did your parents...

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did your parents do bushcrafty type stuff

  • not not at all

    Votes: 220 49.0%
  • yes a little bit bushcrafty but lots outdoors

    Votes: 193 43.0%
  • lots of bushcraft

    Votes: 36 8.0%

  • Total voters
    449

Andy

Native
Dec 31, 2003
1,867
11
38
sheffield
www.freewebs.com
do bushcrafty type stuff?

Mine took me on lots and lots of walks to the local woods,. I still go out with them from time to time. They do a bit of foraging for mushrooms and other plants, often fermenting them and trying to get me drunk.
Many camping trips in the family force 10
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
2
57
from Essex
Unfortunately my parents, like myself, came from lower working class back grounds and had to work hard for a living and as such had very little free time. I rarely saw my father as he worked long hours trying to make the ends meet.

This said I was a latch key kid and as such had much freedom, school holidays especially I was always in the woods building camps and lighting fires (sorry essex fire brigade) - I had a great childhood!
 

bothyman

Settler
Nov 19, 2003
811
3
Sutherland. Scotland.
Gary said:
Unfortunately my parents, like myself, came from lower working class back grounds and had to work hard for a living and as such had very little free time. I rarely saw my father as he worked long hours trying to make the ends meet.

This said I was a latch key kid and as such had much freedom, school holidays especially I was always in the woods building camps and lighting fires (sorry essex fire brigade) - I had a great childhood!

Same here Gary,

Didn't have much, but never went hungry.

One thing we did have was respect for our parents.

We went and played in the woods because it didn't cost anything, and we had no money.

We used to learn by our mistakes.

Number one rule don't get caught.

:Crazy_071
 

jamesdevine

Settler
Dec 22, 2003
823
0
48
Skerries, Co. Dublin
I picked the second option as my folks always brought us camping when it was only my brother and I (we once went to bed one Friday night and woke up in a tent not far from London the next morning) but when my youngest brother and sister cam along that stoped a bit as my folks worked hard to gives the best childhood they could.

My Dad got me into the scouts and we where given as much free rain during the summer to go were wanted. My folks especially my Dad has always encourage my interest in Bushcraft and I still learn loads from him.

Good poll brings back allot of good memories.


:biggthump

James
 

bambodoggy

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 10, 2004
3,062
50
49
Surrey
www.stumpandgrind.co.uk
Gary said:
I was a latch key kid and as such had much freedom, school holidays especially I was always in the woods building camps and lighting fires (sorry essex fire brigade) - I had a great childhood!

I was one of those too....and as Gary says it did for him, it also gave me heaps of freedom.
Neither of my parents or my sister were ever into any sort of outdoor stuff or even sports.... my sister was only interested in boys (she's 5 years older than me), my Mum was always busy as she was a teacher and seemed to be permanantly marking homework and the nearest my dad got to sport was watching motor-racing on TV.... For years I was convinced I was adopted as I've always been sporty and outdoorsy.... I played Rugby, Cricket and Basketball for my school and then Hockey for my college... I was a Cub, then a Scout, then a Cadet and finally in the TA.... and none of my family could understand it and also because I have a medical condition that is passed down through the family and none of my family have it!!!!!

In the holiday's Mum was about more as she was on holiday too but basicall I went out the back door at first light and headed into the MoD land all round us and save the odd day I came back for lunch I pretty much didn't come back till after dark....just messing about in the woods....I loved it!!!!

About 4 years ago my Mum casually dropped into conversation about her being adopted...I nearly feel over!
When I questioned her about it she was very casual but also suprised and said she thought I knew and had expected my sister (who can't usually keep secrets) to tell me....I knew nothing....but suddenly my life made a whole load more sense.... I asked my sister about it awhile later and she giggled and said it was about the only secret she'd ever been able to keep in her life and that she only hadn't told me as she didn't think it was her place too...bless her! lol
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
My father particularly could make himself comfortable *anywhere*. He caught Rheumatic fever as a young man having just finished his apprenticeship....1930's ..... no social security, no sickness benefit, and his parents had four other children still doing their apprenticeships to support. He took himself off and lived wild on Rannoch Moor for three years, and when he was fit for it he did some work for the local farmers (dad was a joiner) in exchange for porridge oats, eggs and so on when they were available. The rest he trapped, fished or foraged for. Family and friends could only really visit him every month or so, but he recovered well and his knowledge was encyclopedic. Daddy just *did* things, made things, and quietly encouraged us to do so too. Miss him.....

