Well, I have been lurking on this esteemed establishment for some time now (quite some time actually and I have been registered for a lot of it) without actually commenting on anything. So I think this is probably about the time I should say hello and actually begin to contribute instead of just absorbing the wealth of knowledge and opinion ventured on here. Expect this to be a long introduction I feel I owe it to the many of you who have inspired and informed me over the years.
My name is Alex and Ive been into bushcraft since before it was known as such. As a child I moved from North Lincolnshire to Orkney and spent ten years living there. In summer time myself, my sisters and our friends would have breakfast and head out to the hills, beaches, cliffs and burns, taking our lunch and not returning until the late evening. As some of you no doubt know it never truly gets dark up there in summer and we would make the most of this. I remember camping at Rackwick on Hoy and being woken up by bright, hot sun in our tent. Thinking it was early morning we got up and prepared our breakfast, catching sight of a pod of killer whales just offshore as we did so, an amazing sight and one we wouldnt have had without the light waking us. Looking at my watch after breakfast it was barely four in the morning. During this period one of my favourite books was one of my Mothers Survival for Young People (does anyone remember this? It told you exactly how to roll a hedgehog in clay! Think it was by Anthony Green), and of course The SAS Survival Handbook.
When I returned to England I carried the knowledge I had built up with me and was surprised how few people knew anything of the ways of the outdoors; for example no one could light a fire, even with a lighter and firelighters. I tried to spend as much time as I could outside or if this wasnt possible reading about, researching and practicing the skills I needed. I began to add to my library of books, getting the original Mears book back in the day, for example. I would sit in my room at university with a pile of wood carving traps and putting them together over and over, or rolling out lengths of nettle cordage, or knapping flint. My housemates thought I was mad.
After I left university (prematurely for one reason or another and without a degree) I spent even more time in the woods (something that had been in very short supply in Orkney and something I had grown to love). After several years I returned to actually do a course I wanted to do as a mature(!) student and studied Archaeology and Prehistory at Sheffield. I was drawn to our hunter-gatherer past for obvious reasons and specialised as much as possible in the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods. My dissertation was entitled Life in Woods, or Woods in Life and was a study of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic relationships with the climactic vegetation around them in the Atlantic Archipelago (or the UK and Eire as it is now known) and how it affected their mindsets.
Since graduation I have spent even more time outdoors, using my holidays (from the Civil Service where I am temporarily working) to take time out in the mountains and woodlands of Scotland. I returned on Saturday from two weeks spent in my hammock, cooking on a fire and gathering as much wild food as possible. I wont disclose the exact location (I guard it jealously!) but may well put some pictures up soon and some of you will possibly recognise it. Saw no one but people on boats for the whole time. Bliss.
Next year I am planning on leaving the country to see some of the world. For various reasons I have the opportunity to travel and experience different cultures and locales. I am, of course, planning on taking most of my kit with me and incorporating as much bushcraft as possible within the journey. I find it somewhat amusing that Ill be taking my billy can and hammock back to Thailand where they originally came from... So, any tips on places to go would be greatly appreciated I am starting in SE Asia, then heading northward into Nepal and down through India before going through the Middle East into Africa, working my way down the continent and then flying to South America, heading north. This is just a loose plan at present and no doubt will change, but it is a goal I have been headed towards for some time now and draws ever nearer.
So, there we go, I told you it would be a long introduction! I look forward to actually commenting on these esteemed walls, asking questions and offering my own advice where possible. Thanks for reading this (if anyone has reached the end)!
My name is Alex and Ive been into bushcraft since before it was known as such. As a child I moved from North Lincolnshire to Orkney and spent ten years living there. In summer time myself, my sisters and our friends would have breakfast and head out to the hills, beaches, cliffs and burns, taking our lunch and not returning until the late evening. As some of you no doubt know it never truly gets dark up there in summer and we would make the most of this. I remember camping at Rackwick on Hoy and being woken up by bright, hot sun in our tent. Thinking it was early morning we got up and prepared our breakfast, catching sight of a pod of killer whales just offshore as we did so, an amazing sight and one we wouldnt have had without the light waking us. Looking at my watch after breakfast it was barely four in the morning. During this period one of my favourite books was one of my Mothers Survival for Young People (does anyone remember this? It told you exactly how to roll a hedgehog in clay! Think it was by Anthony Green), and of course The SAS Survival Handbook.
When I returned to England I carried the knowledge I had built up with me and was surprised how few people knew anything of the ways of the outdoors; for example no one could light a fire, even with a lighter and firelighters. I tried to spend as much time as I could outside or if this wasnt possible reading about, researching and practicing the skills I needed. I began to add to my library of books, getting the original Mears book back in the day, for example. I would sit in my room at university with a pile of wood carving traps and putting them together over and over, or rolling out lengths of nettle cordage, or knapping flint. My housemates thought I was mad.
After I left university (prematurely for one reason or another and without a degree) I spent even more time in the woods (something that had been in very short supply in Orkney and something I had grown to love). After several years I returned to actually do a course I wanted to do as a mature(!) student and studied Archaeology and Prehistory at Sheffield. I was drawn to our hunter-gatherer past for obvious reasons and specialised as much as possible in the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods. My dissertation was entitled Life in Woods, or Woods in Life and was a study of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic relationships with the climactic vegetation around them in the Atlantic Archipelago (or the UK and Eire as it is now known) and how it affected their mindsets.
Since graduation I have spent even more time outdoors, using my holidays (from the Civil Service where I am temporarily working) to take time out in the mountains and woodlands of Scotland. I returned on Saturday from two weeks spent in my hammock, cooking on a fire and gathering as much wild food as possible. I wont disclose the exact location (I guard it jealously!) but may well put some pictures up soon and some of you will possibly recognise it. Saw no one but people on boats for the whole time. Bliss.
Next year I am planning on leaving the country to see some of the world. For various reasons I have the opportunity to travel and experience different cultures and locales. I am, of course, planning on taking most of my kit with me and incorporating as much bushcraft as possible within the journey. I find it somewhat amusing that Ill be taking my billy can and hammock back to Thailand where they originally came from... So, any tips on places to go would be greatly appreciated I am starting in SE Asia, then heading northward into Nepal and down through India before going through the Middle East into Africa, working my way down the continent and then flying to South America, heading north. This is just a loose plan at present and no doubt will change, but it is a goal I have been headed towards for some time now and draws ever nearer.
So, there we go, I told you it would be a long introduction! I look forward to actually commenting on these esteemed walls, asking questions and offering my own advice where possible. Thanks for reading this (if anyone has reached the end)!
