Meet The Team
MEET THE TEAM BEHIND ARDVENTURES
Experience matters when you venture off the beaten track.
At Ardventures, our team combines decades of real-world 4×4 experience, expedition leadership and professional driver training to deliver exceptional adventures across the UK, Europe and North Africa. Passionate, knowledgeable and genuinely committed to helping you get the very best from your vehicle and your adventure — meet the people behind the journey.
Russ Dykes
MD of Ardventures, tour leader, first aider and lead instructor.
Before founding Ardventures alongside his daughter Libby — herself a passionate Land Rover enthusiast — Russ built an extensive career within the Land Rover network, serving as Dealer Principal at multiple dealerships across North Yorkshire. With decades of hands-on experience in the 4×4 world, his knowledge of off-road vehicles, expedition travel and driver capability is exceptionally deep.
Since launching Ardventures in 2011, Russ has grown the business into a respected provider of premium 4×4 tours and expeditions across the UK, Europe, North Africa and West Africa. Today, Ardventures also delivers professional 4×4 driver training, expedition planning and strategic off-road consultancy.
As a RoSPA-certified 4×4 instructor with decades of real-world experience, Russ combines technical expertise with a calm, practical approach to off-road driving. Whether leading a remote overland expedition or helping drivers develop confidence behind the wheel, few people are better qualified to guide your next adventure.
Paul Howe
Tech guru.
Paul is the technical mind behind Ardventures, responsible for developing and maintaining the website, digital systems and much of the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that keeps everything running smoothly.
His 4×4 journey began while living in the USA, where weekends and spare time were often spent exploring some of the country’s most spectacular landscapes. From the vast wilderness of Utah’s San Rafael Desert to iconic destinations such as Moab and the Grand Canyon, off-road exploration quickly became a way of life.
After returning to the UK, Paul stepped away from the 4×4 world for a time — until discovering Ardventures online and getting in touch with Russ. That connection reignited a passion for adventure and began a journey that would ultimately see him become an integral part of the Ardventures team.
Away from the 4×4 world, Paul is an Infor SunSystems Support Consultant.
Julian Mark
4×4 instructor and coach.
Julian brings more than a decade of experience exploring and leading groups across the unsurfaced lanes of the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, and Lake District. Having safely guided numerous green laning enthusiasts through some of the UK’s most challenging terrain, he possesses extensive real-world knowledge of off-road driving in vehicles including the INEOS Grenadier, Jeep, and Land Rover.
His career-long experience as an Advanced Trauma Life Support instructor has equipped him with exceptional people skills, enabling him to adapt to diverse personalities, confidence levels, and learning styles, ensuring every participant feels supported and gains the most from their experience.
Away from the lanes, Julian coaches individuals through their professional career journeys, guided by the principle of “understanding self, realising potential” — an approach he also brings to off-road driver development. Prior to this, Julian enjoyed a distinguished medical career as an anaesthetist and pre-hospital care doctor, later serving as an Executive Medical Director within the NHS.
A passionate advocate for responsible access to the countryside, Julian strongly supports the Green Lane Association’s Code of Conduct, encouraging the sympathetic, respectful, and lawful use of unsurfaced roads.
More information coming soon!