North East

[birch-fire]

Hello everyone,

I live in sunderland and am wondering whether anyone knows of any places (woods/forests) where I would be able to go to practice bushcraft, make a fire etc. and possibly camp overnight (though this is not a necessity). Places around Durham and Sunderland would be ideal although i don't know whether there are any so suggestions of further away would be great too (but still in the NE). I don't know anywhere as i've just started getting into bushcraft and am itching to get out into the wilds so any suggestions would be absolutely fantastic and really appreciated.

Thanks a lot, Dave

 

[Eric_Methven]

Hi Dave, I live in Durham, and while there are a few nice bits of woodland in the region, camping out bushcraft style is mainly frowned upon.

There's a great new bushcraft community developing not too far from Newcastle though, at a place called High Spen. It's part of Friend's of Chopwell Woods and we have full use of the woods for recreational purposes including mountain biking, walking, woodcraft and bushcraft.

Joining Friends costs just £5 per year, or £20 for five years. There's loads of broadleaf woodland and great chunks of spruce. We can camp out in home made shelters, light fires to cook on, gather material for making cordage (spruce roots, nettle, honeysuckle etc) and when trees are felled, we get to peel the bark for many other projects.

Later in the spring, it is planned to run a few beginner bushcraft days for the public. It'll only cost a couple of quid and the money goes to buy tools and equipment. It's run by volunteers like myself an although we don't get paid, many of us are ex military and plenty experienced.

Let me know if you want a contact number and I'll put you in touch with the guy in charge of bushcraft activities.

Eric

 

[waylander]

This is perfect for me, im currently a consett lad but will soon be going to sunderland uni. I cant think of anywhere near me where you can legitimately over night in a bushy way, allthough the derwent walk is a great place to go for birch bark and a few odd bits

 

[birch-fire]

Thanks Waylander i'll check out the derwent walk, and Eric, once you have joined can you go to the woods whenever you want or just on organised outings and how big is the woods?

p.s does anyone know about the rules in beamish woods as i have made fires there before and spent the day there but i dont know whether that is allowed

Thanks, David Harding

 

[Eric_Methven]

Once you have joined, and have demonstrated that you are a responsible person, you can more or less do your own thing. If you intend to take a few friends, it's best to let one of the committee and the ranger know your intentions, so they don't call the police basically, or the fire brigade if they spot a campfire at night, otherwise you can camp bushcraft style without problems.

I don't know how large the place is in acerage, but it's big enough to lose yourself in if you don't want to be found. There was a Chinese guy living in the woods for a year a few years ago. He was local and owed thousands in gambling debts. He built himself a camp right in the middle of the densest part, surrounded his camp with brushwood to hide it from view and existed like a hermit. The only way he was discovered was by his girl friend bringing him food. She was spotted walking through the woods regularly with carrier bags full of food. One of the rangers decided to follow her one day and discovered the man in his camp. The ranger let him be as it was obvious he had a good well organised setup and posed no danger to the woodland. However, when the ranger returned to see him the following day he was gone, camp stripped down and left like nobody had been there - just a flattened area where his shelter had been. He was supposed to hav been there another six months but despite searching, nobody could find him again.

There have also been sightings of naked women dancing round an ancient beech tree. A coven of witches they say. They were spotted by another ranger but when he returned with his camera they had gone.

Eric

 

[birch-fire]

Woah, it sounds really good i will definetly consider joining it, thanks Eric.

Also, i've just searched it on google and it says nothing about being able to camp there so is it definetly alright and how would you see the ranger for permission to light a fire?

Thanks, Dave

 

[Eric_Methven]

It doesn't say anything on the website because it's just for members who are into bushcraft. If it was mentioned, we'd get every scallywag in the north east burning the forest down. Steve (the bushcraft guru) will give you the ranger's phone number once you're in.

Eric

 

[birch-fire]

That makes sense . I'll be visiting the woods asap and the likelihood is i'll get a membership . Thanks Eric :notworthy

Dave

 

[birch-fire]

If anyone else has any suggestions at all then don't hesitate......

Dave