Category Archives: Bushcraft Courses & Expeditions

Bushcraft Courses & Expeditions

Woodlore’s New Rekindling the Fundamentals Course

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Rekindling the Fundamentals

Rekindling the Fundamentals course

Woodlore’s 2012 UK course season has almost begun and we are very pleased to be offering six brand new courses this year. Rekindling the Fundamentals is among them and will be the first new UK course to be run in 2012, which we are currently very busy preparing for.  This course has been designed specifically for those of you who have completed our Fundamental Bushcraft course.

It can be difficult to find the time and a suitable place in the UK to really practice your skills and put them to the test. During this new course you will have the chance to learn new skills, while also practicing and improving those you already have, all the while having an enjoyable and informative time in the great British outdoors. Our skilled and experienced instructors will be on hand to help you improve and hone your personal skills, ensuring your progression.

Our instructors will also be introducing students to working with axes, while helping to improve the skills of those already competent with the tool.

We have often been asked in the past whether we provide a course such as this, so we are very excited to now be able to offer it to our students. So, if you feel the need to practice, progress or simply get outdoors for a week, then join us on the Rekindling the Fundamentals course this May.

An Interview with Ray Mears on the Arctic

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In February 2012, Ray Mears joined Lars Falt in Northern Sweden to lead Woodlore’s Arctic Experience expedition. Upon his return to the UK, Ray gave the following interview, discussing his fascination with the Arctic, the wildlife you can find there, and the environmental changes he has seen since first running the course 19 years ago:

Ray Mears in Northern Sweden

Ray Mears in Northern Sweden, as part of Woodlore’s Arctic Experience expedition in 2012

Where did you spend much of February this year?

In Northern Sweden, running our Arctic courses; roughly 104 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.

How do you feel the courses went?

They went very well; we had two really good groups of people. They were all seriously interested and there for the right reasons. They worked hard; they put a lot in and got a lot out.

What is it that drew you to the Arctic in the first place?

The Arctic forest is an area that I find fascinating. The boreal forest is the largest land biome. It’s a wilderness that stretches around the top of the globe. It’s a fascinating area; a difficult area to travel in. It’s an area that takes a long while to really come to know and understand well. I feel a kinship with it – I like the space, I like the solitude, and I like the fact that you have to work very hard if you’re going to see wildlife there.

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Please Welcome Our New Woodlore Assistants

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Field staff member Rob Bashford

Woodlore Field staff member Rob Bashford

Please join us in welcoming six new members of staff to our Field Staff Biographies page. We are very pleased to introduce Mark Booton, Rob Bashford, Ross Burt, Steve Corbyn and Susan Hipkin as yearling members of Woodlore’s Outdoor Team, following their assisting on various courses during the 2011 course season. Click on the above links and get to know them if you’re joining us for a course this year!

All six new members of staff have fitted in perfectly to our fantastic and ever-professional team, and we are very pleased to have them on board.

We are already looking forward to our new UK course season beginning in April, and it is with great pleasure that we also welcome the following people as new course assistants for 2012: David Southey, Joel Toren, Mark Callard and Nigel Hopkins.  They have all recently passed our intensive recruitment process and we look forward to working with them this coming season.

New and Upcoming Courses for 2012

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Tracking in Namibia with Ray Mears

Coming soon: Tracking in Namibia with Ray Mears

We are extremely pleased to unveil a new area of our website today, where you can find details of our New and Upcoming Courses. This brand new page means that you can now easily and regularly check what’s new in the Woodlore Course Department.

Our most recent addition to this page is a brand new expedition, led by Ray Mears himself. Tracking in Namibia with Ray Mears is a fantastic new course, taking place in October 2012. You can now sign up to be notified by e-mail as soon as places are released.

A number of other exciting new courses and expeditions are currently being developed here at Woodlore, and these will be added to our New and Coming Soon page throughout the year, allowing you to share in the excitement of these forthcoming events and plan your future adventures with us.

