Do you know any farmers with woodland? You could approach them with a proposition. A couple of questions first.
1. Do you envisage selling up and moving to the bushcraft woods permanently? (Lock stock and family in tow).
2. Do you plan on just doing summer bushcraft, or will it be open all year round?
3. Do you know how to write a business plan and cash flow forecast?
If the answer to 1. is no, then you won't need to worry about building your family a house on the site, also planning permission won't be a major issue.
An all year round campsite might have access problems due to muddy tracks in the winter, so a few tons of hardcore might have to come into the equation. First couple of years running a summer only bushcraft campsite might be wise to see how it goes.
A business plan and cash flow forecast shows people you are serious. It will show a landowner that there may be profit in it for him/her.
Realistically, it needn't cost much to start up. An agreement with a woodland owner, access for parking, minimal facilities (a tap plumbed in to the site and a couple of 'treebogs'). You can grow willow vigorously round a treebog and this can be harvested annually for anything you can use willow withes for (baskets, weaving, living willow structures, shelter building etc). Treebogs also mean that your campers won't need to dig little holes all over the place (which would mess up the site in no time at all).
It certainly sounds feasable. Appropriate advertising would guarantee you a regular stream of visitors, and a regular income.
Check to see if any of the environmental support organisations offer startup grants for small rural businesses, then check to see if your venture will qualify. You'll need the business plan for them too, so it's worth while writing one.
Can't think of anything more at the minute, but I'd just like to say I think it's a great idea and I'd be happy to lend a hand (as a mate) at any stage of it's development if you think I could be of any use.
Eric
thanks eric!
in reply;
1. yes, but renting off-site is not out of the question
2. all year, but your point on starting summer only is a sensible one
3. i have a little experience, but my friend has alot, plus my little brother has a business degree and is well versed in all that kind of thing
i too was thinking that initial start-up would not be horribly expensive - we will have the cash from 2 house sales to invest, and like you say, beyond the purchase of the land and the installation of a few basic amenities, the costs should not be out of reach. from what i've read on bcuk in any mildly relevant thread, demand for the site should not be a problem, as the availability of bushy sites is pitifully thin on the ground.
as an example of something i aspire to, Glyn Y Mul Farm would be a decent benchmark. i'm going there later in the year with the friends in question, and maybe can find out something from the owner there, as long as i assure him i will be far enough away so as not to impact on his business!!
my friend is of the opinion that leasing unfarmable land from a farmer may be the best way to go (although ideally we would like to own it ourselves), but the biggest stumbling block is still finding the land in the first place!
many thanks for the advice mate, and also for the generous offer of help. if i ever need it, i will call on you!
it just seems to me that we all want good sites where we can do our own thing, and as considerate land users to a man/woman, it shouldn't be made to be this hard!!!