New to bushcraft Where to practice?

[Braders]

Firstly hello, im new and will do a seperate post in an introduction, but my question for this post is where can i practice, im 22 and been interested but never set out to practice any skills, now i think im ready and want to learn and practice, being in the uk where there is strict knife law where can i go to practice and what should i take with me knife wise?
Ps i live near rochdale north of manchester, lancashire

There is some lovely countryside and woodland but am i allowed to go and light fires or what ever? What is a good thing to practice and where?

I hope this all makes sense, thankyou all for reading

 

[Shewie]

There's some useful information about finding permissions and legalities in the sticky threads in the Out and About forum

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=43

 

[dragon32]

Hello from me as well. Your local canal towpath is always an option and your own back garden. If you are a real novice, then buy a cheap Mora knife from the internet for around a tenner and practice knife skills on tree branches and if that's not available to you, try one of those bags of kindling from your local garage to make feather sticks. A cheap firebox/bbq from your local diy can serve as your camp fire. Your knife should never be carried openly in public. I carry mine at the bottom of my rucksack until needed. Wander out along the canal until you get to a lock. Take your own wood and sit and make yourself a brew. To start with any utensils from your home(as long as you can carry them) will do. Practice there and be nice and polite to anyone who asks what your doing. Hope this helps,

Don

 

[dragon32]

Oh and one more thing. CLEAN UP. Leave no trace that you were ever there. As a rule, if you carry it in then you carry it out.

ATB,
Don

 

[mick91]

First of all, knife law in the UK is misleading. So long as you have a valid reason for having one you can have in your possession, lockers, fixed blades, machetes axes basically anything that isn't a prohibited weapon. That isn't to say carry a machete on the hip round Tesco mind you. As stated mora are a good starting point, learn to use it and learn to sharpen it because a knife is your best mate. You'll soon find what you like and dislike, you may decide to move on from a mora to something more specialised, or simply fancier. Some people don't and I still occasionally use a mora.
Practice the fundamentals of firecraft etc but only where you have express permission. Have a look for wild campsites

 

[dragon32]

Hi Braders,
Mick is quite right on the knife law however in general the police don't know the knife law and will stop you and confiscate your knife. The other danger is from our old friends the general public who also don't know the knife law. One panic call from them and you're surrounded by armed police. Not funny if you're out for an afternoon bimble. It's up to you if you carry your knife on display. I wouldn't and I have never been stopped. Mick probably hasn't ben stopped either so you take your chances.

ATB,
Don

 

[mick91]

. Mick probably hasn't ben stopped either so you take your chances.

ATB,
Don

Not so actually I've been stopped before, stop searched while walking up to shoot pigeons locally and without so much as asking about the shotgun sling over my shoulder or multitudes of cartridges they concentrated on a small Skinner in my bag. Usually they're reasonable in the end but it's a pain

 

[Ferret75]

Hi Braders, sound advice from the comments above. You might also find YouTube's MCQ Bushcraft videos useful, which discuss uk knife law and also how to find open access land using OS Maps, among other basic start up advice. In combination with the wisdom of experience that these BCUK veterans have imparted, its helped me no end!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[KevlarKev]

Hi Braders,

The best thing to do is get an OS map of the area you are in and identify the woods. You will be able to tell if they are privately owned by looking at the map markings (depends on which scale you are using) and you probably want to focus on ones that are near farms because its likely the farmer owns the land. When you have identified some of them you can either Google the farm for an address or contact details OR just get in a car, look presentable and go along to the farm to have a chat.

I recently sent an email to the landowner and had a reply within 30 minutes inviting me to a nearby pub to chat. We had a great chat and he then asked me over to the farm the next day. I spent most of the day out on the ground with him looking at the woods and asking him questions etc. and there was a air rifle hunter on site as well whom I spent a few hours with talking about air rifles and hunting.

Because he realised that I am not a cowboy out to wreck his land and because I took the time to introduce myself and talk to him he is more than happy. Since then I have been up in the woods regularly and he lets me do whatever I want (within reason obviously) whilst practicing bushcraft.

The occasional tin of cigars doesn't go amiss either. I noticed he was a cigar smoker so every time I attend I just buy him a new tin from the supermarket and leave it in his post-box. Little things.

 

[JoboTheHobo]

Some good advice here. Im new to it all aswell and will have to read up on bits myself. Luckily Im doing a bushcraft course in Oct which should be a good start

 

[Braders]

Wow some great advice here! Thankyou everyone! Yes youtube is a good place to start, im going to order an os map of my local areas and see what i find, what is a good thing i can do to practice some basics, if i go out and find the materials?

 

[The Ratcatcher]

Hi, Braders,
Try Looking up Greater Manchester Bushcraft Group on Facebook. We hold monthly meets in the area, and full details are on the FB page. just click "join" and one of us will approve you, and then you will be able to see all the events.

Alan.

 

[dewi]

Meet ups shouldn't be underestimated either... whilst some view it as driving up to a wood, walking as few yards and camping, it is actually a fantastic place to learn... you'll be amazed who you meet and what they can share with you, and you have the opportunity to practice in a safe environment.

If I were you I'd join a meet, have a couple of nights out and see what you feel like after that... you may want to venture out on your own, but odds on bet you'll want to do more meets and travel around a bit... its an amazing experience if you vary where you go for meets, you meet so many different people with totally different perspectives and skills.

 

[ryemck]

Hey mate, all you need to do is find anywhere, even a small forest

I'm 21 and from England, I use a fixed blade knife which is the only legal knife as long as you're using it for camping or fishing etc. If you're carrying it around town in your hand you'll get in trouble, keep it in your bag with all of your camping gear and you'll be fine

As for fire making, don't throw living green materials on there and you should be fine as the smoke is barely noticeable so build it anywhere as long as you can control it!

I'm actually from near Liverpool so close to you Me and my friend have managed to find a good place in a town that has barely any untouched forestry so I imagine you can near Rochdale!

 

[GGTBod]

If you are ever stopped by the police and you have a knife on you and the cop says he wants to search you and asks

"Do you have any weapons on you?"

The answer is

"No"

when he searches you and finds the knife you say

"That is not a weapon, it is my bushcraft tool"

If you reply yes regarding the knife as a weapon you will be done for carrying a knife as a weapon

 

[British Red]

Because he realised that I am not a cowboy out to wreck his land and because I took the time to introduce myself and talk to him he is more than happy. Since then I have been up in the woods regularly and he lets me do whatever I want (within reason obviously) whilst practicing bushcraft.

The occasional tin of cigars doesn't go amiss either. I noticed he was a cigar smoker so every time I attend I just buy him a new tin from the supermarket and leave it in his post-box. Little things.

Excellent post that - well done - great advice from someone who is obviously mature and sensible!