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Levison Wood

Octane

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November 2025

Author, explorer and former Army officer

- Tamara Hinson

Levison Wood

I'VE JUST MOVED down to Devon and I’m spending a bit of time exploring the southwest in a Jeep Wrangler I’ve been loaned, which is great. I love working with brands that have a connection with exploration and adventure, which Jeep obviously has, and of course it’s quite a rugged vehicle! It’s lovely to drive - I haven't had the roof off yet because it rains quite a lot down here.

In my twenties I just drove around in my mum's Fiat Punto. Then I joined the Army and bought an Audi A4, which almost every officer at Sandhurst had. The car park was full of them. In the Army I was in the Parachute Regiment, so we spent most of our time jumping out of planes. There wasn't a lot of driving involved!

After I left, the Army decided it would be great to do something for a charity called The Ameca Trust - I’m one of its patrons. It was set up in honour of a friend of mine who died at university, and it’s helped build hospitals and maternity units in Malawi. I got together with a load of mates and we bought two Land Cruisers off eBay, turned them into ambulances and drove them from the UK to Malawi, across 27 countries.

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