Find out more about the team at Go Beyond Holidays…
To read more just click on the link at the bottom of each person’s profile. You’ll be taken to another page where you will also be able to watch a video of that team member introducing themselves.
About us
Meet the team
Ian Callen – co-founder and director
Ian is the founder and one of the directors of Go Beyond. Ian has lived in France for 15 years. He has been a qualified teacher since 2007. Ian knows the region extremely well and spends his spare time climbing, walking and photographing the Gorges du Verdon. He also presents a fortnightly radio show for local to the area, Radio Verdon, a show that celebrates British music.
Ian worked in at The Olive Tree International School teaching photography, horticulture, conservation, biology and astronomy to children with challenging behaviour. In Bristol, England Ian worked for the Brandon Trust, teaching conservation and horticulture to people with learning disabilities. He lives with his wife, Anna, and three children, Joseph, Jasmine and Poppy, in the Provencal town of Riez.
Ian has a City & Guilds teaching qualification, RHS General and Advanced certificates in horticulture. Ian is trained in First Aid to British Red Cross Standard (January 2019). Ian also has training in Epilepsy and Midazolam, Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and the Mental Capacity Act.
Anna Callen
Anna is one of the directors of Go Beyond and oversees the administrative side of the holidays. She has lived in France for over 15 years and has worked in a variety of roles including teaching and administration. She currently works as a translator as well as doing administrative work for Go Beyond. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, baking, sewing and listening to music.
Anna worked at The Olive Tree International School teaching French and Spanish to children with challenging behaviour. In Bristol, England, Anna spent half of her working week working as Personnel Administrator for The Priory Hospital and the other half as a Translations Coordinator for the charity Tearfund.
She lives with her husband, Ian, and three children, Joseph, Jasmine and Poppy, in the Provençal town of Riez.
Karen Galway
Hi, my name is Karen Galway and I was born in Leicester, before moving to beautiful Cornwall in 1982.
I have 3 gorgeous daughters, Kaye, Kerry and Katrina (we like the letter K), and I am blessed with 6 lively grandchildren; Kieran, Kaitlin, Jowan, Sam, Amelia and Leo.
Having active grandchildren keeps me on my toes and allows me to share my passion for the outdoors with them. We enjoy camping trips, kayaking, climbing, sailing, walking and horse riding together.
I first started work as a machinist, stitching and making clothes, textiles led me to art, another of my passions. I decided to take this further and I enrolled an access to art course. I wanted to share art with others and I began to support people on a youth and community scheme. I was lucky enough to support people on holidays within the scheme to Brittany, France and Italy.
I have gained other qualifications along my way including a BTEC in Social Care, RSA Counselling, Health and Social Care level 2 and 3, and I have also completed an outdoor education course.
All of this has been put in good use with what I currently do.
I am naturally a caring person, who enjoys helping others, enabling them to live their best lives. As well as working for Go Beyond Holidays, I work for the NHS in local hospitals and at the moment I am spending most of my time supporting people with learning disabilities in their own homes.
I have been working with Go Provence/Go Beyond since 2013, experiencing many different types of holidays.
Kevin Bunch
Kevin is the newest member of our team and we’re so delighted to have him on board. Born in Birmingham, he studied Travel & Tourism in his home city, before heading off travelling for a few weeks. 12 years later (!), Kevin returned and made his home in South Wales where he still resides with his long-term partner Louise, and 17-year-old daughter Ffion.
Kevin set up his own poetry writing company in 2018 which offers bespoke poems for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries but now specialises in writing wedding speeches and wedding vows – all in rhyme! Although new to the company as an employee, his connection with Go Beyond stretches back a long way. We have used his services to provide poems for many of our guests over the years and has also contributed to some of our promotional video work. His friendship with co-directors Ian, Anna and Neil stretches back to the early 1990’s and he has been a huge advocate of our work ever since the days of Go Provence. Kevin has always championed us and the work we do, even joining us on Zoom calls with some of our guests! So, when we were looking for someone to join our ranks, with our knowledge of him as a person, his background in tourism and just being an all-round nice guy, we were delighted when he accepted our offer!