We hope in providing this information it makes it quicker and easier for you to check what’s new and assists you in your planning ahead. 

Remember to check in on a regular basis, as we have a lot planned for this year!

Win four places on our new Family Wildlife Walkabout course

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For your chance to win four places for you and your kids on our new Family Wildlife Walkabout course in 2012, plus £1,000 spending money, take a look at this very special competition being run by ITV Wild:

 

ITV Wild's Woodlore Competition

 

 

Memories of the Woodlore Nordic Skiing expedition

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Nordic skiing course

Woodlore Nordic Skiing Expedition

With the Woodlore Winter Expedition courses fast approaching in early 2012, we asked Woodlore Head of Operations Dan Hume to write us an article of his memories from the Woodlore Nordic Skiing course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have very fond memories of my time spent in Norway in February 2008. Perhaps it’s a course that almost lurks in the shadows and goes unnoticed but it really was so much more than I expected and truly was one of the best weeks I’ve spent outdoors.

Brian Desmond who led the course, is a very experienced person in his field and he introduced the group to the basics of skiing over several days, pushing some members of the group onto more difficult terrain when appropriate. We had time to practise our newly learned skills whilst being amongst breathtaking scenery.

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Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears

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Following the recent release of Woodlore’s new course dates for 2012, places on the one-day Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears sold out very quickly!  Since then we have had many requests for more dates, as so many people had missed out.  Therefore, due to popular demand for this fantastic day out with Ray, we are very pleased to announce two additional dates for this course to take place in May 2012 – Book your place here

Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears

Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears course

This course would make a perfect Christmas present for any Ray Mears fan.

We anticipate these courses to sell out quickly, so please book soon to avoid disappointment.

Woodlore release three exciting new courses for 2012

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We are delighted to announce three new Woodlore courses to take place in the UK in 2012:

Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears

Woodlore Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears

The first is the welcome return of Woodlore’s classic Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears in East Sussex.  Due to popular demand, we have reinstated this fantastic chance to spend a day in the woods with Ray and to learn from him first-hand.

The second new course is the exciting Fire Lighting Techniques course; a 2-day workshop that will teach you numerous ways of fire lighting and fire management.  This course will be led by Woodlore’s Head of Operations, Dan Hume.

The third course to be announced is the brand new Rekindling the Fundamentals course.  This 5-day course is catered specifically to those who have already completed the Woodlore Fundamental Bushcraft course and wish to recap on the skills, refine their techniques, or simply find somewhere to practice.

We anticipate these courses to sell out quite fast, so please book soon to avoid disappointment. If you have any questions at all on any of these courses, please feel free to get in touch.

For the latest news from Woodlore, follow us here:

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First of all, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you, our followers, for your continued support and interest in the Ray Mears and Woodlore Blog over this past year. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve found here so far, stay tuned for more articles and reports from the Woodlore camp, including your own contributions.

However, if you’d like to hear more regular and exclusive news updates from us, you can now follow Woodlore on both Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, Woodlore now has its very own YouTube channel, which already features a number of instructional videos from Ray for you to check out.

Through these networking sites, we aim to keep our followers up-to-date with snippets of news on the kit, courses and expeditions that have yet to be released to the general public. Essentially, we will provide you with the news that you won’t find anywhere else.

To follow Woodlore on these sites, please visit the following links:

            

 

Earn your British Canoe Union Star Awards with Woodlore

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We are pleased to announce that, as of this September, attendees of our Canoeing in the Ardeche expeditions will be given the chance to earn their BCU Star Awards during their course. These Paddlesport Performance Awards will help you gain the control and experience necessary for you to embark on your own wilderness canoeing expeditions, making them an excellent addition to our current course syllabus.

Paddling down the Ardeche Gorges, France

Paddling down the Ardeche Gorges, France

If you’d like to gain these qualifications, surrounded by the stunning scenery of the Ardeche Gorge this September, please book one of the few remaining places available here. Continue reading →