Meet the team
Rachel WakeMarket garden managerRachel has been working around the UK in various roles in horticulture and agriculture since 2009. She trained as a gardener with the National Trust for Scotland and then completed a two-year Biodynamic agriculture apprenticeship. She met Ian in 2020 while working as head grower at an organic market garden in Worcestershire, and has been based in Perthshire since 2023. Outside of growing she enjoys walking, camping, yoga, and reading.
Ian MachacekMarket gardenerIan has been working as a gardener in one capacity or another for around twelve years. Deciding to move on from the maintenance & landscaping side of things to focus on food production, he spent 2018 working on various farms in the UK and Southern Europe before securing his first seasonal grower role in 2019. Since then he has worked at a number of other projects around the country, working alongside Rachel since they met in 2020, and first moved up to Scotland in 2023. Ian is fond of wildlife (as long as it's not munching on his crops!), plays guitar & mandolin and sings folk tunes, dabbles in green woodworking, and enjoys hiking, camping, foraging, and learning old country crafts & other related land-based skills.
Amanda NutkinsAmanda has a background in countryside and environmental management and also hospitality and tourism. Passionate about trees and the outdoors and has lots of experience in working in remote areas in Scotland. Based at Monzie, Amanda has been on the Monzie/Largo team since 2018 and is involved with lots of the background work for Largo Estate.
David CrichtonDavid’s great grandfather Charles Julian Maitland Makgill Crichton inherited the estate in 1901. He was killed during the Battle of Loos in 1918 and the estate subsequently was passed down to David’s grandfather Douglas and later his father Charles. Charles divided his time between Largo and Monzie, building an ambitious farming enterprise. David remembers fondly helping pick strawberries and later herbs for restaurants. Unfortunately Charles died suddenly in the 90s forcing the family to sell much of the farmland and David made a career in London to help subsidise the family’s enterprises in Scotland. He recently returned to Scotland with his young family to begin the journey of making both estates sustainable and restoring them to former glory.
Kenneth WallaceJoinery ManagerA skilled joiner, Kenneth will assist in the management of restoration and building work at Largo.
Alexandra CrichtonAlexandra Crichton, a marketing professional, has joined David in Scotland with the same ambitions to make Monzie and Largo sustainable. The couple have already secured the future of Monzie, running a successful holiday business. Alexandra is passionate about good food, sustainability and the couple are keen to create something that will benefit the community. Their next ambition is to become a certified B Corporation.
Rachel has been working around the UK in various roles in horticulture and agriculture since 2009. She trained as a gardener with the National Trust for Scotland and then completed a two-year Biodynamic agriculture apprenticeship. She met Ian in 2020 while working as head grower at an organic market garden in Worcestershire, and has been based in Perthshire since 2023. Outside of growing she enjoys walking, camping, yoga, and reading.
Ian has been working as a gardener in one capacity or another for around twelve years. Deciding to move on from the maintenance & landscaping side of things to focus on food production, he spent 2018 working on various farms in the UK and Southern Europe before securing his first seasonal grower role in 2019. Since then he has worked at a number of other projects around the country, working alongside Rachel since they met in 2020, and first moved up to Scotland in 2023. Ian is fond of wildlife (as long as it's not munching on his crops!), plays guitar & mandolin and sings folk tunes, dabbles in green woodworking, and enjoys hiking, camping, foraging, and learning old country crafts & other related land-based skills.
Amanda has a background in countryside and environmental management and also hospitality and tourism. Passionate about trees and the outdoors and has lots of experience in working in remote areas in Scotland. Based at Monzie, Amanda has been on the Monzie/Largo team since 2018 and is involved with lots of the background work for Largo Estate.
David’s great grandfather Charles Julian Maitland Makgill Crichton inherited the estate in 1901. He was killed during the Battle of Loos in 1918 and the estate subsequently was passed down to David’s grandfather Douglas and later his father Charles. Charles divided his time between Largo and Monzie, building an ambitious farming enterprise. David remembers fondly helping pick strawberries and later herbs for restaurants. Unfortunately Charles died suddenly in the 90s forcing the family to sell much of the farmland and David made a career in London to help subsidise the family’s enterprises in Scotland. He recently returned to Scotland with his young family to begin the journey of making both estates sustainable and restoring them to former glory.
A skilled joiner, Kenneth will assist in the management of restoration and building work at Largo.
Alexandra Crichton, a marketing professional, has joined David in Scotland with the same ambitions to make Monzie and Largo sustainable. The couple have already secured the future of Monzie, running a successful holiday business. Alexandra is passionate about good food, sustainability and the couple are keen to create something that will benefit the community. Their next ambition is to become a certified B Corporation.
Interested in joining the Largo team?
You can find out about volunteering with us by completing our emailing sales@largoestate.co.uk
Jobs will be advertised on our recruitment page.