in the middle of the Cotswold Lakes and spends a lot of time walking the family dog and photographing the wildlife. 

Heidi Thompson

Heidi is currently Group Privacy Counsel at Imperial Brands PLC, an international FTSE 100 Company based in Bristol.

As a commercial lawyer and Chartered Governance Professional, Heidi has worked in large organisations and small, building experience of corporate governance, legal risk management and data protection law.

Heidi lives in Cheltenham with her husband and has two grown-up children. She loves being outside and close to nature and believes our natural environment is a precious thing to be safeguarded for future generations.

She is delighted to become a Trustee and looks forward to serving the Board and the Trust. She is Trustee and Chair of the Trust’s Governance Committee.

Judith Walpole

Judith has lived in the Cotswolds since 1983 and has always enjoyed country life, having been brought up on a farm in the Scottish Borders. A few years ago, she started year-round swimming in one of the lakes, enjoying the open space and watching the wildlife passing by.

Her involvement with the Trust began when she volunteered at the Visitor Centre and marshalled some events. She used the opportunity to learn about more about the area by exploring the walks and joining a bird song guided tour. She wanted to contribute more, and the opportunity of becoming a Trustee was very appealing, especially with her previous experience of marketing with charities. She most recently worked for eight years in the marketing department of English Heritage, recruiting and retaining members.