Day Out A walk with son and impromptu shelter

[Paul_B]

Went for a walk up a hill and into some woods at the weekend with family. Some way into the woods was an area with some large beech trees and bare earth around them. A kind of open area.

What did we spot but the beginnings of a shelter. So not having much time we decided to stop and see if we could add to it. Not a serious attempt but our son is young and we've never done a shelter together. So we added branches to the lean to and a few cross branches. Then some bracken.

It was all good fun for the lad but we had to pose for photos then leave before it was anything worth much. I've not made shelters since a cub on cub camp in the lakes. Plus there really wasn't much in the way of fallen branches to use. So it was only a play game.

Still I reckon I'd love to find somewhere we could do it properly. Somewhere we could cut down branches and make a proper shelter from scratch. Not many places allow that I reckon.

I guess my point on posting is about how much fun young children get just from playing in the outdoors. Den making, play fire setting, throwing stones into ponds, dam building across a small stream, etc.

Wouldn't it be good if more private land let kids use them and more kids actually get out into those woods and countryside? If you had woodland, would you let kids (and their big kids parents) build shelters? Within reason of course? AFAIK it's only the likes of large forestry commission sites and national trust who runs activity days where kids build shelters.

 

[Dreadhead]

I bet it was an adventure for your lad all the same

though im not keen on building shelters or finding them when out, especially when the forest has been butchered to knock one up for a day. It just doesn't sit with the leave no trace philosophy. building them out of fallen branches without harm to the woods, and dismantling them when finished with them is the way to go, and would possibly have more deeper lessons to pass on to the next generation

 

[mousey]

I take the cubs to the local woods and try to do some activities with them, mostly they just want to play and run around in the woods. They never go too far, but I find it difficult to be too authoritative with them as they are only young and it seems kids these days don't get much of an opportunity to just play and make up their own games.

As it happens the cubs in the region [around 100] are going camping this weekend and I'm on shelters, got a parachute, a load of cheap builders tarps and free run of the woodland with plenty of recently felled trees to use for natural shelters. Looking forward to that one. other activities include go-karts, fire lighting, cooking, knife/axe work, catapults, various craft type things.

 

[nobby8126]

I'm with you Paul kids need to be out and learning how to use tools and respect their surroundings. I set up a little camp with a lean to and a teepee couple of seats and room for a few hammocks in a local wood (camp nobby) I left a note there saying what I was using it for and also saying if they wanted it cleared I would and it's been left for a year. other ramps and structures have been taken down but as I've used no nails' screws or cut any live tree they seem happy. I often have overnighters there and cook up lunch and never had a problem. Forestry are pretty sound if you aint a hoodlum lol.

 

[dannyk64]

I'm not the biggest fan of seeing shelters when out and about, but as long as they are dismantled at the end of it what's the harm! An easy low cost activity that I'm sure most of us experienced growing up.

It is a pity more land owners are not open to allowing bushcraft related activities but the sad fact is people all to often ended up trashing the place!

I have been involved in two different shelter building related days/weekends with the forestry commission.

The first one we did with local schools. Children and their parents from as young as 6ish were given saws and loppers and spent the first half of the day felling and brashing in birch woodland. The second half of the day was then spent building shelters with the dropped birch, brash and bracken with a little bit of Kelly kettle firefighting thrown in.

It was a great day! the kids had fun, learnt a little about the woods, conservation and forestry as well as trying their hand at some bushcraft, all whilst helping to speed up a job we were already doing.

The second was a bushcraft weekend with kids where they were shown a range of skills including building a shelter and sleeping out in it for the night.

The first one was free the second one wasn't but both great days, worth getting to know your local community rangers. They can often make things happen and If you can make the activity productive for the commission and can get a few of you out your all the more likely to get a fun day out of it!



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[Alan De Enfield]

At a previous property, some years ago, we had a 'spare' 18 acres or so of 'scrubland' which included about 6 acres of woodland (mainly Silver Birch and other 'rubbish' self-seed growth. There was a lot of ups and downs and an old 'spoil heap' as the site had been an old coal mine in the 1700's / 1800's (shafts all filled in and sealed)
I made an equine 'cross country course' (ditches, jumps, steps, gradients etc) for the local Pony Club and had regular competitions.
I offered it to the local Army Cadets for survival, hunting, trapping, shelter building, quad biking etc) they would be allowed to use it anyway they saw fit (clearance, trails, camp-fires etc) but they very politely declined saying that they were not allowed to use any land :
1) that had not been inspected, approved and 'signed off' by the MoD authorities.
2) that was not insured for the outdoor activities as 'listed'.

So, the 'lads' lost out and it continued to be used by the Pony Club, and many very enjoyable days, BBQs etc we had.

 

[Paul_B]

The shelter was there before us and probably been there and added to by kids for some time. It's a set of woods that has a footpath through but locals are fighting to save. All wood read clearly fallen and we only used fallen wood as well. Plus a little bracken to give a bit of "weatherproofing". Although I'd never want to sleep out under it. Really was not a proper shelter.

The location also had two rope swings from the tree and was probably where local kids went to play out.

 

[Robson Valley]

Most of those DIY shelters can be waterproofed for a few nights with a simple tarp or piece of poly.
Plan for it some weekend! The tarp needs to be 3X or 4X the size of the shelter to be covered,
you need some outdoor dry space, too.

I like the clear poly. Better light, not gloomy. Amplifies the sound of the rain
to make it seem far worse than it really is. And I can sit out and be dry.
Might I join you all?

Every wild wilderness campsite here shows no trace of occupancy except for bent grass.
No shelters of any sort. Maybe a meat pole 20' up between two big spruce ( bears).

What does sometimes change over the years is the size and the complexity of the fire pit.
I hunt up and down most of those valleys. If there's nobody camped there, I might stop for a look.

One "fire pit" that I am reminded of is now a magnificent 3 place stone cooker, built up for iron grills and flat places for other pots.
Somebody stayed in camp for a week and collected flat rock (mountains of it here) for the dry masonry.
Thay had to drive miles for the stone that they selected. Nobody would ever crack your nut for doing it.
Instead, it tends to focus the activity and might even encourage some add-ons, as happened last fall.