The Woodlore team got the opportunity to hone some essential skills earlier this week as part of the field staff’s annual training. At the top of the list was a renewal of our essential 1st aid skills which will ensure that we are prepared for anything that the season can throw at us and more importantly, be better informed and able to prevent situations reaching the point where intervention is required.
First aid training
We have recently been sent the following, lovely post, from long-term Woodlorean Bosco Li. Bosco has successfully tried his hand at making a pair of beautiful Sami shoe bands, after seeing them on his Arctic Experience Expedition with Woodlore:
I remember hazy childhood days when we had the luxury of daydreaming about the world and pondering fanciful thoughts. I recall one such recurring whimsy being whether I’d prefer living in the freezing cold or the sweltering heat if I were forced to choose. I’d mull over the pros and cons endlessly, until I concluded the answer would simply be whichever one I was more adept at thriving in! To that end, many years later I booked and was fortunate enough to learn about arctic survival with the Woodlore School of Wilderness Bushcraft.
Sami shoe bands
Our Woodlore courses due to take place in 2018 are now available to book on the website. Please join us during our 35th Anniversary year around the campfire and open up a world of possibilities.
Woodlore Journeyman course
It has never been so busy in the Woodlore Leather Workshop. Becky, our resident leather worker has been beavering away recently making numerous products, including sheaths for the new Ray Mears Bushcraft Knife and the new Ray Mears Leather Strops. Becky has also been engrossed in building up stocks of our very popular products in readiness for the upcoming Christmas rush. During this busy time Becky thought that it would be nice to give you a little insight into the ‘goings on’ in our leather workshop:
I love to see a batch of finished work but Keith has worked some camera magic here – the lighting has really brought out the lovely variety of colours and natural markings in the leather.
Leather knife sheaths and leather belts
In July this year we were joined by Woodlorean Tim Kershaw who attended his first Woodlore course in 1997. Tim kindly sent us some words about his experience 20 years on:
Fundamental Bushcraft Severnside 2017
James Smith attended his first course, the Fundamental Bushcraft, with us in April this year and caught the ‘bushcraft bug’. Here is a short review from James after completion of his second course, the Carving Master Class with Ray Mears, which he booked very shortly after returning home from the Fundamental Bushcraft course:
As anyone reading this may appreciate, completing the Woodlore Fundamental Bushcraft course can leave you with severe withdrawal symptoms! This was certainly true for myself. So before I’d even unpacked all my gear I jumped at the chance to attend a Carving Masterclass with Ray Mears.
Many aspects of bushcraft require patience and observation: carving is no exception. As students we were encouraged to take our time, deal with problems early on (‘a philosophy for life’) and also factor in some breaks. After all, tiredness and very sharp tools do not mix well…
Throughout the course Ray and his assistants were constantly on hand to offer advice and guidance, all within easy reach of the campfire kettle. Slowly but surely we turned humble pieces of birch into spoons.
Spoons?! On the surface it can seem like no big deal. But there are many valuable skills and procedures involved in the creation of even the most utilitarian of objects – skills that we are increasingly losing touch with. If you want to gain a new appreciation of simple, everyday objects, try making some of them!
Huge thanks to Ray, Keith, Steve, Jamie and all at Woodlore for a truly unforgettable day.
Now, I just need to befriend a tree surgeon…
Carved spoons from the Fundamental Bushcraft and Carving Master Class courses –
– James Smith
Our UK course dates for 2017 are now available to book on the website. In addition to our usual selection of courses based in East Sussex and Scotland we have an exciting new Cooking course added to the calendar for this year. We have also extended the reach of the Fundamental Bushcraft course to Gloucestershire with the Fundamental Severnside course. Book soon to avoid disappointment.
2017 UK Courses
Ray will be leading a total of six Walk in the Woods and Carving Master Class days with Woodlore this year. We would advise you to book your place to join us soon as these sell out very quickly.
A Walk in the Woods with Ray Mears
Since Woodlore’s inception many decades ago, our aim has always been to offer the most prestigious level of training in bushcraft and wilderness survival skills. As such, we pride ourselves on our dedicated team of instructors, whose passion for the subject shines through in their teaching.
And so it is with great pleasure that we have our second in the new series of blog posts today focusing on Aspirant Instructor Sarah Day. If you’ve been thinking about booking a course with Woodlore, here is your chance to get to know the instructors who may be guiding you this year.
Aspirant Instructor Sarah Day
It was a pleasure to hear from one of our regular clients about his experience of the Carving Master Class with Ray Mears. Charles made contact with us after attending his course and gave us this lovely feedback:
Wood carving – an activity that is practical, calming, skilful and quite often entertaining all at the same time.
I recently had the privilege of spending a day improving my carving ability whilst on the Carving Master Class with Ray Mears, a course bought for me (as I expect many people’s courses are) by my wife.
A stroll down into the woods with a course assistant brought us to a clearing with Ray already hard at work splitting a large sweet chestnut log into foot and a half long planks. Logs for seats, the trusty old camp kettle suspended over a open fire and a beautiful sunny day – what could be better!
The spoon I finished to a rough standard by the end of the day
Since Woodlore’s inception many decades ago, our aim has always been to offer the most prestigious level of training in bushcraft and wilderness survival skills. As such, we pride ourselves on our dedicated team of instructors, whose passion for the subject shines through in their teaching.
And so it is with great pleasure that we introduce a new series of blog posts today focusing on individual members of our team. If you’ve been thinking about booking a course with Woodlore, here is your chance to get to know the instructors who may be guiding you this year.
Brian Fox
The Ray Mears & Woodlore Bushcraft Blog 