Iona & Ben

United Kingdom
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Travel information
We are currently
Travelling
Our next destination:
Canada - from Jun 2024 until Jul 2026
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Description
Hello!

We are Iona and Ben, a couple travelling from sunny Scotland. We love travelling and have explored lots of Europe and Central and South America and we are looking forward to our next adventure in Canada.

Here is a little bit about our work experience:

Iona -
I worked in wildlife conservation for the UK's largest wildlife conservation organisation. I have worked at several nature reserves across Scotland, my work ranges from practical habitat restoration and species monitoring to community outreach and outdoor education. My recent work has focused on monitoring Beavers, but previous roles have involved working with protected bird species, trail maintenance, leading wildlife events and leading outdoor education sessions with schools.

Before working in wildlife conservation, I worked in hospitality and volunteered at a cat shelter.

Ben -
I have worked as a mental health support worker for the past 3 years, and am currently studying for a MSc in Psychology. My support worker role included a lot of practical support, including cooking, cleaning, and other household and daily living tasks, and I have loved working with new people and learning about their experiences and cultures. I also have some experience working as a gardener, including horticulture, lawn mowing, driveway and path building, and light landscaping work. In addition, I have worked at music festivals for much of my life, involving anything from stage building and construction, marquee set up, sound engineering, and stage decoration. Additionally, I have also held a variety of hospitality and other customer facing jobs.

We are both keen hikers and climbers. We enjoy hiking Scotlands mountains on our time off, whatever the weather!

We are both very keen cooks (vegan) and enjoy cooking for others and sharing recipes. Ben loves baking bread, and Iona loves making cakes!!

We love to learn about other cultures and traditions and we would love to share traditions from Scotland- including making veggie haggis!
Interests
Winter sports
Technology
Team sports
Sustainability
Self development
Vegetarian or vegan
Politics / Social justice
Plant care
Photography
Pets
Outdoor activities
Nature
Music
Movies & TV
Mountain
Hiking
Gardening
Fitness
Events & social
Dancing
DIY & crafts
Culture
Camping
Charity work
Cooking & food
Animals
Adventure sports
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
French: Beginner
More details about my language interests
This workawayer has indicated that they would be interested in sharing their language(s) or learning a new language. You can contact them directly to discuss this.
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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Life at a Farmstay
Helping around the house
Animal Care
Hospitality/Tourism
Teaching
Languages
Being an elderly companion
House sitting
Able to teach about:
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Eco Projects
Charity Work
Helping with Computers/ Internet
More details about your skills
We both have experience as gardeners and some landscaping. We're both practical people and have experience with DIY and using hand tools, as well as a little experience using some power tools.
We both love to cook and bake and have done so for various groups during our travels.
We're also eager to learn any new skills!
Age
30 & 30
What else ...
We both have UK driving license.
We both have an IEC Visa for Canada!
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements
  vegan

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6 Jun 2025

Left by host (Authentic mountain escape in ...) for Workawayer ()

Iona and Ben are incredible humans all around; full of knowledge, curiosity, integrity, and humour! We were so lucky to have them join us and be a part of our homesteading journey in Brisco and would recommend that any other host consider having them at your place.

With respect to work, Iona and Ben have a great work ethic and were very eager to… read more

(Excellent )

6 Jun 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Authentic mountain escape in ...)

Our 3 weeks with Carla and James was such an incredible experience! Carla and James are both incredibly kind, considerate, and amazing company, and super knowledgable when it comes to their areas of work and interest - such as gardening, conservation, food security, and the outdoors. We really fell in love with their place in Brisco for many… read more

(Excellent )

16 May 2025

Left by host (Help with some outdoor ...) for Workawayer ()

Absolute perfect workaways! Great amazing workers, super kind and friendly and easy to accomodate! Happy to have back anytime :)

(Excellent )

14 May 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with some outdoor ...)

We had such a lovely time with Kirstie and Dan! They really welcomed us into their family and made us feel right at home. We loved the little caravan we stayed in, it had everything we needed. Kirstie cooked us some delicious meals and catered to our dietary requirements (vegan) really well. Our tasks were mostly in the forest clearing deadwood,… read more

(Excellent )

19 Apr 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help our family with some DIY ...)

We had such a nice time staying with Alanna in Banff! She was very welcoming and we felt at home right away. We enjoyed the varied tasks which ranged from helping around the home and garden to helping at Food Rescue, which is an amazing organisation which Alanna runs and is clearly very passionate about.
We enjoyed the structure of our days as it… read more

(Excellent )

18 Apr 2025

Left by host (Help our family with some DIY ...) for Workawayer ()

Iona and Ben were keen to help with whatever needed to be done. The weather was challenging so some of the outdoor work was dependant on the spring snowfalls. They picked up the dog poop a couple of times and brushed the dog. Iona and Ben worked together to help rake the yard when possible ( in between the snowfall) we then took a couple loads of… read more

(Excellent )

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6 Jun 2025

Left by host (Authentic mountain escape in ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

6 Jun 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Authentic mountain escape in ...)

(Excellent)

16 May 2025

Left by host (Help with some outdoor ...) for Workawayer ()

Absolute perfect workaways! Great amazing workers, super kind and friendly and easy to accomodate! Happy to have back anytime :)

(Excellent)

14 May 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with some outdoor ...)

(Excellent)

19 Apr 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help our family with some DIY ...)

(Excellent)

18 Apr 2025

Left by host (Help our family with some DIY ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

13 Mar 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Learn about forestry and ...)

We had such a lovely time with Steve and Parissa! We felt so welcomed into their lives and loved meeting the other volunteers too. The accommodation we stayed in was perfect and had everything we needed. It had a great balance of social time and personal space. There was great wildlife near the house too. The DIY we helped with was great fun and… read more

