Category Archives: Ray Mears

A Special Christmas Message from Ray Mears

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 Ray Mears, founder of Woodlore

Christmas is almost upon us, the maelstrom of human activity is reaching its pre-festivity crescendo. Now is the perfect moment to step aside from the hurl and burl of shopping to sit by a campfire and reflect upon the natural world. Today was the shortest day of the year, despite our calendars prediction of the years start, tomorrow the Northern Hemisphere will begin its inexorable tilt back towards the sun and our days will grow longer. Already underground plants are readying themselves to burst forth in the early spring, while inside the bellies of our deer new life has started to grow.

Together with the creatures of the wild we may still have to face the storms and cold of January and February, but there is potential in the air. Christmas falls perfectly in mid winter, a time for family, a time to celebrate and a time for community. Nothing nature can throw at us will withstand the cheer and spirit of Christmas.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 – Ray Mears, December 2011

Ray Mears to give talk at the Cheltenham Literature Festival

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Ray Mears will be appearing at The Forum this October, giving a talk as part of this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival:

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival

 

 

 

 

 

Ray Mears at The Forum
Friday October 7, 2011, 20:45 pm

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival promises a feast of literary treats with more than 600 of the world’s greatest writers, poets, politicians, thinkers and actors heading to the Regency town. Now in its 62nd year, 2011 promises the most ambitious and varied programme to date, with BAFTA-award winning actress Joanna Lumley, musician and radio broadcaster Jarvis Cocker, presenter and film critic Jonathan Ross and comedian Frank Skinner all taking to the Cheltenham stage.

Instantly familiar from TV series such as Bushcraft Survival and Northern Wilderness, bushcraft expert Ray Mears has tested his survival skills all over the world, whilst exploring the traditional cultures of indigenous peoples and following in the footsteps of noted explorers. In a hugely enjoyable event he looks back on some of his enthralling adventures.

For further information, or to reserve your ticket, please visit the following link:

Event information and bookings

An Evening with Ray Mears at Gawsworth Hall

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Ray Mears will be appearing at Gawsworth Hall’s Open Air Theatre this summer, to present An Evening with Ray Mears. This fantastic venue will play host to Ray’s talk on 7th August, for which tickets are now available.

Gawsworth Hall's Open Air Theatre

Gawsworth Hall's Open Air Theatre

Britain’s best known Bushman, survival expert, and star of numerous TV series is back at Gawsworth, following his 2008 sell-out show. Once more he’ll be sharing his experiences from the world’s most extreme environments.

 Fore full details, please visit gawsworthhall.com or call the box office on 01260 223456.

Wild Britain with Ray Mears: Exclusive, hour-long episodes to be shown on Eden

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Wild Britain with Ray Mears

Ray Mears on location during the filming of Wild Britain

Exclusive, hour-long episodes of Ray’s most recent series, Wild Britain with Ray Mears, are to be shown shortly on the Sky channel Eden. The series, which was originally aired on ITV 1 last year in 30 minute slots, will now be shown on Eden with additional, never-seen-before footage on each episode.

The series begins this coming Monday, 4th April; for exact showing times, please visit the following link:

When is it on?

Ray Mears to give two talks at The London Outdoors Show

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The Outdoors Show at the ExCel Centre, London

On Saturday January 15th, Ray Mears will be appearing at the London Outdoors Show at the ExCel Centre, where he will be giving two talks, each followed by a private book signing session.

Alongside a lineup of outdoors experts, adventurers and celebrities – including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ben Fogle and Simon King – Ray will be appearing as part of this years ‘Outdoor Heroes Theatre’. These exclusive theatre sessions will be hosted in the ExCeL’s platinum suite, a fully self-contained and separate auditorium.

Ray will be giving an hour-long talk, followed by a Q&A session and the aforementioned book signing, at 11 AM and 3 PM this Saturday. For more information or to book your ticket, please visit the following link:

The London Outdoors Show – Outdoor Heroes Theatre

What Knots does Ray Mears use to Pitch his Tarp?

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We’re often asked by customers about the Tarp Taut Hitch and other quick-release knots that Ray Mears and the Woodlore team use when pitching our tarps/hootchies; hopefully this post will help.

The knots which Ray uses to pitch his tarp are demonstrated in the following video clip:

The pitching of tarps using these knots is taught on a number of our Bushcraft Courses, including: