Bushcraft Course S-E England

[RedFroggy]

We live in London & I am looking for a Week-End general Bushcraft Course for my 17 years old boy .
Looking on the net sorting the good from the not-so-good is quite daunting ...
He already has a good hiking & scouting experience. Anything serious you could recommend me , if possible, in South East England please ?
thanks

 

[Wayne]

Hi.
it can be daunting looking for a course. The are a huge number of providers out there. The majority will offer your son a great learning experience.

Take a look at the various websites. Check the price point you're comfortable with. Cheaper isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Expensive doesn’t always mean top quality.

location is important. Where is the course held? Do they have access to a decent parcel of land to adequately teach the subject?

Ratios of staff to clients again is important. some schools are happy with big classes of students and 1 instructor. Other schools have much lower numbers of students per staff member.

What equipment is provided for your use on the course? Is the school cutting costs by providing the absolute minimum. A cheap mora and a bow saw. Or have they invested heavily in their camp and tools for you to try.

Is the course catered?

check out the subjects being taught. Do they interest you? No point going on a course that has a huge section on hunting and trapping if that not your bag.

Give the school a call. Get a feel for the organisation are they happy to answer questions and do you have a good rapport.

When checking out their website look at their course dates. If they are only offering 3-4 dates a year then it’s likely to be a part time enterprise. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Ask about insurance, experience, DBS?

 

[Broch]

And, although he hasn't said it, check out Wayne's courses (Forest Knights)

 

[hughtrimble]

Frontier Bushcraft is worth a look:

Frontier Bushcraft Courses

Bushcraft courses & wilderness survival skills training. High quality courses, with friendly & experienced instructors, from 1-day to 1-week+

frontierbushcraft.com

 

[Buckshot]

+1 for Wayne - Forest Knights
Very talented individual and the team are great too.

 

[leanrascal]

So far I've only got experience with Frontier Bushcraft and Woodlore and can recommend them both

 

[RedFroggy]

Thanks ever so much all for your replies . I emailed Frontier Bushcraft & Forest Knights for the dates available . FK seems to also have a place to spend days practicing, top info as newly acquired knowledge needs to be practiced !
I also contacted Wildwood - do you guys know them ?

 

[Wayne]

Hi. I haven’t received your email.

We are based near Arundel West Sussex.

We also host the Sussex Bushcraft Club. Which holds monthly meets giving people a chance to relax and camp in our woodland. Practice skills with other more experienced bushcrafters available to offer friendly advice.
you can pm here if you have any questions.

To be honest you will get good tuition from each of the schools on your list. Both Frontiers and Wildwood have good reputations.

 

[hughtrimble]

+1 for Wayne - Forest Knights
Very talented individual and the team are great too.

Great to know about @Wayne and the Forest Knights - I'd not been aware of the school before so that's lovely to know about. The Finland canoing trip looks absolutely superb!

 

[gra_farmer]

As others have said, there are some really good bushcraft companies out there, but also some rubbish ones, so asking questions and the response time, is also important.

My wife and I were spoilt with Woodlore, and a recent course with a different bushcraft school really showed how bad some are, it was a womans only bushcraft course and my wife was belittled and her good nature taken advantage of.

The woman teaching was quite put out that she had attended a few bushcraft courses with Woodlore and was going out of her way to not teach her and exclude.

The truth of it was that the teacher was threatened.....real shame

 

[RedFroggy]

Hi. I haven’t received your email.

We are based near Arundel West Sussex.

We also host the Sussex Bushcraft Club. Which holds monthly meets giving people a chance to relax and camp in our woodland. Practice skills with other more experienced bushcrafters available to offer friendly advice.
you can pm here if you have any questions.

To be honest you will get good tuition from each of the schools on your list. Both Frontiers and Wildwood have good reputations.

Hi Wayne, thanks for your message, I just resent it . If you still dont get it , please let me know and I will copy/past it on a message here .

 

[Wayne]

Hi Wayne, thanks for your message, I just resent it . If you still dont get it , please let me know and I will copy/past it on a message here .

You should have received a reply.

Although our availability is a bit limited.