Went for a scout locally today to see some possible locations for days in the woods when the weather gets better.
Overall walked about 6 miles in unseasonally warm and sunny weather!
Being new to the Bushcraft thing I wanted to see what was available locally. Having glanced at the map in detail for the first time in some years I realised just how many woodland trust woods are within very short driving distance. Having checked their website they appear to be tolerant of people who want to build shelters etc.
So, off I wondered and was not disappointed. I planned a round route having parked up in a layby. My first woods were really promising, although you are never more than 50 m from a dog walker there appeared to be lots of possibilities in clearings between paths. The beauty of this time of year is that you get good lines of sight due to lack of vegetation. However you can see by the number of small trees, saplings, coppiced wood etc that as soon as the leaves start to appear you could be very well concealed.
After crossing a large patch of National trust common I came across a cracking piece of woodland trust land. Far enough away from houses and other habitation to not encourage too much in the way of passing foot fall. Clearly someone else has had the same idea as I found a well set up, semi permanent shelter.
I stopped for lunch nearby and have started to get into the habit of putting up my tarp at lunch stops. I am very conscious that my skills are not yet second nature and are very perishable. That was proved when it took me more time than I had hoped to tie a simple evenk hitch at one end of my ridge line and a truckers hitch at the other. Still practice makes perfect! I used my walking poles to give me a porch type effect and then set about cooking something quick with my crusader mug and trangia triangle. I am still really pleased with myself for being able to pull together a good substantial lunch using minimal kit which packs down nice and small and is light to carry. I am trying to get into the habit of packing my tarp away in the same fashion every time though I have to say it's not up to Ray Mears standard yet. With lunch over I finished off my walk staying to some high ground as the Thames is pretty hard to see with all the floods recently.
Overall not much more than a walk with a bit of shelter practice but I am developing a clearer sense of where I will be able to spend more time in secluded woodland as the weather gets warmer and my confidence and skills increase.
Just thought I'd share this as I get so much pleasure reading about others simple days out that I thought it would be good to contribute as well.
I have some piccies but cannot work out how to add them. Any one able to help!
Cheers
Steve
Overall walked about 6 miles in unseasonally warm and sunny weather!
Being new to the Bushcraft thing I wanted to see what was available locally. Having glanced at the map in detail for the first time in some years I realised just how many woodland trust woods are within very short driving distance. Having checked their website they appear to be tolerant of people who want to build shelters etc.
So, off I wondered and was not disappointed. I planned a round route having parked up in a layby. My first woods were really promising, although you are never more than 50 m from a dog walker there appeared to be lots of possibilities in clearings between paths. The beauty of this time of year is that you get good lines of sight due to lack of vegetation. However you can see by the number of small trees, saplings, coppiced wood etc that as soon as the leaves start to appear you could be very well concealed.
After crossing a large patch of National trust common I came across a cracking piece of woodland trust land. Far enough away from houses and other habitation to not encourage too much in the way of passing foot fall. Clearly someone else has had the same idea as I found a well set up, semi permanent shelter.
I stopped for lunch nearby and have started to get into the habit of putting up my tarp at lunch stops. I am very conscious that my skills are not yet second nature and are very perishable. That was proved when it took me more time than I had hoped to tie a simple evenk hitch at one end of my ridge line and a truckers hitch at the other. Still practice makes perfect! I used my walking poles to give me a porch type effect and then set about cooking something quick with my crusader mug and trangia triangle. I am still really pleased with myself for being able to pull together a good substantial lunch using minimal kit which packs down nice and small and is light to carry. I am trying to get into the habit of packing my tarp away in the same fashion every time though I have to say it's not up to Ray Mears standard yet. With lunch over I finished off my walk staying to some high ground as the Thames is pretty hard to see with all the floods recently.
Overall not much more than a walk with a bit of shelter practice but I am developing a clearer sense of where I will be able to spend more time in secluded woodland as the weather gets warmer and my confidence and skills increase.
Just thought I'd share this as I get so much pleasure reading about others simple days out that I thought it would be good to contribute as well.
I have some piccies but cannot work out how to add them. Any one able to help!
Cheers
Steve
