Bushcraft Show

[Toddy]

Aww, that is such a shame Look at the mud
Everyone who posted that they were going was so looking forward to the show, and the amount of effort for the traders, and families, to get organised, get on site, be set up and raring to go, and then all the rain and mud :/ and then the organisers themselves advising folks not to come. They must be so disappointed themselves let alone for everyone else.

Maybe they need to find a more industrial site ? I know it's not 'woodland', but the reality is that no woodland or field can take that volume of visitors and cars without becoming a quagmire when it pours.

Better luck next time.

M

 

[gumuman]

Me and the family had a realy good day on saturday even with the car park situation , I left the wife in the car and helped with some pushing the poor marshals were knackerd .It was a shame only a small handfull of other guest had the same idea

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[Bluffer]

Loads of people still here, bbqs, t-shirt weather, forecast is dry and bright for tomorrow.

It seems that the day-ticket car park entrance was the problem?

 

[presterjohn]

This is clearly an organizational issue. None of us are stupid and we all are perfectly aware of what the British weather can be like. Even my local car boot sale has alternate plans for when the field gets muddy. The problem was in the lack of planning and contingencies. Plain old straw laid out thick enough and earlier enough would have prevented half of the problems and that would have cost peanuts. I appreciate walking boards and such like cost money to buy or be hired but even some of them should have been on standby. For an event run by and for practically minded people this has been a fiasco.

 

[BushBob]

Thanks for the updates everyone - mush appreciated.

We gave it a miss today, but might have a look tomorrow.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Why don't they hold it in a race track. You walk around the circuit with the stall holders on the due of the Tarmac and grass ?

Donnington Monsters of Rock was ideal for that.

 

[Albus Culter]

Evening all. We must have arrived slightly later than some. When we got there we were directed to a car park a short walk up the road. Another field but perfectly fine.
The site was mud, mud and a load more mud, but it was all part of the fun. Just take spare foot ware to drive home in

Had a great day. Bought a few bits (Angst and Hillbill are to blame ), and forged a blade with Autine. So glad we were not put off by the 'don't turn up' email.





Need to stick an edge on the knife and a little tidy up. But well chuffed

 

[Mesquite]

For all the folks that are criticizing the organizers don't forget they don't own the site... they're in the hands of the owners who usually supply the site crew.

Yes, they should plan for bad weather in their discussions but end of the day it's down to the site owners for not providing proper support

 

[Albus Culter]

Well said.

Don't get me wrong they are always a little hit and miss but one of the volunteers commented that the owners set only one entrance. But they have come good and sorted another parking site

For all the folks that are criticizing the organizers don't forget they don't own the site... they're in the hands of the owners who usually supply the site crew.

Yes, they should plan for bad weather in their discussions but end of the day it's down to the site owners for not providing proper support

 

[Toddy]

It's still something that the organiser should have 'organised' though. It's part of Event Management 101, iimmc.

Live and learn; and hope the weather gods are in a sunnier mood next year

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Bonzo Frog]

Update on their FB pageat 0730 - Show update... The show goes on! The visitors and exhibitors have been amazing, smiling and laughing while doing activities, listening to talks and watching demonstrations. The sun is shining, so if you put off coming today, please use your ticket and come on Monday. See you soon!

 

[Gary Elson]

Hi All
I did indeed go to the show yesterday taking with me my wife for her first bushcraft show to say we were both disappointed was an understatement.
First off I completely understand that you can't predict the weather and hence the site turning into a quagmire and accordingly we were suitably booted to cope.
However,
we encountered toilets with no water or anything else to wash your hands,
Concession stands that couldn't supply hot drinks due to a lack of water
And a complete lack of coordination or information as to what activities were happening and no indication as to timings
The activities etc that we did watch seemed to be down to the professionalism of the stand holders - well done guys
The "main ring"only had one demo in it all day the Masai who looked stunning

But my main point is this at a £25 entrance fee the show is in the price bracket of the CLA Game fair and Burghley horse trials both of which I go to getting there early and leaving late - normally wanting more shows where I will see hundreds of exhibits etc and where you will see well organised and announced activities in a variety of settings. What we witnessed yesterday was some 60 stands and a lack of structure.

To separate the organisers and the land owners is a non starter by definition the organisers should be organising !!
So I am fifty quid lighter and wiser only in the knowledge that I shan't be returning
Thanks to Ben Orford, the guys on the Woodsmithstore stand and the gentlemen exhibiting his handmade sea kayaks you put a ray of light into a very dull day

Bring on the Wilderness Gathering = £10 good value for money !!!

Gary

 

[Riven]

I agree with your comments Gary. We only spent 3 hours there on Saturday as pretty much just looking around stalls in the mud. Could have done that at the local carboot, which seems to be run much better than this. Went to the last 2 at Elvaston which seemed much better overall. At least you could park etc.
Shall not be bothered in the future.
Riven.

 

[Bluffer]

Maasai were quite amused by it all, I thought. They really add to the show, 10 out of 10 to Woodland Ways for their stand.

