Bushcraft articles, stories and adventures
One of my favourite times each month – the opportunity to guide a few families through a local woodland in the Chilterns. Blessed with wonderful sunshine, it was a lovely May afternoon to be exploring Penn Woods. Managed by the Woodland Trust, it is one of the largest ancient woodlands in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) totalling over 435 acres! Continue reading “Family walk through Penn Wood”
It was February, I had an opening in my diary, woohoo, nothing to do for a few days and the excitement of being able to do something just for me. It was time for an adventure, there was the call of the wild, a wish to explore somewhere new and the need to relax and enjoy being close to nature without the everyday pressures that modern life presents.
Looking at my long list of ideas for adventures, there it was a microadventure, a paddle down the Thames in my canoe, that was just the ticket. The plan, not much of one really, was simply to launch off near Cricklade, close to the rivers source and paddle down river, just going with the flow. Continue reading “Going with the flow”
There are many ways to light a fire and some of the basic deliver the most satisfaction. So have you ever tried to light a fire from a simple spark using a piece of flint and a steel? This should not be confused with a firesteel, one of those ferro or ferrocerium rods. When a firesteel is scraped properly it provides a shower of bright, white and extremely hot sparks to ignite a tinder bundle. Chipping away at a piece of flint with a steel by contrast creates paler sparks that are a cooler orange and far more sensitive to the tinder used. Continue reading “The making of char cloth tinder”
It’ll come as no surprise to those that know me, that baking bread is something I love to do. Whilst you can certainly bake a good loaf in your oven at home, baking your bread over a campfire is something really special. For me, it’s the process that brings such joy: The gathering of firewood and kindling, and the lighting of the fire, that brings the expectation of the bread to be eaten. Continue reading “Freshly baked sweet chestnut bread”
Have you ever injured your dominant hand badly enough that you had to learn how to use your other hand? I have been unfortunate enough to do this not once but twice, although the second was a shoulder injury, it still meant I couldn’t use my dominant hand. Seeking the positive, there was a benefit to me, in that I am now able to demonstrate carving techniques using either my left or dominant right hand. Being ambidextrous also helps those who are left-handed, because I can show them how to carve the way they would prefer, which means they don’t have to transpose the movements. Continue reading “Whittling with one hand”