Toddy
 

steve a

Settler
Oct 2, 2003
819
13
south bedfordshire
My Dads passion was Fieldsports, so we went shooting and fishing together and I learnt a lot about fieldcraft and nature from him. As we got older I dropped the shooting as my passion for angling grew, now the old mans getting on and can't get about as well as he used to but when I visit we can at least talk about our days out and bring back some memories of enjoyable days in the field or on the bank.
I get a lot of pleasure showing my lad the wonder of nature and he is showing an interest in bushcraft, so much so that I'm sure some of my kit has sprung legs. I think it important that what skills you have are passed on or else they die, thats one of the reasons I help out at Scouts and try to pass on as many skills as I can when we go away to camp.
Sorry rambling on a bit now :sulk:
 
W

Walkabout

Guest
Im pretty much the same as Steve A in that my Dad is into field sports and i got dragged along for the ride. Once he realised i was into the outdoors he got me into cubs and ive worked my way through the whole of scouts. Like everyone else I've learned loads from him
 

grumit

Settler
Nov 5, 2003
816
11
guernsey
like a lot of other's here we were not a well off family mum had a heart disease so never worked so my father was out working hard to keep us fed but when he did have time off he would take us for walks on the cliffs or myself and older brother would go out fishing with him but most of the time i spent outdoors with my friends in the woods making rope swings and fires etc at 11 my friend took me to scout's and i have loved the out doors camping etc ever since and now try to pass on what i have learned to hobbit :wave:
 

gillmacca

Forager
Sep 14, 2004
107
0
52
Swindon
I seem to be the odd one out here.
My parents never took me camping or for walks, except as a baby..LOL
i joined the scouts...that was my first taste of any type of bushcraft.
My folks (and most of my friends) think I am mad, wanting to go off into the woods (or whether) with next to nothing.
They say, 'why go off into the woods and have to make your own shelter, find your own food, etc, when you have a roof over your head and a shop down the road'. I say, ' For one I enjoy it, the freedom and you learn a lot (alot about yourself), and however unlikely it is too happen, if myself and some friends were stuck in the middle of nowhere (due to plane crash, or stuck in jungle, mountains, etc), I am more likely to be able to survive than they would, plus it's a really cheap holiday (if you go for a week or 2), and I have more fun roughing it than I would if i was in a hotel'
 

jdlenton

Full Member
Dec 14, 2004
3,002
7
50
Northampton
My folks wouldn’t know what bushcaft was if it jumped up and bit them but the way they live and have taught me what they know is.

They are very self sufficient dad grew all the veg we ate and I still grow my own, he kept chickens and capons, would do all the DIY jobs to the house (except gas that scared him) and he could make anything out of metal and wood I skill that I use now a lot, we walked and rode bikes a lot together he introduced me to wildlife and foraging for fungi/berries, maps, camping and tools of all descriptions. (My first knife was his small scout knife and I have it for my son). My mum can make any food palatable and can preserve just about anything organic, she made a lot of our clothes as kids and still does for my son

I was aloud to have small fires in the bottom of the garden, in the summer me and a friend would cook our tea on it and sit by it until it got dark.

We also had freedom to roam around our local patch woods, fields, and overgrown grave yards!


Too many good memories to tell here I miss having them close by the ******s retired to France

good thread its nice to remember.
 

arctic hobo

Native
Oct 7, 2004
1,630
4
37
Devon *sigh*
www.dyrhaug.co.uk
I was always a kid that got spoilt and too much attention right up until I was 10, when both my parents got jobs that meant they were at home hardly at all... something inside me clicked and I turned into the opposite, I was forever out on my own in terrible weather, I remember going for a walk in the middle of nowhere and taking my heavily battered trainers off, only to have a horse try and eat them... scared me so much I ran off with one shoe :lol:
To be honest since that time I've always been a bit of a loner spare-time wise (out of choice mind, before any smart-arses make rude comments :lol:) and I've become more and more adventurous, getting into hyper long distance walking, endurance walking, climbing etc... I'd love to do one of those adventure races, they're what I'm all about, sadly the money is a trickier one :shock: My expedition in 2006 kinda sums me up :wave:
So no, my parents are not bushcrafty at all.
 

