The New Swazi Tussock Range – Now in Stock

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The Swazi Clothing Tussock Range

The wait is finally over – the brand new Swazi Tussock Range is now in stock at Woodlore and available to order for same-day dispatch*. Woodlore remains the exclusive UK stockist of Swazi Clothing, so you won’t find these items in any other British shops.

This exciting collection contains brand new Swazi designs such as their heavy-duty, windproof fleece The Nahanni Shirt, as well as longstanding Swazi favourites like the Bushman’s Tee, now all produced in their classic Tussock Green colour.

Take a look at the full Swazi range here.

* Orders placed before 2 pm GMT will be dispatched the same working day.

The Swazi Nahanni Shirt

The Swazi Nahanni Shirt

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Ray Mears Sightings – June 2012

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Welcome to our second ‘Ray Mears Sightings’ post, in which we bring together the best stories, news articles and interviews with Ray from the past month:

Ray visits Isle of Wight for new series:

As part of a brand new series for ITV, Ray recently visited the Isle of Wight in search of the island’s local badger population. To aid him in his quest, Ray enlisted the help of Badger Trust member Graham Lee, as well as his dog Breez. Yes, the German Shepherd, who has been specially trained to locate badger activity without disturbing the animals, helped to sniff out the creatures for Ray and his film crew. And, as if that wasn’t odd enough, Breez was also fitted with an HD camera to capture her findings. Find out more in this Isle of Wight County Press article, and keep your eyes peeled on the blog for future news on Ray’s upcoming series.

Ray on the set of his second Wild Britain series last year

Ray on the set of his second Wild Britain series last year

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Postcards from Norway

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Steven Bullen, a member of Woodlore’s full-time office team, paid a short visit to Norway recently as part of a trip organised by the good folk at Bergans. Spending three nights in the Aust-Agder region of southern Norway, Steven joined a whole host of Bergans affiliates from all across Europe in making the most of the Norwegian wilderness. The group spent their time fishing, canoeing, hiking and camping, all the while putting their Bergans clothing and equipment to the test. In between paddling and hitting the trails, Steven had his camera on hand to capture the experience:

Having never visited Norway before, the first thing that struck me was just how sparsely populated the landscape is. Having left England behind with its crowded motorways and tightly-packed terraced houses, the sight I was greeted with as I stepped off the plane was a very different story; the wilderness clearly dominated the landscape here, with homes and offices seemingly dropped in amongst the trees here and there – a complete opposite to back home, where any green space seems to be surrounded by buildings.

A typically tranquil view of the Norwegian countryside

A typically tranquil view of the Norwegian countryside

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David Jack’s Julius Pettersson Knife

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The following entry was kindly provided by Woodlore customer David Jack:

Dear Woodlore,

I finished the handle for my Julius Pettersson Knife Blade a couple of weeks ago, and thought I would share the results. I took the knife out for the weekend and it’s a real step up from my Mora Clipper Knife. It’s the traditional Saami design with antler and birch bark spacers, however I used Alder root instead of curly Birch for the wood.

David Jack's Julius Pettersson Knife

David Jack's Julius Pettersson Knife

It was over a year from deciding to make it to completing it, but it was a constant little project I spent my spare time on when I liked, and a really great way of bringing some bushcraft inside (without making too much mess!).

I’ve already started to make my firesteel out of some of the leftover Alder, and recently received my Large Crooked Knife Blade, so I don’t feel lost when I can’t get outside to do bushcraft (although hopefully that won’t happen too much considering what the weather has been like!) .

Many thanks to all the Woodlore team for the inspiration and the usual outstanding service!

David Jack

They Filled up Our Heads to Spare Us Our Backs

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Here are some lovely words and pictures from Woodlore student Tom Wilson, who attended the Woodlore Fundamental Bushcraft course on 27th May this year. He felt inspired on the train on his way home to write the following:

A leaf litter shelter built on the Fundamental Bushcraft course

A leaf litter shelter built on the Fundamental Bushcraft course

From the tarps and the shelters we did rise,

With stretches and yawns, our smiles reached to the eyes,

And so one by one we all made our way,

Back to where last night our fire was laid,

Awoken the embers from their ashen bed,

To their breakfast of wood, good, dry, wholesome and dead.

So soon was the kettle put on for a brew,

Talk began on what we were to do,

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Wildlife Encounters (Why I love tarps)

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No stranger to spending her nights outdoors, Woodlore Aspirant Instructor and regular blogger Sarah Day shares her love of camping out under a tarp:

Woodlore Aspirant Instructor Sarah Day

Sarah Day

Sleeping under a tarp is a daunting experience to the uninitiated – we are so used to having four walls and a floor (even when camping!) that going without seems ridiculous. However, most of the Woodlore Field Team camp out under tarps/ hootchies for at least some of the season, and they do bring several benefits.

