We had a terrific weekend in a physically challenging, unique and beautiful wilderness environment, Didnt encounter another soul while out in the field though we did come across large herds of wild deer, numerous species of bird, grey seal, wild goat and hare amongst others. Apparently its not at all unusual to see otters, dolphins and even whales in the bay. Jeremy H was always on hand to share his impressive expert local knowledge of any species of flora or fauna that we encountered.
I had the opportunity to try out various types of gear I hadn't come cross before, I borrowed a Go Lite Lair from Jeremy's kit pile for our first night out and I liked it enough to add it to my list of must buys! I also got to try out several types of water purifying kit and thanks to some help from Gary of Bearclaw Bushcraft I ironed out a few problems with my bow drill technique. I ate my first limpet with some periwinkles, we sampled several types of seaweed but unfortunately due to tide times we were unable to gather food from the Oyster/Muscle/Cockle beds. There is clearly a wealth of natural food in this area and I believe Jeremy intends to extend future courses to allow more time to be spent foraging in the beach/estuarine areas.
I also got to carry an army issue Trangia and I'm afraid my opinion of these stoves remains unchanged: slow, smelly, leaky, bulky and heavy...sorry guys just my opinion! The course was perhaps a little light on the pure Bushcraft aspect but this was a tester, the final format of the course has yet to be finalised.
The "Journeyman" part of the course involved a two day trek across beaches and ancient peat bogs, the difficulty of walking any distance across this terrain with a hefty bergen can't be over-emphasised, the bog is dangerous, being full of deep black holes hidden in amongst the tussocks of grass and split with fast flowing burns of dark peat stained water flowing off the hills and ridges above. It's physically challenging, not for the armchair bushcrafter or the faint of heart and you can expect to get very wet at the least. If the going gets too tough there's no Land Rover pick up or easy way out, I enjoy the challenge of this kind of place but its not for everyone. Its not all black holes though, the bog is covered in rare orchids amongst its many plant forms and it was here that I saw my first adder, reacting slowly due to the lack of sun, we had the chance to watch him for a minute of two before he slid away with a bit of a hiss!
The course has a lot of emphasis on ecology, being run in association with the John Muir trust and rightly concentrates on co-existing within this environment without leaving any trace, in fact we left the area in a better state than we found it thanks to our beach clean up on the last day. As more and more of us go out into the few remaining wild places I think its imperative that we all take individual responsibility to reduce the impact of our presence to an absolute minimum.
The second nights accommodation was spent in an old sea cave that showed signs of ancient habitation, we gathered enough drift wood for a fine fire once we had evicted the wild goats we found squatting there. Our third and final night was spent back in a real bed at the local hotel, this accommodation together with a decent meal and breakfast the following morning was included in the course price.
The Hastings greeted us as a family and their warm hospitality was apparent for the duration of our stay on Islay, I came away with a lovely 4 point antler (thanks Dave) which will be going into several knife handles (including a Nessmuk when I get round to forging it). I also came away with some great memories and much knowledge gained. I'm sure this course will be a great success, not least because it is so unique and probably unlike any other bushcraft course you'll find, but be warned, if you never walk further than the car or youre not comfortable in real wilderness, this is not for you!
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