Survival with Ray Mears – Episode 2 – ‘Bears’

1 Reply

Survival with Ray Mears, ITV1

The second episode of the brand new ITV series, Survival with Ray Mears, will be aired this Sunday 25th at 19:00 on ITV1.

In the second episode of Survival, Ray tracks bears in the pristine wilderness of British Columbia’s Pacific Coast region.

“A lot of people fear bears,” says Ray. “I think there’s no need for that. They’re only dangerous when they’re misunderstood. To me their strength and intelligence makes them among the most intriguing of all predators. I can’t wait to track them in their world.”

British Columbia houses some of the world’s most beautiful forests, which are inhabited by a healthy number of grizzly and black bears. However, Ray is also interested in the spirit bear. This incredibly rare bear has pure white fur, and is actually a black bear carrying a recessive gene. It is thought that there are only 400 alive today, so finding one will be a daunting challenge for Ray. Continue reading →

Nanok Air Jackets now in stock

Leave a reply
The Nanok Air Jacket - Olive

The Nanok Air Jacket in Olive

The latest addition to the Ray Mears Bushcraft Online Shop is the Nanok Air Jacket. This hard-to-find piece of kit has been designed as an insulating mid-layer, but has all the properties of an outer jacket, thanks to the durable ripstop nylon outer shell.

It’s extremely lightweight, packs down nice and small to fit in your rucksack and is very versatile.

Ray and the Woodlore Team wear their Air Jackets out and about in the UK, while they are also perfect for use in colder climates, such as the Arctic; if you have any doubts, just check how comfy Lars Falt looks – that’s normally a good indicator!

Meet the latest members of the Woodlore Team

1 Reply
Darren Bates of the Woodlore Team

Darren Bates, now in his second year on the Woodlore Outdoor Team

Each year, Woodlore carry out a rigorous recruitment week in the woods, putting applicants to the test in order to find the very best staff around. Succesful applicants of this stage are then trained up and brought on to help run our Bushcraft courses.

After completing their first course season with us, these new team members have their profiles added to our Field Staff Biographies page, and it is on this note that Woodlore would like to introduce the latest members of our Outdoor Team:

For our UK-based Bushcraft Courses, we are proud to welcome Darren Bates, Ben Gray and Nick Thompson to the fold. All three have a clear passion for the outdoors and have proved themselves to be great additions to our team.

On the Wilderness Expeditions front, we are excited to welcome Tony Pape to our team of Specialist Instructors. Tony – better known as Blue – will be leading this year’s Canoeing in the Ardeche course, a week-long expedition through the picturesque Ardeche Gorge in Southern France.

If you’re planning to attend one of our courses, please check out these new instructor profiles, where you can get to know the team before you arrive.

The Woodlore course season is under way…

2 Replies
Introduction to Bushcraft

Students enjoying lunch in the sun on our Introduction to Bushcraft course

Woodlore’s course season got under way over the Easter weekend this year, getting off to a great start.

Beginning with an Introduction to Bushcraft course on April 1st, we’ve since held two more Introductions, two week-long Fundamental Bushcraft courses as well as our Wilderness Navigation course. The Camp Craft workshop is up next, so let’s just hope the nice weather continues!

Survival with Ray Mears – Episode 1 – ‘Leopards’

5 Replies

Survival with Ray Mears, ITV1

For those of you who are looking forward to the start of Ray’s new series this Sunday, April 18th, here’s a sneak-peek at the episode synopsis for the first programme, Leopards:

In the first episode of Survival, Ray Mears arrives in Namibia’s vast central highland plain, a territory he describes as ‘one of nature’s richest environments’, to track his favourite predator: the leopard.

“They’re loners that roam huge territories, they’re perfectly camouflaged for disappearing into the thorny scrub, and as if that didn’t make them hard enough to follow, they’re most active under the cover of darkness. For a tracker, they are quite simply the ultimate challenge.”

The leopard is renowned for its strength, cunning and, above all else, its stealth, but because it is the most elusive big cat Ray believes it is also ‘hardly understood.’ So will his tracking skills help him find leopards and give us a better understanding of their habits? Continue reading →

Survival with Ray Mears on ITV1

2 Replies
Leopard

The leopard, the subject of the first epsiode of Survival with Ray Mears

On ITV1 this spring, the iconic TV series Survival returns to our screens, hosted by none other than Ray Mears. Beginning in April, this brand new series comprises of three hour-long programmes, focusing on Ray’s extraordinary animal tracking and wilderness skills.

In this ground-breaking series, Ray sets himself the ultimate challenge: to track the world’s top predators. Ray will use his expert tracking skills and extensive wildlife knowledge to follow the leopard in Namibia, the bear in British Colombia, and the wolf in Central Idaho.

By reading the clues these animals leave behind, he offers viewers the unique opportunity to gain a rich insight into their habits and lifestyles, as he follows them at remarkably close quarters in their natural habitats.

Survival with Ray Mears brings to life the skills Ray has in a truly exciting and compelling way: there are tears after a wolf he has been tracking for several days dies; moments of genuine danger as a bear appears at just 20 feet away; and a lifetime highlight of watching leopards at night.

Underpinning each film as Ray tracks the animals is a sub-plot focusing on the current state of each species, and the threats they now face: in Idaho the crew arrives with only days to countdown before the wolf’s status as a protected species is lifted, and local farmers indicate their intention to begin hunting them; in British Columbia the impact of global warming on the salmon population is felt by the bear, which relies on the fish as its main food source; and in Namibia, the uneasy co-existence between leopards and local farmers keen to protect their livestock, is highlighted.

Each film stunningly showcases some of nature’s richest playgrounds, set amid breath-taking scenery, which are home to an array of wildlife beyond the species being tracked.

Survival in 2010 brings one of the network’s most prestigious and popular brands back to ITV, building on the classical animal storytelling of a series that broke new ground in wildlife documentary-making from its first transmission in 1960. This time round, the series clearly illustrates the all-consuming passion one man has for the world’s wildlife, and his commitment to helping us understand more about them.

“For over 20 years I’ve been exploring the wild outdoors and what fascinates me more than anything, are the secret lives of wild animals. When I learned how to follow the clues that animals leave behind, it opened up a whole new world of understanding. And in this series I’m putting my skills to the test by tracking the world’s top predators.” – Ray Mears

Survival with Ray Mears begins on Sunday 18th April at 19:00, exclusive to ITV1.

Welcome to the Woodlore, School of Wilderness Bushcraft Blog!

3 Replies

Well, it’s the beginning of a new course season once again. With lots going on already, we feel it’s an ideal time to start our Bushcraft Blog. From here, the Woodlore Team hopes to keep all fellow Woodloreans up-to-date every week with news and reports from the world of Woodlore.

This will be the place to find it all, be it behind-the-scenes photos from our courses, news of last-minute spaces on our wilderness expeditions, or simply the name of the equipment Ray Mears has been using on TV.

Hopefully this blog will allow us to give all our followers the answers and info that they’re looking for, all in one place. Plus, if there’s something you’d like to see up here we’d love to hear your thoughts.