Cold Bushcrafter

I spent the last couple of nights out in the woods of the Forest Knights Bushcraft School in Sussex.  The plan was to spend a couple of days with my good friend Richard chilling out and going through a few recipes for our outdoor cookery courses.  It’s always polite to try a recipe before subjecting it to paying customers.

The Sussex countryside is one of my favourite places in the UK with relativity large tracks of ancient woodland.  Ancient woodland is an area of woodland dating back to at least 1600.  The woodland looks down to the sea a couple of miles away.  This helps to keep the temperatures up.  Woodland also provides a barrier from the worst of the weather even in winter.  It was interesting to see the heavy frost in the fields bordering the wood.

We pitched my tent in the bright winter sunshine and began collecting firewood.  It was already cold and I knew it wouldn’t get any warmer as the sun dropped to the horizon. I choose an area away from the tent clear of tree roots for the fire.  It is important when siting a fire to consider its environmental impact.  Do not site a fire in thick pine needles or on peaty soil.
I do not usually dig a trench for a fire.  Some people believe this helps prevent the fire from growing out of control.  I feel that a half buried fire spends more time heating the soil than keeping me warm.  I like my comforts even when camping in the middle of winter.
When collecting firewood try and gather far and wide.  Lots of rare species live in standing dead wood and if you strip an area to dead wood you are helping to destroy the wildlife value of the area.

After 30 minutes steady sawing dead oak with our folding saws, we needed a brew.  Once we had a good collection of different diameter dead dry wood we were in a position to light a fire.  The first stage is to lay a platform of green sticks for the fire, this helps to keep your young fragile tender little fire alive, you want your first embers heating the kindling not trying to dry out the damp cold sod.  Lighting a fire in the cold using knife and fire steel sparking onto green heat is more difficult than in summer.  Your fingers grow sore and clumsy very quickly.

Sitting back looking at the changing light whilst sharing a brew with a mate is what life is about.  Slowing down you can hear the bird life and get a true feel for the environment we humans are normally separated from.

Ninjutsu

Today had few highlights to recommend it. Mostly I toiled at the bloody pc. It is so slow lately almost crashing but not quite.

The one highlight of my day was taking the session at Ninjutsu. They are a top bunch of people and should be commended. The session was a mix of strong dakentaijutsu with intention and simple flowing jutaijutsu. I really enjoyed the escapes from 2 people. its nice to know that even being a short over weight bloke i can still do a reasonable amount.

The cardiovascular fitness needs some work. I have decided to donate any monies from the January 13th Forest Knights Weekend Bushcraft Course to the Bridge Trust for the Homeless.

i am not expecting to raise a huge amount but still every little helps. i will post the exact figure when i know.

No real wildlife encounters a part from briefly watching one large male fox.

What a great weekend

What a great weekend.  The weather was truly kind bright blue skies and crisp clear light.  I arrived at the woods on Friday afternoon.  The temperature was already cool but I had plenty of warn clothes and a lot of food.  Carrying the cooking gear to the site is never a pleasure but my new purchase made the portage of equipment a breeze.  I am now the proud owner of a fishing trolley.  It performed well from the mud and deep ruts of the paths leading deeper into the woodland, fortunately the campsite I chose to use this time was near the main entrance with a few standard Oaks and Ash with the majority of the woodland being made up with Hazel.  I was expecting the area to be really wet under foot.

The first task as the light began to fade was to erect my Arran 5.  My trusty tent has seen a lot of service yet it still performs perfectly and was worth cash.  Once the tent was up it was time to locate some decent dry wood for the fire.  Not such an easy task due to the rain and heavy dews we have been having in Sussex.  I didn’t want to just snap off lots of small dead twigs as this provides good habitat for invertebrates.

Once I had a decent pile of dry pencil thick twigs.  I gathered larger diameter wood.  It’s easy to be impatient when creating fire and having to run around and hunt wood madly as your fire dies from lack of fuel.  Bushcraft should teach one to slow down and accept natural rhythms.  It was now dark and cold but I cleared the ground carefully and to make sure I would leave a scar before building a platform of green sticks to shield the fire from the cold damp earth.  Once I had decent piles of wood neatly arranged around me I split some wood to reveal the dry core.  A couple of feather sticks later and a spark from my fire steel and I could site back and enjoy the glow of a fire well prepared.
There is something magical about being alone in large woodland as the night blankets you listening to the night sounds feeling the warmth of a fire keep the chill at bay.  There was a good chorus of Tawny owls making the presence known.  Behind me some Roe deer circled the camp keeping on the edge of mine view.  
The other members of the Forest Knights team were due to arrive shortly. It was hard to tear myself away from the campfire and make my way back through the mud to meet them.

Soon they were settled into the woods.  Steve being an adventurous spirit hand no bothered with a tent and used a lean to shelter.  He is made of stern stuff.  The evening passed quickly swapping stories of bushcraft adventures and planning future trips.
We were up early to a breakfast of sausages cooked over the fire.  What a great way to start the day.  The suns rays gave a dappled light and an eldritch quality to the woods.  a quick walk around the site to read the morning papers showed the Roe had passed near to the camp.
The day was spent walking around the site and making note of the condition of the trees.  Sadly 2 ash trees need to be felled to make the site safe fore camping.  The trunks are spilt and will eventually fail.  A large tree falling on you as you sleep would probably spoil your day.
Too many people wander through life without looking at their surroundings.  How many pitch a tent under a canopy without looking up at the widow maker above them?
The evening was spent chatting around the fire eating roast chestnuts and fruitcake whilst drinking mulled wine.  Fantastic.  Saturday night as definitely colder than the previous evening so we had to put more effort into collecting wood and making sure we chose wood that gave off plenty of heat without too much smoke.  Don’t select wood from the forest floor it is likely to be wet and half rotten.  Fungi and bacteria will have already consumed  most of the woods calorific value.

Bushcraft

I took a stroll on the Downs this morning to find some new sites to practise bushcraft. It is not easy to find a landowner willing to allow some weirdo cland in green onto their land to light fires etc. Many people it seems see bushcrafters as a little strange or as new age "Tree Huggers," this is not always the case. Although I have met a few.

The walk along the north of the Downs was great if a little unadventful. My two dogs Barney and Meadow pulled constantly on the lead dragging me through the mud. The only wildlife on show was a few Gold Finches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Pheasants and a Grey Heron. There were plenty of racks in the mud. Roe Deer and badger. I spent most of the walking struggling to stay upright as the mutts tried to topple me over. I now am covered in sticky mud and the car seat is flithy from dirty dogs.

I was surprised to see so few berries. The birds may strugle this winter. Remember to keep your bird feeders topped up.