Recommend me a cheap bushcraft course

[Jodie]

Chris - you mention summer holidays, are you a student cos if so it might be worth
getting in touch with your college and university and seeing if they know of any
funding for extracurricular activities. When I was at uni I remember seeing a sheet
pinned to the wall offering funding for people who wanted to undertake something
that was completely unrelated to their studies. Unfortunately I can't remember
what it was (it was a long time ago!) and it stuck in my mind cos I recall thinking
"why on earth would anyone want to fund that?!" - but they did

If you've got a library nearby you could ask to browse the Directory of Grant Making
Trusts and see if there's anything in there - you might have to go off and give a talk
to a group if you get sponsored, or write a report (!) but nothing too onerous. It's a useful
book to be aware of in any case.

Failing that perhaps local companies - or the place you're working for - might cough
up. Is there a local paper that you can write a letter to and offer them your exclusive
report?

Did a quick Google and found this sponsored link - I've no idea who the company is
but they have two day courses from £185 but you have to factor in getting to Wales though:
http://www.freshweekends.com/outdoo...ushcraft_weekend-fwprs_90042-breakdetail.aspx
and
http://www.freshweekends.com/outdoo...l_skills_weekend-fwsur_90022-breakdetail.aspx

I wonder what from means... maybe it relates to popularity of the days you choose to go.

Good luck

 

[Jodie]

There is also a one-day course at Wakehurst Place which is RBG Kew's 'country garden'
near Hayward's Heath.

Basic Bushcraft Skills
Saturday 22 September 9am – 4pm
Have fun learning some useful bushcraft skills such as shelter building and fire lighting
with our tutor Leon Durbin.
Course Fee: £60

For further information or to book please contact Adult Education on 01444 894000
or email adulted@kew.org
http://www.kew.org/events/wpnewsletter/wpforthcomingevents.html

I'd love to do this but don't think I can get, by public transport, to Hayward's Heath for
a 9am start

Where Wakehurst Place actually is:
http://www.kew.org/visitor/findwp.html

 

[andyn]

i appreciate this but i simply don't have the money to be choosy, it's either go with a reasonably cheaply priced one, or not start bushcraft for a year or 2

I'm thinking of the Wildside introduction to buscraft course. Only £70, which is reasonable. Anyone know what their like?

s-orry, dont follow....why do you need to go on a course to start bushcraft?

if you want to get into bushcraft, just get out there and do it.

 

[Toddy]

s-orry, dont follow....why do you need to go on a course to start bushcraft?

if you want to get into bushcraft, just get out there and do it.

Well said
That's not to do the schools down any, (virtually everyone I know who has been on taught courses has not only had a great time but learned so much too) however there's a tremendous satisfaction in learning from one's own mistakes and it doesn't cost anything except time and effort.

cheers,
Toddy.....who has just spent the day working a River Festival next to PatrickM and casting very covetous eyes over the things he makes.

 

[Jodie]

I disagree (but I'm doing it very politely of course )

Well I don't disagree that you can't go off and do it by yourself because evidently you
can, but not everyone feels inclined or confident enough to do so. I tend to wander
around where I live taking photographs of things and hoping that no-one will come
up and ask me what on earth I'm doing - and that's just photography! I've no idea
where to start with cutting things or setting fire to things (carefully!) but I'm inching
a little closer after I had a go of learning how to use a knife safely in a controlled
environment.

For me, it wouldn't really be that fun to go off into the nearest woodland and try
out techniques by myself and I'd rather learn in a group, with the formality of a
course structure - so I do understand Chris' point of view.

Some people are outdoorsy people anyway and it might not be a big deal for
them to get out there and do it, but I'm very much an indoors person and I'd much
rather have someone else deal with the catering and practicalities. You might,
justifiably, think that this is not the spirit of the thing but I'm all for a bit of hand
holding in something that's not my area of expertise, especially where there are
potential safety issues and not wanting to damage unwittingly the local environs

Jo

 

[KAE1]

Chris,
I do not consider myself a 'bushcrafter' as such (but I find this site fascinating) so may not be qualified to advise but..........I would strongly suggest you 'getting out' for entire days - preferably on your own in my view - and just absorb and learn from Nature. Woodland, arable, coastal, get out there, find a nice spot to sit and let Nature come to you.
Go out at 4 am, watch the sunrise. Go out and 6pm and stay out til dark.

Once your are feeling 'at one' and confident - and it may take some time- instead of going home at dusk pitch a small tent and stay out (its only a few hours from dusk til dawn at this time of year).Leave the spot as you found it.

Mother Nature won't charge you for her lessons, providing you respect her.

Now I may be talking about being a Naturalist as opposed to a Bushcrafter but perhaps that's a great foundation to start from.

oh and from a safety perspective, obviously stay safe, I dont mean from Nature, I mean from Humans.,

 

[Jodie]

>>obviously stay safe, I dont mean from Nature, I mean from Humans.,

and from sharp things

 

[benp1]

you could try and get down to a meet. that way you could see what other people are up to and not have pay anything. you don't have to stay, just spend a couple of hours seeing what people are doing. you could even introduce yourself and ask to see if anyone nearby will take you out for a few hours.

