Our Woodlore courses due to take place in 2019 are now available to book on the website. In celebration of our 35th Anniversary, Ray has offered his time to lead some of his usual courses, alongside some of our classics, giving everyone the chance to learn a range of bushcraft skills directly from Ray.
Ray Mears
Chris Boyton
It is with deep sadness that Woodlore shares the news of the untimely passing of Chris Boyton:
There are a few names that stand out in the history of British archery, King Henry I, King Edward I, Robyn Hode, King Henry V, Roger Ascham, Adrian Eliot Hodgkin and Robert Hardy. To these revered champions of Archery must now be added Christopher Boyton. Who sadly passed away on Sunday.
Over this past weekend, our Purchasing and Project Manager Paul Cook took part in the Crusader Mossy Match; an annual angling event for charity, which took place in Bedfordshire.
Paul Cook
The event was a real success, everyone enjoyed themselves but we were all gunning for the cup and took it very seriously. The conditions were very hot, with high air pressure, this combined with sixteen other anglers made the fishing particularly hard. I managed to take the lead halfway into the session and stayed there until the end.
During the competition I used my own homemade baits and various fishing techniques to raise the catch rate but persisting with my usual tactics seemed to do the trick.
I was lost for words when the trophy was handed over and I am looking forward to taking part again next year.
– Paul Cook
Gordon Hillman
It is with deep regret that Woodlore must pass on this sad news:
There is truly only one certainty in any human being’s life, one day our time on the earth will end. Sadly, that moment came for Professor Gordon Hillman on Saturday, when after a long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease he passes quietly from this world.
We at Woodlore are delighted to now be supporting Children with Cancer UK as our chosen charity to help with their excellent work fighting the UK’s biggest child killer. 
Children with Cancer was set up in 1987, following Eddie and Marion O’Gorman’s devastating loss of not one, but two children, Paul and Jean within the same year to cancer. Shortly after Jean passed away, Eddie and Marion met Diana, Princess of Wales. She was deeply moved by the double tragedy and she personally helped to establish this charity. Children with Cancer aim to improve survival rates and quality of survival in young cancer patients and to find and reduce the causes of cancer by funding research, raising awareness, and helping families as part of their work.
We are very much looking forward to working with the team at our chosen charity as a corporate partner well into the future and hope that we are able to make a small difference to some of the children’s lives who are battling with childhood cancer.
I have been using Gransfors axes for many years now and there’s no doubting the quality of what you get. Hand forged in Sweden by blacksmiths of great experience they are tools to use, cherish and pass on. What comes out of the box however, may be a little different from the nurtured and well-worn implements that you will see put to work by our instructors.
From time to time people comment that the helve on the axe that they have just bought doesn’t display the patina that they may have seen on other axes and this is true. Gransfors make strong working tools that are good to put to their intended task from day one but it takes time for your axe to pick up the distinctive marks and wear that make it your own.
Gransfors axe handles before and after treatment
We are proud to be supporting Woodlore Senior Assistant Callum Hilder by stocking his exciting invention, the Elementree Kindler. Callum has designed and built an efficient and safe way of turning the standard sized logs you would find at your local petrol station or have delivered by your firewood merchant, into kindling for your wood-burning stove, firepit, pizza oven or small fireplace. Here is a little insight from Callum as to why he decided to develop this product and about his journey so far:
Elementree Kindler
The Woodlore team got the opportunity to hone some essential skills earlier this week as part of the field staff’s annual training. At the top of the list was a renewal of our essential 1st aid skills which will ensure that we are prepared for anything that the season can throw at us and more importantly, be better informed and able to prevent situations reaching the point where intervention is required.
First aid training
Did you miss the opportunity to see Ray in October or November last year? Well, we are delighted to announce that Ray has added an extra date to his recent ‘Born to Go Wild’ tour for Saturday 17th Feb in Bedford at the Bedford Corn Exchange.
Ray Mears Going Wild Encore
Tickets are selling well, so don’t leave it too long if you would like to watch this show.
As always Ray will be delighting audiences as he looks behind the scenes at the making of his latest TV show Australian Wilderness, giving his survival tips and lighting fires on stage! Ray will also be signing books after the show so a great opportunity to meet the man himself.
Tickets are £25 per adult and child tickets are £17.50 and can be purchased online here: https://goo.gl/bjdMxu
We have recently been sent the following, lovely post, from long-term Woodlorean Bosco Li. Bosco has successfully tried his hand at making a pair of beautiful Sami shoe bands, after seeing them on his Arctic Experience Expedition with Woodlore:
I remember hazy childhood days when we had the luxury of daydreaming about the world and pondering fanciful thoughts. I recall one such recurring whimsy being whether I’d prefer living in the freezing cold or the sweltering heat if I were forced to choose. I’d mull over the pros and cons endlessly, until I concluded the answer would simply be whichever one I was more adept at thriving in! To that end, many years later I booked and was fortunate enough to learn about arctic survival with the Woodlore School of Wilderness Bushcraft.
Sami shoe bands
The Ray Mears & Woodlore Bushcraft Blog 