Phil Brooke

Phil Brooke Longbows is based in a beautiful private woodland in the heart of the High Weald, East Sussex, where Phil serves as woodland manager. The woodland is managed traditionally through the courses delivered on site, with two primary goals at its heart: wildlife conservation and education.

Phil is a woodsman, bushcraft specialist, and traditional bowyer. He founded Chosen Paths Bushcraft in 2011, and since then the company has evolved into Phil Brooke Longbows. Today, the focus remains the same — delivering high-quality, experience-based outdoor education rooted in traditional skills and deep woodland knowledge.

Phil teaches a broad range of subjects, including:

Traditional Bow Making
Bushcraft
Deer Butchery
Primitive Technology
Arrow Smithing
Deer Stalking & Mentoring
Woodland Management
Practical Ethnobotany
Animal Tracks and Sign

Phil has been closely connected to Woodcraft School for over 15 years first as a student, then as an instructor, and now as Chief Instructor, a role he has held for more than 10 years.

He successfully completed the ten-month Certificate in Bushcraft Leadership in 2011 and began working for the school almost immediately, quickly establishing himself as an excellent and thoughtful teacher. He has a particular passion for traditional archery and works full-time as a bowyer when not delivering bushcraft courses.

Phil is also a dedicated naturalist. During a recent trailing evaluation, he attained Level 3 (97%). Coupled with his existing Track and Sign score (97%), this makes him a Level 3 Tracker through CyberTracker Conservation. He is also a highly knowledgeable plantsman with a particular interest in herbal medicine.

Background

Prior to 2011, Phil served in an Armoured Infantry unit within the British Army, deploying worldwide, including tours in the Middle East. During his service, he completed over 500 skydives and was a demonstration jumper for his regimental free-fall team.

After leaving the military, Phil embarked on a journey around the world, travelling to some of the most remote and wild places he could find — the Himalayas, India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, and beyond. It was during this period that his deep love for the natural world truly began, marking the start of his lifelong commitment to bushcraft and traditional skills.

Qualifications

Having completed these programmes as a student at Woodcraft School, Phil has since been privileged to run many of them as Lead Instructor. Having once stood in the student’s position himself, he brings a rare depth of empathy and insight to those now undertaking their own journeys — enabling a high standard of instruction rooted in experience.

Professional Qualifications:

Certificate of Bushcraft Leadership Level 4 – Woodcraft School
Practical Ethnobotany and Plant Identification Level 4 – Woodcraft School
Wildlife Identification and Tracking Level 4 – Woodcraft School
Certificate in Traditional Bow Making Level 4 – Woodcraft School
Certificate of Applied Bushcraft Level 4 – Woodcraft School
Advanced Bushcraft Award Level 3 – Woodcraft School
The Art of Tracking – Level 3 Tracker (97%) – CyberTracker Conservation
The Art of Trailing – Level 3 Tracker (97%) – CyberTracker Conservation
British Deer Society/Lantra Deer Management Qualification – Passed with Merit
Deer Stalking Certificate 1 (DSC1) – British Deer Society
British Deer Society/Lantra Wild Game Meat Hygiene – Trained Hunter Status
NPTC Felling and Processing Trees – Level 2 City & Guilds
NPTC Cross Cutting and Chainsaw Maintenance – Level 2 City & Guilds

Ethos

I am in love with this world . . . I have climbed its mountains, roamed its forests, sailed its waters, crossed its deserts, felt the sting of its frosts, the oppression of its heats, the drench of its rains, the fury of its winds, and always have beauty and joy waited upon my goings and comings. John Burroughs