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A Life Of Opening Doors

£19.95

Published 23rd October 2026

A Life Of Opening Doors - Of Flying Helicopters and Farming; Of Vehicles for Disabled People and Rest Homes; Of Bed & Breakfasts and Websites and Automata.

This is the remarkable story of a life shaped by determination and innovation.

Beginning with a candid account of his 1940s childhood and private education, we follow Robin Adeney’s journey through commercial pilot training at Hamble, conversion to helicopters, and a varied flying career in crop spraying and executive air transport that took him across the UK, Nigeria, Greece and beyond.

Family life eventually prompted a dramatic change of direction, and Robin and his wife, Elizabeth, turned to farming in Dorset, where they brought up their two boys, but where the rewards and challenges of working alongside his father ultimately tested both family ties and ambition.

Never one to stand still, the author describes the thinking and research that led to his

development of pioneering mobility solutions for disabled people, before he and Elizabeth

established two successful residential care homes dedicated to enriching the lives of their residents in Dorset. Then retirement from that venture led to yet another success story, with two VisitBritain 5-star Bed & Breakfasts renowned for their quality and hospitality.

Honest, thoughtful and often inspiring, this is a fascinating account of a life lived to the full—one filled with adventure, enterprise, setbacks, reinvention and the enduring belief that every new challenge offers another opportunity.

ISBN: 9781852002251

Size: 217x140mm

Binding: hardback

121 Photos

Length: 303pp

Published 23rd October 2026

A Life Of Opening Doors - Of Flying Helicopters and Farming; Of Vehicles for Disabled People and Rest Homes; Of Bed & Breakfasts and Websites and Automata.

This is the remarkable story of a life shaped by determination and innovation.

Beginning with a candid account of his 1940s childhood and private education, we follow Robin Adeney’s journey through commercial pilot training at Hamble, conversion to helicopters, and a varied flying career in crop spraying and executive air transport that took him across the UK, Nigeria, Greece and beyond.

Family life eventually prompted a dramatic change of direction, and Robin and his wife, Elizabeth, turned to farming in Dorset, where they brought up their two boys, but where the rewards and challenges of working alongside his father ultimately tested both family ties and ambition.

Never one to stand still, the author describes the thinking and research that led to his

development of pioneering mobility solutions for disabled people, before he and Elizabeth

established two successful residential care homes dedicated to enriching the lives of their residents in Dorset. Then retirement from that venture led to yet another success story, with two VisitBritain 5-star Bed & Breakfasts renowned for their quality and hospitality.

Honest, thoughtful and often inspiring, this is a fascinating account of a life lived to the full—one filled with adventure, enterprise, setbacks, reinvention and the enduring belief that every new challenge offers another opportunity.

ISBN: 9781852002251

Size: 217x140mm

Binding: hardback

121 Photos

Length: 303pp

About the author:

Robin Adeney

Born in 1938, the author Robin Adeney was privately educated at Dumpton Prep School in Wimborne and Monkton Combe School in Bath. He trained for fixed-wing flying with Air Service Training at Hamble and continued helicopter and commercial flying with Helicopter Services, Fison-Airwork Ltd and Management Aviation Ltd, which he helped set up, ahead of having a varied and interesting flying career. Following this, Robin studied farming at the Cambridge Farm Institute and various other farms before he and his wife, Elizabeth, joined his father at the family farm.

He both designed and manufactured specialist vehicles for disabled people, and spent many years helping Elizabeth manage their two rest homes before they moved on to running two separate award-winning bed and breakfast establishments.

To this day, Robin Adeney remains creative and busy, now working on his highly successful automata from his home in Watchet in Somerset.