Land & Wave Begins Its Next Chapter in Dorset

After more than 15 years building something truly rare on the Dorset coast, the founders of Land & Wave have handed the keys to the people who know it best - and the story of how they did it is as warm as the business itself.

A Dorset Outdoor Adventure Business Like No Other

based in Swanage on Dorset's spectacular Jurassic Coast, Land & Wave has spent 15 years becoming one of the UK's most respected names in outdoor education, instructor training, and rescue water safety. But what sets this Dorset adventure company apart isn't just the dramatic coastal backdrop, the nationally recognised qualifications, or the schools and colleges that travel from across the UK to enjoy here. It's the people and the remarkable story of what happens when you build a business on friendship.

In April 2026, Land & Wave completed a management buyout, with Co-Directors Rosie Tanner and Alex Mortimer taking ownership of the Swanage-based business they have called home for a combined two decades. It's a handover that feels less like a corporate transaction and more like a family heirloom being passed to the next generation.

From Friends to Founders: The Origins of Land & Wave

Land & Wave was founded in 2009 by Owen Senior and David Mutton - friends first, business partners second. That founding spirit shaped everything that followed.

As Owen himself reflects:

"Dave and I started Land & Wave 17 years ago. Our only real aspiration was to get some time off during the winter to have some cool adventures. The first 10 years were a wild ride — scary, stressful, and loads of fun. The best thing about the business was getting to work with friends and family every day. We never fell out. We were always there for each other — it made really difficult things achievable. It's all about the humans when it comes down to it." 

That ethos - it's all about the humans - turned out to be not just a philosophy but a way of life. Over the years, Land & Wave became a place where friendships deepened into partnerships, colleagues became partners, and siblings worked side by side. Children were born to people who had first met on one of its many adventure activities. The business didn't just employ people; it wove them together.

Rosie Tanner, one of the new co-owners, met her fiancé at Land & Wave, and she also happens to be Owen's sister-in-law. Co-owner Alex Mortimer is married to Jen, the company's Schools Manager. Phil Elwood, a member of the operations team, met his partner through work - now the mother of his three children. This is not a company that happens to have nice team culture. This is a company where the team is the culture.

Meet the New Owners: Rosie Tanner and Alex Mortimer

Rosie joined Land & Wave in 2013. Alex followed in 2018. Together, they bring over two decades of hands-on experience to their new roles as co-owners, not as outside investors, but as people who have grown with the business, shaped its direction, and are deeply embedded in the community it serves.

Their vision for Land & Wave is captured in the way they speak about the experience of simply walking through the door:

"When people walk through our doors, they always comment on the welcome they receive and how at home they feel — whether they've travelled from down the road or from the other end of the country. That sense of belonging is our ethos, and it always will be." - Rosie Tanner & Alex Mortimer, Co-Owners, Land & Wave Ltd

In the years since joining, Rosie and Alex have helped grow Land & Wave into a nationally recognised destination for schools, colleges, and outdoor professionals, most recently developing a specialist rescue water safety arm that draws trainees from across the UK to the Dorset coast.

Owen and David: A Legacy That Lives On

Owen Senior and David Mutton stepped back from day-to-day leadership in 2021. Both remain active in their own ways. David uses his experience to support businesses across Dorset as a consultant. Owen is in the mountains of North Wales, volunteering with Mountain Rescue.

Their legacy - a business built on genuine friendship, trust, and love of adventure - lives on in every session run on the Jurassic Coast, every qualification awarded, every school group that leaves having experienced something they couldn't get anywhere else.

Rooted in Dorset: Community at the Heart of Land & Wave

Despite its national profile, Land & Wave remains deeply rooted in the Dorset community. The team hosts The Big Swim at Sandbanks, an annual event celebrating International Women's Day that this year attracted national press coverage. They also deliver subsidised outdoor trips for local schoolchildren on pupil premium - making sure that access to the extraordinary natural environment on their doorstep isn't limited by family income.

2026 also sees the launch of two exciting new initiatives:

• The Female Adventure Grant — designed to open up Land & Wave's 15-week outdoor instructor training programme to women who might not otherwise be able to access it
• The Purbeck Adventure Grant — addressing economic inequality by supporting local people into the same programme

Both grants reflect a genuine commitment to making outdoor adventure and professional training accessible to everyone and not just those who can already afford it.

What's Next for Land & Wave in Dorset?

Under Rosie and Alex's leadership, Land & Wave has an ambitious and exciting road ahead:

• A new school camp in Purbeck, bringing even more young people into Dorset's extraordinary outdoor landscape
• Four new in-house Rescue 3 trainers, strengthening the rescue water safety programme that is already drawing professionals from across the UK
• An ever-deeper commitment to the communities of Swanage, Purbeck, and the wider Dorset coast

Experience Land & Wave for Yourself

Whether you're a school looking for an outdoor education programme with genuine heart, an aspiring outdoor professional seeking world-class instructor training, or someone who simply wants to experience the Jurassic Coast in the best possible company, Land & Wave is worth knowing about.

Founded on the Dorset coast in 2009, shaped by 15 years of friendship, expertise, and genuine community spirit and now entering its next chapter with the same values that started it all.

Land & Wave is based in Swanage, Dorset. For more information, visit their website or follow their story as Rosie and Alex write the next chapter of this remarkable Dorset business. 

 

Total Guide to Dorset celebrates the businesses, people, and places that make Dorset genuinely special. Land & Wave is one of them.