THE PLMT TEAM
Our Trust is dedicated to providing the best experience for our visitors.
We have a small team of staff working throughout the year, fundraising, welcoming thousands of passengers, maintaining the boats, and carrying out the administration of bookings for our trips. We are also governed by our board of Trustees.
Our Staff
Kevin Cutts
Workshop Co-ordinator
I have been a volunteer crew at the Trust since the late 90s and enjoy both meeting the many people who come aboard as well as getting to spend time on the water. I became a skipper 7 years ago and enjoy all the different types of trips the Trust runs.
I retired from my career in 2022 and now work freelance for the Trust providing workshop coordination. This involves training the PLMT crew at the start of the season as well as arranging the maintenance for the boats and supporting our different projects.
Denise Adamson
Administrator
I’ve been the part-time administrator at the Trust since March 2018. It’s a wonderfully varied role from booking trips to making sure the boats are stocked with biscuits! The best part is meeting so many different people, from our dedicated volunteers to the groups enjoying a day on the canal.
I’ve been married to Gary for over 30 years. We have two grown-up children, Samuel and Rebecca, both teachers in Nottingham. We love long walks with our three energetic chocolate Labradors; they certainly keep us active!
Angie Whitmore
Volunteer and Community Coordinator
I originally worked for the Trust for four years, running the Youth and Peoples Project and am delighted to be back working at the Trust as their Volunteer and Community Coordinator. I am now looking after the volunteers and getting out into the local community.
I am an RYA qualified Helms and regularly go on narrowboat holidays. I have been married for 30 years to Paul, and we are Leicester Tigers season ticket holders.
Our Trustees
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Russell Price
Vice-Chair
Russell is the managing director of Samworth Farms Ltd, a diversified farming business which includes arable farming, commercial property, self-storage, renewable energy, and crop storage. Russell chairs a charitable foundation focused on less advantaged young people in Nottinghamshire, is a trustee of Uppingham School and was the founding chairman of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board.
“It’s evident to see the enormous positive impact that being on and around water has on passengers’ wellbeing, and it brings great pleasure to be a part of the team that enables this.”
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Janie Martin
Trustee
Having been an army wife for many years, I wanted to find a charity that I felt I could help when my husband retired. PLMT filled the bill perfectly, as I am a great believer in the calming influence and benefit to one’s mental health and general health by being either on or by the water.
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Venetia Francklin
Trustee
Venetia has been a Trustee since 2010. Over the years, she has raised funds and the profiles of a number of charities, including Children Fighting Cancer (formerly The Paul O'Gorman Foundation), Reach UK, which supports adults with learning disabilities, and The Children’s Trust, where
she had first-hand support for her daughter.
“I enjoy the positivity and enthusiasm of everyone who is involved at the Trust. The boat trips bring such joy. It is the most wonderful experience, particularly for someone in a wheelchair.”
Tom Hanmer
Trustee
Appointed as a Trustee in 2014, Tom specialises in filmmaking, working as a freelance editor in London, and director of photography. He has worked in Africa, Asia and Los Angeles. He has also spent several years as a farmer, and is currently setting up a permaculture farm in Dorset.
“I am lucky enough to live deep in nature and celebrate anything that allows access to the outdoors for those that may find it hard. The Peter Le Marchant Trust does that in buckets.”
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Rev. Clare Le Marchant Connell
Founder
Clare founded the Trust in memory of her brother Peter. With the money he had left to her, she wished to enable as many people as possible, whatever their age or disability, to enjoy the beauty of the countryside and the peace and joy of being on the water. In the face of early opposition, she had the first boat built to enable her vision to become a reality. Two years of successful boat trips later, the Trust was formed with full charitable status.
For many of the early years, Clare skippered the boats several days a week loving the days on the water, and delighting in the shared joy of volunteers and passengers alike. In due course Clare went to theological college and was later ordained priest, working within rural parishes. Clare is also responsible for a dairy farm, which supplies the milk to Colston Basset dairy, who make award-winning Stilton cheese.
Caroline Phillips
Chair
Caroline Phillips cut her teeth at the BBC as a broadcast journalist and has since spent over 25 years in marketing, business, and media production. She has two sons, and believes passionately in optimising people’s health, well-being and education. Her first children’s picture book, The Rotters, was published in 2023.
“When I first visited the Peter Le Marchant Trust in 2021, I was struck by its welcoming team and uplifting tranquil location. It is an honour to be part of such a dedicated group of volunteers, staff and trustees.”