Snufkin

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 13, 2004
2,097
138
53
Norfolk
They never taught me any bushcraft but when I was 6 they moved to a little cottage on the Norfolk coast to try their hands at self sufficiency, this was 1976, I think they might have been hippies :yikes: . They were never totally self sufficient as my dad keep his job. We had goats and chickens and they grew all their own veg. Mum made butter and cheese and preserves. The only foraging they did was for wine ingredients, yep definately hippies. But I learned alot, how to make do and mend. The satisfaction of making something for yourself. I could probably still milk a goat.
I do wish that they'd cracked the whip a bit more and made me work for my pocket money. But I had the freedom to roam the beach and the woods and the local heath.
Happy times.
Now, when I go foraging I share my haul with them.
 

ScottC

Banned
May 2, 2004
1,176
13
uk
Unfortunately they never have and never will do :( . I am however lucky enough to have there support with it even if they do think i'm abit wacky.. so they do buy me kit from time to time and I've even been lucky enough to go on a course or two. So it's all good pretty much!
 

TheViking

Native
Jun 3, 2004
1,864
4
35
.
Nope, but they're into horses.

Luckily enough, my dad has little interest in survival exercises and of that was born the yearly bushcraft trip to Sweden. :pack: :Crazy_071
 

jack29g

Forager
Sep 17, 2004
164
0
Leicester
because i'm still 13 my parents still influence me and have a say in what i do but i started liking outdoor things right from an early age. My mum used to take me on walks to different places around our villiage and call them hikes. When i had made the hard strenuous walk i was given a custard cream, the walks gradually got longer and longer and then the rewards stopped coming but by then i didn't mind, i had fallen in love with the great outdoors. But this was only hiking and stuff, i got into bushcraft a few years ago, i saw a ray mears programme and i was hooked. So i guess my parents did sort of get the ball rolling. By the way the technieque of walking and rewards is a good one. If you have got kids try it. Bribary will get you everywhere! :naughty: :eek:):
 

ronsos

Forager
Dec 10, 2004
117
0
I was introduced to the great outdoors by my dad and maternal granfather, fishing .One of my first memories is climbing over a dyke into some woods to fish . I remember the smell and sounds of the woods and the fire we brewed smokey tea on .Every time im in the woods now i think of it .We graduated to sea fishing on the Gareloch, my dad would point out the Cobblers peak and telling us of the time he climbed it in the fifties We would try to work out how the hell it was supposed to look like a cobbler working at his last.I soon grew bored with fishing a started walking in our local hills(the Kilpatricks) when i was about 10 ,with friend at first(who was a bit of a bully) ,skillfully getting lost in the mist.My mate started crying for his mum ,I think I was a bit worried (probably a bit pleased this hard boy was 'greeting ' his eyes out ), but felt ,well safe.I think memories like these are one of the 'connections' that I feel when im outdoors doing stuff.I will always be gratefull to my parents my dad and granpa(a gear aside- my grandpa always wore a sports jacket tie and flannels when fishing on some remote lochan-ex battery sgt major)And my mum for worrying about me but still letting me go.I ve added to the 'connection' by introducing my kids to the outdoors.I think passing this on is incalcuably important for ...well the whole planet.Sorry rambled a bit.......
 

Nightfall

Forager
Sep 2, 2004
153
2
54
Nothren Califorina
My dad started taking me hunting when I was young. There was alot of times he carried me through the woods. We also spent alot of time fishing. As I got older we did more and more things. Camping was always one of my favorts.
 

R-Bowskill

Forager
Sep 16, 2004
195
0
59
Norwich
They used to go out getting pheasants by shaking the trees they were sleeping in so they fell out while my mum was expecting me.
Loads of wild food as a major part of our diet, shooting, snaring rabbits, hares, pidgeon, pheasant, partidge etc. Fishing, mostly for pike for the pot.
Mushrooms and nuts when they were in season, plus leaves berries, fruit and roots as well.

Gathering firewood and making lots of things as we couldn't afford to buy them, my dad used to carve his own gun stocks and stuff like that. Using local knowledge and weather lore to know when to take cover from storms, holidays were camping, canoeing and so on so I learnt alot of bushcraft before I knew that was what it's called, I just called it life.
 

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