Martin Budgett

Martin retired from a career in education during which he specialised in transforming schools in challenging circumstances.  Since 2019 he has lived in the Eden Valley, Cumbria with his wife and four labradors. His lifelong love of the hills and mountains stems from childhood family holidays in South Wales, and developed further while at Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, when he spent much time in the Brecon Beacons in all seasons. He qualified as a Mountain Leader in 2001 in order to lead school groups in the high mountains of England and Wales, and also so as to run outdoor pursuits courses, usually in the Lake District, for his local ambulance service.

Sedbergh has featured in Martin’s life since 1988 as the base for school and adult residential trips, and a multinational youth summer camp he jointly led in 1999, which added a personal enthusiasm to his work on the Friends Way. Martin combines various musical interests – as an orchestral player, conductor, and organist – with being an active member of Kirkby Stephen Mountain Rescue Team.