As our highly anticipated Autumn fungi forager course approaches, we would like to introduce Neville Kilkenny, who will expertly unveil this extraordinary fifth kingdom to you.
“As Autumn matures, we can no longer ignore the Earth’s seasonal tilt away from the sun, Winter is coming. For many this calls a halt to outdoor adventure, tents are stowed in cupboards adventures shorten and people stay close to the home and the hearth. But not for me, I love winter, I welcome the seasons arrival. Native American friends once told me that Winter is the season of wisdom. For over thirty years now I have been exploring that concept, embracing the winter by racing North to the Arctic to experience the coldest most challenging grip of the season in northern Lapland. There the nights are long, and the sky is malevolent, palpably blotting up my vital life warmth into the quiet eternity of space. So why do I love extreme winter?
We love to see our customer’s projects and crafts, making beautiful items and this is no exception. Thank you to Steve Brewster for sending in these photos and words about his recent knife project using the Julius Pettersson knife blade he purchased from us.
Well after a few “rookie mistakes” and spending more on reindeer antler than the blade, I have finally finished my knife build.
Woodlore Aspirant Instructor David Southey kindly produced a tutorial to describe how to wear the Ray Mears Neck Sheath using a baldric carry system.
UPDATED 15/03/2022
As the Government restrictions due to COVID-19/Coronavirus coming to an end we continue to monitor the situation and endeavor to keep our staff and customers safe.
We find ourselves living through a challenging time, to say the very least. Like you, we have been listening to the sad news reports of Coronavirus victims on a daily basis. Our thoughts go out to all those who have lost family members or who have loved ones currently fighting the illness in hospital or at home in self-isolation.
Our Woodlore courses due to take place in 2020 are now available to book on the website. We have many of the old favourites in the schedule including Fundamental Bushcraft, Traditional Living Skills, UK Woodland Navigation Family Bushcraft and Tracking.
Lighting a fire on the Fundamental Bushcraft course
In addition to some of the more regular courses we also have some new ones taking place this year including the Woodlore Bush Chef with Ray Mears and the Autumn Fungi Forager. The Emergency First Aider course is also back on the schedule after a short hiatus.
Autumn Fungi Forager
If you would like an insight into what happens in the Woodlore camp during our courses take a look at our video from the Introduction to Bushcraft course….
A blog article written by Aspirant Instructor Tom Seward about his experience on the Heroes of Telemark Expedition earlier this year:
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to attend the 2019 Heroes of Telemark course in Norway.
I wanted to take part in this course to start to learn about the cold environment, cross country skiing and to learn more about the amazing story of the men of Grouse team and what they went through in 1943.
We have received this lovely post from Rupert Brown of Brown’s Bushcraft who tells us the story of The Brown Filter Bags:
My name is Rupert Brown founder and owner of Brown’s Bushcraft based in the South West of France. In addition to teaching bushcraft I am also the creator of The Brown filter bag. Along with many bushcrafters, I used Millbank bags for coarse water filtration and recommended these to students on my courses. The Millbank bag was used by the British military worldwide since the 1940’s. It was issued to every soldier along with chlorine tablets to provide a simple and effective means of treating dirty water. Millbank bags used to be readily available from army surplus stores. But when the army stopped using Millbank bags some years ago, they became more and more difficult to come by.
The original millbank bag
With the upcoming course season celebrating our 35th anniversary, the Woodlore field team assembled to share tales of adventures over the winter and maintain skills and knowledge in preparation for a very exciting year, with Ray leading a selection of time-honoured courses.
Fundamental Bushcraft with Ray Mears
The Ray Mears & Woodlore Bushcraft Blog 