(Excellent)

7 Feb 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our nonprofit society ...)

We couldn't have asked for a better month staying with Ramsey and Leslie! We felt instantly welcome in their lovely home, it's the most 'at-home' we've felt during our travels. We were inspired by the work they do for the dementia social club, and the work they put in really reflects in the joy they bring to the attendees. We loved helping out… read more

(Excellent)

6 Feb 2025

Left by host (Join our nonprofit society ...) for Workawayer ()

WOW! It was such a gift for us to have Iona and Ben stay with us for a month. They are so considerate, caring, responsible, trustworthy and hardworking. They are incredible vegan cooks who joyfully prepared tasty , healthy and diverse dinners for us all month long, along with sourdough breads, bagels and other vegan baked delights.They were… read more

(Excellent)

14 Jan 2025

Left by host (Come and help on our little ...) for Workawayer ()

What an amazing couple and a perfect fit for our farm! Hosting Iona and Ben for the month was an absolute pleasure. They are two incredibly kind souls who brought positive energy to the house and were always eager to lend a hand.
We are deeply grateful for all their contributions and their hard work. They brought a wealth of skills and knowledge,… read more

(Excellent)

10 Jan 2025

Left by Workawayer () for host (Come and help on our little ...)

We had a lovely month at the farm! We were here in the winter but there were still plenty of tasks to complete, including pruning trees and freeze drying apples! We spent lots of time in the orchard where we saw eagles, hawks and deer. We loved that we could bake our own bread and test out recipes at the farm. We also cooked with so many apples!!… read more

(Excellent)

5 Nov 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help with our home and pets ...)

Wow!! We really did have the BEST time with Roz and Francis in Temagami, we couldn't have asked for a better Workaway!
We felt welcome in their home from the moment we arrived. We stayed for the month of October and got to help with a range of tasks including tree felling, firewood prep and helping cater for an event they hosted. Roz and Francis… read more

(Excellent)

8 Oct 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Enjoy the old growth forest ...)

We had a lovely stay with Regan! He is super kind and welcoming, and made us feel at home from the moment we arrived. Regans place is amazing, and we stayed in his beautiful cozy log cabin, which we loved - especially the wood stove at night. We worked on a few things during our 1 week stay, including collecting, splitting, and organising fire… read more

(Excellent)

4 Sep 2024

Left by host (Enjoy outdoor activities and ...) for Workawayer ()

What a great team!
If you want to have a short version: they are amazing :) ! If you love details keep reading.... Iona and Ben stayed with us almost three weeks in the summer. They adapted very quickly to our lifestyle and work on many different projects: landscaping, gardening, trail maintenance, assisting in construction, taking care of the… read more

(Excellent)

27 Aug 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Enjoy outdoor activities and ...)

We had such a lovely time with Stéphanie, Charles and their boys!
We stayed for almost 3 weeks. We enjoyed the work and it was very varied so we never got bored.
We loved spending time with the family. The boys are your typical teenage brothers but are polite, well mannered and funny. As Stéphanie said, if you don't speak French you can't… read more

(Excellent)

4 Sep 2024

Left by host (Ecology, permaculture, ...) for Workawayer ()

I had the pleasure of hosting Iona and Ben for one week and they accomplished such a variety of tasks with brio: weeding of large areas gone wild, covering with plastics and straw, loads of food tranformation of tomatoes, plums, harvesting of kiwis, elder and other fruits and vegetable. They are both brilliant, kind, positive and willing to… read more

(Excellent)

7 Aug 2024

Left by host (Reconnect with nature on our ...) for Workawayer ()

Any host would be lucky to host Iona & Ben! They were with us for a little under two weeks, and we have only praise for both their quality of work, and how easy they were to be around. They communicate clearly, take pride in their work, are friendly, polite, kind, demonstrate emotional maturity beyond their years, etc. They are welcome back any… read more

(Excellent)

6 Aug 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Reconnect with nature on our ...)

Wow! We really couldn’t have asked for a better workaway than this.

Karen and Mark were incredibly thoughtful and kind hosts, we felt very welcome in their home as soon as we arrived. We really enjoyed the tasks in the garden, and we loved learning from Karen who is a very knowledgeable gardener. We loved seeing the wildlife in the garden while… read more

(Excellent)

22 Apr 2018

Left by host (Join at an artsy beachfront ...) for Workawayer ()

Great couple and took pride in their work, got along with all. Thank you for coming and return anytime. I highly recommend them.

(Excellent)

15 Mar 2018

Left by host (Join us and our pets and ...) for Workawayer ()

Iona y Ben son una pareja muy chévere: son súper respetuosos, corteses y nos ayudaron en lo que necesitamos, incluso cuidando la casa y nuestras amadas mascotas en un viaje de última hora fuera de San Gil. Aunque no tuvimos suficientes oportunidades para intercambiar aprendizajes en idiomas, fue muy bueno practicar comprensión de inglés con… read more

(Excellent)

13 Mar 2018

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us and our pets and ...)

Eliana and Pedro are some of the friendliest and most welcoming people we have ever met, we instantly felt at home in their beautiful house. Eliana is also an amazing cook and kindly catered to our dietary requirements for breakfast. The pets are adorable!!! Walking caramelo and katara was a great way to start the day and we fell in love with… read more

(Excellent)

26 Nov 2017

Left by Workawayer () for host (Help create a centre for ...)

What an amazing experience! Spent 3 weeks here and the time flew. Peggy was a great host and a very kind and interesting person which made working at the farm really enjoyable. The location was also beautiful and the farm itself offered us plenty of delicious produce to try. Overall we would love to come back!

(Excellent)

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