Hi Peter, I PM'd you. Not sure if the combining will work as I am eating non-gluten......thanks for replying though and look forward to seeing you.
Lune
Lune
bcuk Foundation Skills Week - 30th May 3rd June 2011
- Thread starter Tony
- Start date
Hi All
i hope you are all looking forward to your upcoming course and have a great week. Please note there will be no one in the office on monday so if you find that you are running late, stuck in traffic etc, please ring the duty mobile number I have sent out to you all. I will be here in the office until 5pm today so if you have any last minute questions please do not hesitate to contact me,
Becky
i hope you are all looking forward to your upcoming course and have a great week. Please note there will be no one in the office on monday so if you find that you are running late, stuck in traffic etc, please ring the duty mobile number I have sent out to you all. I will be here in the office until 5pm today so if you have any last minute questions please do not hesitate to contact me,
Becky
yes - looking forward to it - still not sure I can everything in one rucksack though so may have to cheat a bit
That is it, not repacking anymore, still too much really so either the response pack goes outside or we dont really need it
When Chris gets off work we get some sleep for an early start. See you all in the morning .....
Just back from Dorset and unpacked the car. All a bit rushed at the moment as I have to be somewhere else tomorrow so proper review to follow in the week.
I had a fantastic time, which I think goes for everyone else from our debrief chat. Ross, Adam and Dan were fantastic triple act as instructors and colleagues.
Woody was around for the first few days fettling the camp and making the self catering facilities work, for example we asked for a bigger tarp over the fire and a monster had been erected next time we went to cook!
The team say none of it is a secret so expect some reviews in the coming days and hints on kit, we probably all took too much as we did not realise how well we would be looked after, half of mine never came out so the trangia does not need washing!
I had a fantastic time, which I think goes for everyone else from our debrief chat. Ross, Adam and Dan were fantastic triple act as instructors and colleagues.
Woody was around for the first few days fettling the camp and making the self catering facilities work, for example we asked for a bigger tarp over the fire and a monster had been erected next time we went to cook!
The team say none of it is a secret so expect some reviews in the coming days and hints on kit, we probably all took too much as we did not realise how well we would be looked after, half of mine never came out so the trangia does not need washing!
Looking forward to your take on the week 
Don't spoil too many surprises for the October one though
Don't spoil too many surprises for the October one though
I had a fantastic time on this course. I learnt so much and met some great people. Looking forward to putting some of it into practice. Would highly recommend this course.
A Quick Review
The BCUK "private" course took place on a 300+ acre private wooded estate in Dorset. After meeting up on a local town the 13 participants and 3 instructors made their way to the estate and walked in a short distance to the camp. As we arrived it decided to start raining so it was a damp walk in but the team took stuff that had not made it into people's packs!
The camp itself is in several zones; a covered teaching area, an staff area and a students living area. For this course the student area had been equipped with a covered communal fire pit that could have accomodated a 2m long fire. We set up camp here amongst some magnificent cedars.
I won't go into too much detail but by later in the week we had a "tarp encampment" below us and a "natural shelter" encampment higher up the hill and there was a choice of 3 places to sleep.
Theory sessions took place under the 'chute mixed with practical carving, fire making, plant walks, tracking etc.
As knowledge built up during the week it was brought together for an overnight trip to another part of the estate including hobo fishing (and sun bathing).
Plus the important converting theory of safe water collection by learning just how much boiling this meant!
And of course the important fire scar removal
During the week the weather had steadily improved to the point we were issued sunblock !
Reluctantly we finally departed in glorious sunshine with a warning that we had just spent 5 days living a relaxed life and to be extremely wary of the speed of "nutters" on the roads as we journied home, a 7 mile traffic jam on the A303 put paid to that though
The BCUK "private" course took place on a 300+ acre private wooded estate in Dorset. After meeting up on a local town the 13 participants and 3 instructors made their way to the estate and walked in a short distance to the camp. As we arrived it decided to start raining so it was a damp walk in but the team took stuff that had not made it into people's packs!
The camp itself is in several zones; a covered teaching area, an staff area and a students living area. For this course the student area had been equipped with a covered communal fire pit that could have accomodated a 2m long fire. We set up camp here amongst some magnificent cedars.
I won't go into too much detail but by later in the week we had a "tarp encampment" below us and a "natural shelter" encampment higher up the hill and there was a choice of 3 places to sleep.
Theory sessions took place under the 'chute mixed with practical carving, fire making, plant walks, tracking etc.
As knowledge built up during the week it was brought together for an overnight trip to another part of the estate including hobo fishing (and sun bathing).
Plus the important converting theory of safe water collection by learning just how much boiling this meant!
And of course the important fire scar removal
During the week the weather had steadily improved to the point we were issued sunblock !
Reluctantly we finally departed in glorious sunshine with a warning that we had just spent 5 days living a relaxed life and to be extremely wary of the speed of "nutters" on the roads as we journied home, a 7 mile traffic jam on the A303 put paid to that though
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Nice photos Peter, I have posted some here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2115003472448.2126115.1166547781&l=4c2fba0ea3
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2115003472448.2126115.1166547781&l=4c2fba0ea3
Some great pics, I'll try to upload mine soon, although I think I wasn't as prolific with my camera.
What a great week!
It knitted together and put into practice a lot of knowledge that I have managed to pick up through my interest in bushcraft, survival and primitive technology over the years but didn't know how to move forward with, as well as introducing some new knowledge and skills.