When Kevin’s not working he loves nothing more than spending days with his partner, daughter and their rescue greyhound Flo-Jo. He is a former DJ so loves his music and is also the most fanatical Aston Villa supporter on the planet!
Su Porter
Su Holborn lives in Devon sandwiched between the open vistas of Dartmoor and the stunning South Devon coast, both of these being visited regularly for work and play. During her career in education, she worked with all ages and abilities in a variety of environments. Su trained as a PE Teacher, became an international Outward Bound tutor, teacher, youth leader, a wife and mother, Professional Mountaineer, University Lecturer and has recently retired. For over 20 years at Marjon, Plymouth, Su taught, coached, and nurtured her students’ talents, affectionately known as the Outdoor Adventure Mum to all.
Su may have stopped working full time but she became self-employed continuing to work with National Organisations to develop future outdoor instructors and more locally for a friend on school residential courses, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and other group residentials, which is how she became involved with Go Beyond, Dartmoor 2021.
John Ryde
John Ryde has been married for over 40 years and lives in rural Dorset. He has two grown up daughters and, in the last two years, 3 grandchildren. The grandchildren keep him fairly busy! For most of his life he was a secondary school science teacher and in recent years has really enjoyed working for Able2Achieve, a company that runs supported living placements and day provision for adults with learning disabilities and autism. John has organised and run numerous residential trips as a teacher and youth leader. John and his wife spent 6 years working with refugees and other disadvantaged people in northern Thailand, close to the Burma border. As part of their role in Thailand they helped to facilitate visiting teams. John has spent part of the last 4 summers with Go Provence in France and Italy.
John is also a Governor in a special school in Dorset. He is the link Governor for Safeguarding and the sixth form. He spends time in school as a volunteer in the sixth form most weeks. He has received recent training through Able2Achieve and Governor Services in safeguarding both for children and adults, medicines administration, first aid at work, the mental capacity act, epilepsy, autism and therapeutic behaviour management.
Helen Johnstone
Helen, our chef, will take your taste buds beyond!
From Ballater, living next door to Balmoral Castle, Helen has always loved being a chef.
The mother of two, she has now become a grandma.
Helen loves dogs, as well as walking, jogging, swimming and of course, chatting!
Laura Allen
Laura originally trained as a nursery nurse working in schools, before transferring her skills to community engagement work and enabling support work.
Laura is very artistic, studying to foundation degree level, loves playfulness, exploration and does not shy away from a challenge. Laura is a volunteer at her local theatre.
Her greatest pleasure in life is spending time with her granddaughter.
Joseph Callen
Joseph has grown up with Go Beyond Holidays.
He was there from the start, being the eldest child of Directors Ian and Anna.
Go Beyond has always been a family affair, and guests who’ve been coming since 2010 will have seen Joseph grow up.
Having joined the team as a 16-year-old back in 2019, Joseph has become part of the furniture. Now finishing his Geography degree at Exeter University, he’s planning to head to Edinburgh or London for a master’s in green finance or international political economy.
Jasmine Callen
Jasmine has grown up with Go Beyond Holidays.
She was there at the beginning, being Director’s Ian and Anna’s daughter, as a cheerful 4 year old, with lots of smiles for our guests.
Now a slightly more mature 19 year old, she is studying marine and Natural History photography at Falmouth University. Jasmine‘s biggest passion is photography, and hopes to one day be a photographer. She also enjoys diving, rockpooling, climbing, reading and listening to music.
Richard Thompson
Richard’s vision, knowledge, passion and commitment for making travel accessible and inclusive, everywhere, to everyone, is world renowned. His unique capacity to educate and enlighten sought around the globe.
And his is an epic journey. A fusion of independent exploration across more than 70 countries, four decades of tourism industry experience and half a lifetime turning adversity to advantage following his own life-changing changing personal injury.
Over the past 22 years, Richard has defined the ‘accessible’ market and redefined what is possible, crafting journeys of discovery – close to home and on distant shores, that rekindle travel ambitions and realise ‘impossible’ dreams, however complex a persons additional requirements might be and wherever in the world they want to go. It is motivating and inspiring.
And we are all motivated and inspired.
