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Introduction
A couple of things before I start the review proper: firstly, yes I’d recommend the course (so that you can judge whether to read any further); and secondly, here’s the required photo of someone blowing into some smoking tinder (look, there’s even a parachute !).
[photo]
Now that the review essentials are out of the way, I can admit to those that have bothered to read beyond the first sentence that the hay came from a plastic bag of hamster food; and the smoke hasn’t come from a friction coal, it’s from a flint and steel. This was a two-day course, and our instructor Richard had chosen to avoid the potential disappointment of fire-by-friction, and concentrate on some of the less risky skills. This was a characteristic of the course: I never felt rushed, and there was plenty of time to take things in. In fact, by the end of the Saturday, we were wishing for rain, so confident were we in our hand-built shelters.
So we didn’t do hand-drills, what did we do ?
Programme
Here’s the official programme:
Friday Evening
19:00 Arrival and set up individual tents / tarps.
19:45 Introductions, safety brief and quick tour of site.
20:45 Free time.
Saturday
08:00 Breakfast.
08:45 Introduction to bushcraft knives, their safe use and correct sharpening. Introduction to folding and hand saws. Start small projects.
13:00 Lunch.
13:45 Shelter building, types of shelter, construction methods.
18:00 Dinner.
19:00 Shelter building continued and gathering materials for cordage.
20:45 Free time.
Sunday
08:00 Breakfast.
08:45 Fire lighting methods, contemporary and traditional.
12:30 Lunch.
13:15 Natural cordage.
16:00 Finish course, dismantle shelters and tidy site.
17:00 Leave.
Cutting Edge Basics
I hope that Richard won’t mind me saying that, in common with the more honest of us, he’s a student of a famous television presenter. And so it was that we were introduced to the orthodoxy of bushcraft tools: the scandi grind touched up with Japanese water-stones, and the Laplander saw. Richard listed the pros and cons of the choice of blade materials and profiles, and we were each lent our own… Frosts Mora. Our first task, after a tutorial, was to sharpen the blade. Many of us eight students managed to move the edge in the correct direction on the stones; and no-one admitted to any subsequent injuries. As a mark of Richard’s instruction, there are now a few more bare forearms out there. Sensibly, axes were passed over.
As our confidence increased over the weekend, we got to use the blades to make: feather-sticks, cordage, mallets, bark strippers, shelter materials, and skewers. The photo shows us in the pre-marshmallow stage of skewering. Sharps had been banned at this point in the evening, in case you’ve noticed the beer bottle.
[photo]
Shelter-building, or Deforestation
If you look at the left-hand side of the skewer photo, you’ll see the whiteboard that Richard used for his tutorials (if you’re very keen-eyed, or imaginative, you might be able to make out bushcraftuk.com as the first line of writing). It was with this teaching tool that we were introduced to shelter-building, and gently guided into a choice of four two-person lean-tos. Richard has been teaching for a long time, and this was clear from small things like the contortions necessary to draw on a board without obscuring the students’ view.
Four of the eight of us had come up to Aberdeenshire as a group, and this lent a certain degree of competition to all activities; particularly to the shelter-building. It was lucky that we were on Forestry Commission land, because at least one of the shelters was a lot closer in construction to a log cabin than a lean-to by the time that it was finished. All the shelters were built without cordage (we hadn’t been taught that yet); but, as the photo shows, their structure was successfully load-bearing. Not only load-bearing, but weather-proof. The prayed-for rain appeared overnight (which didn’t deter the foxes and owls hunting around the campsite), but happily, we only found out after we’d awoken, warm, dry and almost entirely free of slug trails.
[photo]
Fire-starting
I’ve already hinted at two of the three fire-lighting methods we were taught: flint-and-steel (Richard made a batch of char-cloth while we were there) and feather-sticks (‘one match one fire’
. The third method was the Swedish fire-steel. So, although there was no formal plant identification element to the course, we at least got to recognise birch.
Actually, we were lucky in that Richard was assisted by a Forestry Commission ranger, Jackie; who not only taught us the difference between the many conifers that formed the majority of our thatch, but could also identify the various birds around the campsite by their song. Well, I can only assume that her identification was accurate: for all I know about ornithology, the “woodpecker” that I couldn’t spot flitting through the foliage ten trees away could have been a hoarse or timid ostrich.
The Woodland Menu
All food and (non-alcoholic) drink was provided on the course, and the highlight of Saturday evening was hangi-cooked roe deer. There was a slight hiccup in the early excavation of the hangi, when we hit shallow bedrock; but enthusiasm and a mattock soon got us down to the correct depth. A few hours later, we came back from shelter-building to venison, tatties and honey-roasted parsnips.
[photo]
(We had two haunches of venison, one of which was wrapped in tinfoil and spinach, the other of which was placed directly onto the rocks. An interesting point to note is that the bare venison was the most tender: was the natural water in the pit steaming it ?)
As can be seen in the photo on the right, there was a vegetarian alternative: stone-grilled veggie burgers. And everyone found time to test out their newly-whittled skewers, with or without smoked sausage (tastes great with marshmallow, if you’re adventurous).
[photo]
Cordage
The main other skill to which we were introduced was natural cordage. We were in a nettle-free area (!), so a forage for broadleaves found us honeysuckle and some willow saplings. Closer to the campsite, we were able to grub up conifer roots. Richard showed us the basics of stripping, splitting and twisting, and we were soon snapping each others’ strands in vindictive ‘strength tests’.
Site Facilities
That’s the basics of the course covered; the only other thing that I’ll mention is the facilities. As well as the covered campfire, there was a separate sheltered area for food preparation, and, some distance apart, a screened-off latrine (offering a nice view of passing tractors). Although on public access land (of course, all of Scotland is public access), we saw no more than a couple of dog-walkers throughout the whole weekend. Jackie was using the Commission’s ‘Peregrine Watch’ van, and, despite frenzied denials, we were unable to persuade one family that we weren’t on site to protect a secret nest. I can’t really blame them: it’s a less disturbing conclusion to draw than “these mud- and smoke-stained people carrying knives have just paid to spend a weekend on the forest floor”. Money well spent, say I.