Reading the brief syllabus, it would be easy to think that there would not be enough subject matter to fill 5 days, but the truth is that 5 days was barely enough. While there were a couple of subjects that I was already knowledgeable and competent in, they were well structured and presented and underlined my confidence in the things that were new to me.
While it wasn't a break neck pace, there was always something new to move onto and the subjects were varied enough, both mentally and physically, to be able to sustain interest from 8.30 in the morning to 10 at night. We had plenty of time to practice and develop skills, with plenty of 1 to 1 (or small group) attention from the instructors.
Above all, I was extremely impressed with all of the instructors; Ross, Adam and Dan, who were not only very knowledgeable and passionate, but also very good at dealing with people on different levels and with different backgrounds and experience. Having done some teaching and coaching myself I know how difficult that can be. They also let their personalities shine through, each different but complementary to the overall experience, and without which the week wouldn't have been quite as much fun.
If I had to suggest an improvement, I would have liked a bit more on wild food (which I realise is a separate course.) We covered a bit on the nature walk and occasional observations throughout the week but a bit more would have suited me well. On the other hand, not sure where we could have fitted it in or what I would be willing to give up to include it, although the nettle picking wasn't really my cup of tea
Overall, I thoroughly recommend it. Especially at the bargain price... If you're interested but have your doubts, cast them aside and move heaven and earth to get the time off, you will not regret it.
Dom
What a great week!
It knitted together and put into practice a lot of knowledge that I have managed to pick up through my interest in bushcraft, survival and primitive technology over the years but didn't know how to move forward with, as well as introducing some new knowledge and skills.
Reading the brief syllabus, it would be easy to think that there would not be enough subject matter to fill 5 days, but the truth is that 5 days was barely enough. While there were a couple of subjects that I was already knowledgeable and competent in, they were well structured and presented and underlined my confidence in the things that were new to me.
While it wasn't a break neck pace, there was always something new to move onto and the subjects were varied enough, both mentally and physically, to be able to sustain interest from 8.30 in the morning to 10 at night. We had plenty of time to practice and develop skills, with plenty of 1 to 1 (or small group) attention from the instructors.
Above all, I was extremely impressed with all of the instructors; Ross, Adam and Dan, who were not only very knowledgeable and passionate, but also very good at dealing with people on different levels and with different backgrounds and experience. Having done some teaching and coaching myself I know how difficult that can be. They also let their personalities shine through, each different but complementary to the overall experience, and without which the week wouldn't have been quite as much fun.
If I had to suggest an improvement, I would have liked a bit more on wild food (which I realise is a separate course.) We covered a bit on the nature walk and occasional observations throughout the week but a bit more would have suited me well. On the other hand, not sure where we could have fitted it in or what I would be willing to give up to include it, although the nettle picking wasn't really my cup of tea
Overall, I thoroughly recommend it. Especially at the bargain price... If you're interested but have your doubts, cast them aside and move heaven and earth to get the time off, you will not regret it.
Dom
Finally have some time to post some comments and pics.
Overall a very good week. For me it was a chance to consolidate and put into practice stuff I have (theoretically) picked up over the past few years. For example using a knife under pretty constant general supervision made me more disciplined in knife safety (although I never did get the hang of telling knife-wielding people I was about to enter their zone of death)
Generally I was left with a feeling of greater confidence about staying out in the woods. The main things I personally want to crack are:
The totally new thing (to me) that we tried - and which was really interesting - was tracking, where Ross did a brilliant job in getting the basic principles over to us.
I took loads of pictures so I will just try to provide some on areas not already covered by others.
We spent an afternoon on an 'edibles' walk and Ross found a ?slow worm that used its escape technique on us - the thing in the picture was wriggling around for a good 10 minutes or more
Adam gave a marvellous demo on making fire with a bow drill. The main thing that struck me was how calm the whole procedure was - not frenetic at all
Adam also showed us how to make a water 'seep' (?) when a stream had only a tiny trickle of water flowing in it
And finally, the view from the toilet, when in use
One final comment: shortly after getting home I e-mailed Ross with a query and was absolutely amazed that he was able to reply much more fully and promptly than I had any right to expect
Chris (the Elder)
Overall a very good week. For me it was a chance to consolidate and put into practice stuff I have (theoretically) picked up over the past few years. For example using a knife under pretty constant general supervision made me more disciplined in knife safety (although I never did get the hang of telling knife-wielding people I was about to enter their zone of death)
Generally I was left with a feeling of greater confidence about staying out in the woods. The main things I personally want to crack are:
- sleeping on the ground (still uncomfortable for me despite a good quality mat)
- cordage
- making fire with a bow drill
The totally new thing (to me) that we tried - and which was really interesting - was tracking, where Ross did a brilliant job in getting the basic principles over to us.
I took loads of pictures so I will just try to provide some on areas not already covered by others.
We spent an afternoon on an 'edibles' walk and Ross found a ?slow worm that used its escape technique on us - the thing in the picture was wriggling around for a good 10 minutes or more
Adam gave a marvellous demo on making fire with a bow drill. The main thing that struck me was how calm the whole procedure was - not frenetic at all
Adam also showed us how to make a water 'seep' (?) when a stream had only a tiny trickle of water flowing in it
And finally, the view from the toilet, when in use
One final comment: shortly after getting home I e-mailed Ross with a query and was absolutely amazed that he was able to reply much more fully and promptly than I had any right to expect
Chris (the Elder)
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Hi Chris, great photos, esp. the slow worm's tail, which I presume by now has been pickled by Adam.
All round, a great week.
Lou
All round, a great week.
Lou
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