Looks like you had a good time...are you going to post a write up & pics on the Escouts Bushcraft & Nature Social Group?
You can find it
here
Or a repost for those who aren't an escouter...
I've been asked to give an account/review of the bushmoot 2010 organised on BushcraftUK.com. So here goes!
The Bushmoot is an annual event run by enthusiasts & professionals in the spirit of bushcraft. Each day there's a full list of activities for adults and young 'uns alike. It's a family atmosphere and takes place in a small site in Wales.
My journey started on the forums, umming and arrr'ing over whether to actually go - whilst there's quite a bit of information on the location, there's not a lot on the activities etc & no set sessions, so you don’t really know what you’re going to get. Once I'd made my decision to definitely go, there was only a week left and after getting my paws on one of the very last tickets I was soon packing my bags and starting my journey. I also met a guy called Will on the forums and we shared the trip down, leaving at 3pm and a few scenic diversions we finally arrived around 8:30pm just as night was drawing in.
The site is set up so that the rowdy crowd is off to one side and the rest of the campsite is left open for families and those who want a bit of quiet. As Will remarked, you do get a feeling from some people that particular spots are 'reserved' by people year on year, though neither of us found finding a campsite hard, especially good as we had hammocks. The whole site is based on old sand dunes. It's mainly a pine and sycamore forest which has grown up from the dunes and the area is very sandy. This has the benefit of free draining soil - it was rarely muddy under foot.
The central point in the site is the reception and a log cabin which hosts the four showers, loos and teaching room. The facilities are basic (tin roof affair with short height doors which remind me of old west saloon doors - think continental) but perfectly acceptable for bushcrafters imho. The surrounding woodland provides plenty of wood, especially for bush crafting activities.
Nearby are the 'wild' dunes - from the map level you could assume that these back onto the site and are private - this is not the case, the dunes are public and back onto the end of the road where there is a car park. They're also about a mile to a mile and a half from the camp, a good 45 minute trek from reception to the sea.
On our first night, we pitched in the dark and we did camp up close to the 'naughty corner' and main parachute, though we didn't know this in the dark. The naughty corner is the late night area where you can sit up all night, drink and be merry (usually with a few naughty songs thrown in). It’s tremendous fun, especially since this year they had a ‘mammock’ – a mammoth hammock made from goal post netting and they managed to get 13 people in (and an emergency life raft the next day).
After we set up, a quick scout around found our location and we both knew we'd not be sleeping tremendously well as we were so close to the naughty corner and in fact when I awoke, Will had already moved to the far side of the site, though this was a little excessive. I moved as well, however this was due to the fact my hammock was stretched over a main path which might have been awkward at night, so I moved a little way away and whilst I'm a fussy sleeper, I slept soundly.
It did rain a number of times, but none of this gave us any real problems until the last day when we experienced a proper Welsh downpour.
Each day starts at the main parachute at 10am where general information is given and requests can be made for specific courses. During the weekend (Sunday) I asked for help with flint and steel fire lighting and ended up with a one on one session with a guy called John (thanks John)
On the first day I didn't actually manage to take a full list of the activities. I did however learn to make nettle cordage from youtube celebrities from Natural Bushcraft, not do a wild food walk (because I was cooking lunch and also perusing the site shop bring and buy table) and spent the afternoon whittling a needle from a lump of sycamore for net making.
Sunday workshops were: Forging, Damp tinder fire lighting, knife sharpening, physiotherapy for lone adventurers, hand drill, cooking outdoors, Viking treasure hunt for the kids, father and son bow making (which is a form of bow, not for only father and sons!), shelter building, tree identification, first aid, small traps, willow basket making, axe safety & small tree felling, kids bracelet making, thumb sticks & pot hangers, wild food walk & leatherwork.
Most of the above were about 2 hrs plus, a very relaxed attitude. I took knife sharpening in the morning (as I'd discovered my knife was very blunt during the whittling session) and it was eye opening. I quickly popped to the thumb sticks & pot hangers session where I discovered I was the only attendee and got one on one tuition making a pot hanger (as I was trying to fit this in, it was all done in less than half an hour) so I could get out and do the wild food walk. In the evening I spent some time with John as previously mentioned working on the flint and steel method of fire lighting and shortly after, Troy popped over and we spent some time looking at flint on flint fire lighting & tinders.
On Monday some of the same workshops (like forging, wild food walks etc) were repeated - We had forging, damp tinder fire lighting, photography (and night time photography), family bow drill, butchering & meat preparation, wild food walk, kids cowboy fun, bow drill + bits and bobs, Butanese bow making (from bamboo poles), play hammocks for kids, blanket cloaks & blanket cloaks for kids, wood carving, willow basket making, net making, small traps (figure of 4), paracord bracelets, flint knapping, kids first aid, bread making for kids and tracking!
My choices were the net making in the morning and flint knapping in the afternoon. I also spent some time watching Dave Budd forge a knife and took a few extra photos around the site. I found the flint knapping particularly interesting and made a hide scraper & a few arrowheads.
On Tuesday, my last day, everyone was getting prepared for a Hangi which is a fire pit filled with hot stones, meat and veg & buried. Whilst a few courses in flint knapping and a few bits were put on for the kids, the main emphasis on the day was on the traders day where you could buy all sorts like knives, tinder kits, leather making gear etc and the Hangi in the evening. Unfortunately I didn't win the ax in the raffle that Dave Budd had donated, however I did take home a wealth of knowledge I'm looking forward to passing onto the kids.
The moot actually ran from Friday through to Wednesday, however if you're a full member (donated money to the running of the forum) you could pay extra and go Thursday to Thursday. The Fri-Wed is £75 and the full members was £95 and you got the advantage of another skill day.
