A FIVE STAR SERVICE WITH MARK’S MUDDY BOOTS!
There can be few more passionate landscaping and fencing contractors in the UK than Scotsman Mark Gerrard of Muddy Boots.
You only have look down the list of testimonials on the East Lothian Trust a Trader website to realise Mark is an individual who consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty. Almost all of his customers give him five stars!
He loves what he does as becomes apparent when talking to him: “I always aim to work with the customer from the off. Listening to what they want is vital and adopting the highest of standards is very important to me.
“The reviews on the Trust a Trader website speak for themselves and it’s very helpful when customers leave glowing reviews.”
Mark, who hails from Edinburgh, works for residential customers across East Lothian and the Scottish Borders but sometimes travels a wee bit further afield to fulfil jobs.
“I love doing stock fencing,” continued Mark, “and it’s all generally done by hand. If I install a fence that is not of a sufficient quality then I’ll reinstall it.
“You can’t beat being your own boss and working outdoors. I’ve always been an outdoors type of person, inspired by my grandfather and uncle working as hill shepherds. I thoroughly enjoy the physical labour associated with my workload and it keeps me looking young!” added the fifty year old.
Mark’s journey has been a fascinating one. After doing a YTS at Edinburgh University in landscape gardening in 1986, he went on to work within the equestrian sector for a decade, counting many of the UK’s most famous equestrian personalities as clients. After a three month hiatus in Canada with relatives, Mark started working at a Dogs and Cats centre before gravitating into veterinary work back at Edinburgh University.
“I loved working with animals but always did a lot of gardening projects in my spare time. When my father died in 2011 it was a time of reflection for me and I started to focus on what I really wanted to do…to be my own boss.
“I carried out gardening, fencing and landscaping projects at weekends and in the evenings after leaving work and that laid very strong foundations for me to go it alone. Muddy Boots Garden & Fencing Services was born in the summer of 2014 and I’ve not looked back since!” added Mark who is married to the ‘ever supportive’ Angela with a 12-yearold daughter.
Looking towards the future, Mark knows where he is going: “I’d like to start employing one or two folks in the next year or so and also get back into equestrian work across Scotland. To that end I got in touch with Horserail after reading a feature on them in Fencing & Landscaping News.
“There’s a lot of horsey folk across Scotland and it would be great to get back into that line of work although I’ve plenty on with my residential work, including several maintenance contracts that provide ongoing work.
“It’s great to be busy and I’m always looking to learn and better myself. I’ve got Landmark Trust accreditation, City and Guilds qualifications and will soon be studying for RHS exams. This all offers peace of mind to my customers and keeps me on my toes!”
Mark is also ‘accredited’ to Wildflower Turf who created the iconic Olympic Park in London as well as Dalefoot Composts based in the Lake District.
“It’s about getting the best product at the best price to suit my customers’ needs so you need to work with quality suppliers.
“I’m committed to carefully and gradually growing my business in baby steps and I never want to become too big for my ‘muddy’ boots. I enjoy this job too much!” he concluded.
It’s obvious that Mark’s Muddy Boots really are made for working!
Muddy Boots Garden & Fencing Services: 07800 729299