 

[Jodie]

Fallow Way posted in another thread about an event happening this weekend at
Beacon Hill Country Park but there's a very inexpensive day of bushcraft occurring
there (it is in Leicestershire) in August.

FW's thread:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22447

BHCP's website:
http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/commu...s/country_parks_beacon/beacon_hill_events.htm
Scroll down to see the bit about wilderness skills - entry cost is £3.00.

 

[john scrivy]

some one might read this value for money and brilliant training WWW WILDCRAFTS.co.uk Les who runs this is fantastic he is ray mears

 

[Chainsaw]

I'm booked in on this one, Aug 24th to 26th, 3 days for £200 seemed like a pretty good deal compared to some other things. Not totally bushcraft, it has a bit of a survival slant but covers most of the stuff I don't know and probably should in case something goes wrong!

* ESSENTIAL SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT (suppliers) HOW TO USE CORRECTLY
* PREPARATION/FORWARD PLANNING FOR YOUR OUTDOOR ACTIVITY
* OVERNIGHT SHELTER CONSTRUCTION
* LONG TERM SHELTER CONSTRUCTION
* YOUR TOOLS AND HOW TO MAINTAIN THEM
* VARIOUS FIRE LIGHTING METHODS (including fire by friction, various ways)
* SOURCING WATER AND COLLECTION
* WATER FILTRATION & PURIFICATION
* MAP WORKOUTDOOR
* OUTDOOR SAFETY
* NAVIGATION BY NATURAL MEANS
* TRAPPING & SNARE SETTING (food)
* PREPARING & COOKING OF GAME (food)
* FOOD & PLANTS IN THE WILD
* MEDICINE AND HEALING
* IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY
* DISTRESS SIGNALING (various methods)
* HEALTH & HYGIENE IN THE FIELD
* MAKING TOOLS AND WEAPONS (with what nature provides)
* AMONG OTHER ACTIVITIES

Scotland may be a bit of a trek but they'll pick you up from Prestwick airport if you can source a cheap flight.

No affiliation, don't even know if it'll be any good but it looks like good value! Anyone used these guys?

Cheers,

Alan

 

[Greg]

Personally I agree with Andyn if it is just the bushcraft side you want to learn you should just get yourself a couple of decent books and get out there and practice the stuff yourself or try and get to one of the area meets or seasonal moots where you'll probably learn loads rather than forking out the money on a cheap course which might end up being crap!

Alternativly you could buy Peter Gauleta's Basic Bushcraft & Survival DVDs which will give you a good starting block.
www.bushcraftandsurvival.co.uk

 

[oilyrag]

Practice the basics at home as in shelter, fire, food 'n' water. This you can do in a garden. Ask your butcher/gamekeeper for dead animals to practice prepping and cooking them, when you have it nailed get out there, apply and learn. You'd be amazed how simple it is and the wibbly wobbly web is full of resources and know how. The only course I would pay for is fungi/edible plant ID. Happy trails.

 

[Fallow Way]

"Recommend me a cheap bushcraft course"


£5 , you me, a kebab and some matches......bish bash bosh

 

[gunnix]

I can only tell you my experience..

I also found "bushcraftschools" way too expensive for my budget and have never been to a course. I did buy quite many books though, and got a lot of videos from the internet. There are some books on the internet for free like Nessmuk's. http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_topic.php?id_rubrique=30

I'm also like you that I love to do it with other people though, and so was lucky enough to have quite a few other people around me who love to make fire, camp and so on. But I think many people like it anyway.

Like if you do a barbeque with friends, do it using wood instead of coals. Experiment with different types of fire (tipi, stacked on each other, ...), find out which arrangement gets you fastest to a nice bed of embers, and which types of wood are best. Don't start the fire with a match but start it with a firesteel.. Using birchbark to catch flame (experiment!). There will sure be people wanting to join you, who doesn't like to make fire anyway? Or get nice barbequed meat?

Go trekking with friends, many people do it nowadays.. But instead of the usual high tech camping gear people bring try to introduce some bushcraft, get them interested and try out the things together

Go fishing, put a tent up and camp there.

There's so many other things many other people love to do, I just almost never start talking about "bushcraft" or any philosophy behind it... I just talk about camping, barbequeing, trekking, survival.. The usual stuff.. I'm very much interested in learning way more though, and I'm by no means an expert.. But I found this attitude got me furthest in learning bushcraft stuff with others. By the way, lending out Ray Mears dvd's has got lot's of interest as well and others wanting to try it, here you don't have RM on tv
The Tribe series were fantastic as well.

I did go to one bushcraft meetup and it was fantastic, definately cheap as well. I think you should take every chance to get to such meetings. I learned loads in just a weekend. And you might get to know people who live close to you.

 

[Rob]

"Recommend me a cheap bushcraft course"


£5 , you me, a kebab and some matches......bish bash bosh

Just one kebab between two? If you quote £10 you can both eat

Nerver underestimate the value of good catering.