Falconry display, all the stands big and small were all awesome.

I can see why day-trippers had a bad experience, it will be interesting to see what the plan for 2015 will be, I'll certainly have some constructive feedback even though I was only affected by a couple of glitches.

Hat doffed to the lads and lasses who volunteered to work the show as marshalls, etc, some of you were in bashas in the treeline in quite sporting weather conditions and still had a smile on your faces, it did not go unnoticed and much appreciated. You perverts

 

[Bonzo Frog]

Maasai were quite amused by it all, I thought. They really add to the show, 10 out of 10 to Woodland Ways for their stand.

Falconry display, all the stands big and small were all awesome.

I can see why day-trippers had a bad experience, it will be interesting to see what the plan for 2015 will be, I'll certainly have some constructive feedback even though I was only affected by a couple of glitches.

Hat doffed to the lads and lasses who volunteered to work the show as marshalls, etc, some of you were in bashas in the treeline in quite sporting weather conditions and still had a smile on your faces, it did not go unnoticed and much appreciated. You perverts

:You_Rock_
The wife and I went on Saturday, drove through heavy rain but got into the car park ok. The show ground steadily turned to mud but the talks were good, the stalls busy and the stall holders kept a sense of humour. Could it have been organised better? Probably but with 20-20 hindsight we'd all make better decisions. It was the first time for me so I have nothing to compare it against but I for one was glad I went and gratitude to those marshals who helped get the cars out, nice one guys and girls.

Dave

 

[Bluffer]

2013 was a great venue, but there was a long wait for hired canoes on a small lake.

So, this year I took my own canoe, but then couldn't access the put-in point (I decided against the 500m portage through the mud and crowds, on my own with two toddlers).

The organisers have already said they won't use this (2014) site for next year, so I'll be planning to attend again in 2015.

 

[cranmere]

I didn't go in the end, mostly because of the mud. I have arthritis in my knees and feet and cannot easily walk long distances so I was concerned about the distance to the alternative car park, and walking in deep slippery mud is also difficult. Given that it would be a 2.5 hour drive for me and the cost of getting in I didn't go. I'm saddened by that, I was looking forward to browsing around the stalls, forging a knife and hopefully putting some faces to names.

I would be interested to know the costings for the event. £25 per head is a lot of money, and no doubt the stallholders paid a substantial fee for their stalls. I've run big events including multi-day science fiction conventions and triathlons and that sounds like a pretty hefty budget to me. It's double what the North Somerset agricultural show was charging here a few weeks ago and that was for much larger event with many more stalls and activities. Could any of the attendees estimate attendance numbers? Tens? Hundreds? And roughly how many were weekenders?

Provision for mud should be absolutely basic at an outdoor event and I think it's unacceptable to have the situation that transpired here. Even something as simple as plenty of straw spread around the entrances and main walkways would have helped considerably if it was put down before the surface started to get churned up, but on that budget they should have been able to afford proper matting and duckboards in the vehicle entrances. It isn't acceptable either to shift the blame to the site owners, checking that sort of detail is part of good event planning.

 

[Zingmo]

Just got back. Broke knackered but happy.


Z

 

[Mesquite]

Just posted on Ronnie Sunshines FB page...

All I can say is I'm glad I didn't go

 

[presterjohn]

I didn't go in the end, mostly because of the mud. I have arthritis in my knees and feet and cannot easily walk long distances so I was concerned about the distance to the alternative car park, and walking in deep slippery mud is also difficult. Given that it would be a 2.5 hour drive for me and the cost of getting in I didn't go. I'm saddened by that, I was looking forward to browsing around the stalls, forging a knife and hopefully putting some faces to names.

I would be interested to know the costings for the event. £25 per head is a lot of money, and no doubt the stallholders paid a substantial fee for their stalls. I've run big events including multi-day science fiction conventions and triathlons and that sounds like a pretty hefty budget to me. It's double what the North Somerset agricultural show was charging here a few weeks ago and that was for much larger event with many more stalls and activities. Could any of the attendees estimate attendance numbers? Tens? Hundreds? And roughly how many were weekenders?

Provision for mud should be absolutely basic at an outdoor event and I think it's unacceptable to have the situation that transpired here. Even something as simple as plenty of straw spread around the entrances and main walkways would have helped considerably if it was put down before the surface started to get churned up, but on that budget they should have been able to afford proper matting and duckboards in the vehicle entrances. It isn't acceptable either to shift the blame to the site owners, checking that sort of detail is part of good event planning.

You are spot on. I think we have a lot of good will towards these events and are reluctant to criticize but the truth is the people who paid quite a lot of money were at the end of the day very much let down. I don't know if it was greed or incompetence or a mixture of the two but the money invested by the visitors (and no doubt stall holders) into this event did not see enough of that money invested into the event itself. I do wonder what the thoughts are of some of those stall holders? Were they looked after and how badly was trade adversely effected by the organizational failings?