I often find it difficult to sleep in a tent now; they can seem a bit airless after a tarp and, although on cold mornings the prospect of leaving a toasty warm sleeping bag is uninviting, once I’m up the cold is generally invigorating. I love lying in my sleeping bag, warm and comfortable breathing the sweet smelling air you only get after a night of gentle rain.

Tarps also force you to be organised with your kit. I always bring too much stuff with me – I’m often out for weeks at a time, but much of it is half-finished projects, books and examples of things for lectures. Being under a tarp makes it essential not only to be organised but to form out some sort of routine. At the end of a day I always put my kit in the same places, my fire flash and certain things from my pockets go into my hiking boots which have the insoles pulled out so they can air. My clothes are folded and put back in my rucksack and my head torch is looped round the drying line strung under the tarp. My Swannie is folded into a pillow with a shirt wrapped around it like a pillow case and my rucksack is propped up against a stick, purposely driven into the ground with my Swazi draped over it as a rain cover (especially if it’s still damp from a day of April showers). Because I follow the same pattern every evening, I know that my kit will be fine, whatever the weather. So, when I’m woken up in the middle of the night to the first pitter-patterings of a rain shower, I can lie there warm and smug, allowing the rain to lull me back to sleep.

A squirrel pup found at the course site

A squirrel pup found at the course site

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Kelvin Wong’s Julius Pettersson Knife

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The following post was kindly supplied by Woodlore customer Kelvin Wong, who used the Julius Pettersson Knife Blade to create his own custom Bushcraft knife:

Hi everyone,

I’d thought I’d share some photos of my new Julius Pettersson knife. It is my first attempt at knife handle making and I’d love to hear what you think.

Kelvin Wong's finished knife

Kelvin Wong's finished knife

I used reindeer antler pieces, purple and white liners, and a piece of dyed box elder burl, with nickel silver end cap and bolster. The end piece of antler was a bit small and didn’t polish up as pearly white as the front piece, but I am still quite happy with the results.

Any comments/advice on how to improve would be appreciated!

Kelvin Wong

Thalia Georgiou – An Arctic Experience

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In early 2011, Thalia Georgiou took her first steps into the world of Bushcraft by joining Ray Mears and the Woodlore Team on our Arctic Experience Expedition. Her time spent in the wilderness of Northern Sweden helped Thalia to gain not only new skills, but a greater understanding of the isolated environments of the world and the peoples who call these places home.

Upon returning to her life in the UK, Thalia took this newfound appreciation and put it to use, travelling to Canada to help support a number of First Nation and Inuit communities. Hers is a fantastic story of how even a short time spent in the wilderness can be both humbling and incredibly inspiring, and it is moving to hear how Thalia has used this boost to provide help to others:

Thalia Georgiou in the Arctic, after sleeping out on the frozen lake

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Ray Mears Sightings – May 2012

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Welcome to the very first of our ‘Ray Mears Sightings’ blog posts. As a new venture of ours, the aim of these posts is to bring you the very best articles, interviews and videos of Ray Mears found online each month. Throughout this past month, Ray has been busy getting involved in a variety of projects that are occurring around the UK, as well as participating in interviews with a number of publications. To simplify things, we have rounded up the cream of the crop and hope that you will enjoy them as much as we have.

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Ray Mears Featured in Carlsberg’s Euro 2012 ‘Fan Academy’ Advert

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The eagle-eyed among you may have already spotted Ray Mears popping up in the latest Carlsberg TV advert, known as ‘The Fan Academy‘. Made in preparation for this year’s UEFA Euro 2012, the light-hearted commercial features a bevy of English stars – including Sir Bobby Charlton, Peter Shilton, Brian Blessed and Linford Christie – as they help train 300 England fans to be the best supporters they can be:

Appearing at 0:56, Ray Mears is on hand (complete with 5.11 garb), preparing the fans for the worst the English weather can throw at them on the terraces:

Ray Mears - Carlsberg Fan Academy Advert

Ray prepares the fans for an 'English Summer'

Darren Morris, Brand Controller at Carlsberg, said:

“As England fans ourselves, we know how important supporters are to the England team during a major tournament and we wanted to acknowledge the unique characteristics that make England fans amongst the best in the world – such as commitment, loyalty and passion.”