Well I've got to thank Stuart, Ed and Dean for this weekend had a fantastic time and learnt loads - this was my first time practising bushcraft!
Weekend started off with a slightly glitch, I parked up and waited for about 45 minutes for Stuart to turn up (he lived 5 mins away) but turns out he was parked about 100 yards up the road waiting for me
My first surprise was the amount of kit that the other 3 bought.... or lack of it my bag was probably about the same weight as the the others put together.... not a mistake I'll be making again in a hurry.
We arrived at the location, found a site and set up camp, 3 hammocks... and my Blue tent... not exactly DPM but it did for the weekend. After seeing how easy the hammocks went up thats deifnately going to be my next purchase/diy project.
So the shelters were put up, a space for a fire was cleared and fire wood was gathered. Stuart and Ed went to set some traps while Dean and I gathered more wood, set up a stand for the billys and got the fire started. First nights meal consisted of Biltong wihich I bought, Jews Ear which was growing in abundance and some beech leaves - which taste amazingly like apple peelings!! Stuart picked up some of the bark which we had been playing around with and showed Dean and Me how to make cordage... now that can get entirely too addictive once you've started!!
Following day woke up and checked the snares - 1 Rabbit, now who says you can't catch anything with only 6 snares in place. After the rabbit was hocked and hung and after a quick (albeit slightly burnt) bannock breakfast we set off foraging. With very little effort we turned up: Field Mushrooms, Jack of the Hedge (Hedge Garlic), Asparagus, Beech Leaves and Mint. We met up with some interesting locals and then headed back to camp where Ed and Stuart showed us how to set snares. The fruits of our foraging was added with the rabbit and turned into stew with some dumplings made from bannock mix, now this was better than I usually eat when home - how often do you have rabbit and asparagus??? That evening I made my first spoon and more cordage.
Well last morning we checked the snares, one of mine had missed a rabbit (fur still attached) but the snare had been set slightly too low so the rabbit had ran over the top.
Camp was cleared and the area covered back up with foliage, all wood was dispersed it looked like the campsite that never was.
Again thanks to Stuart, Ed and Dean for this weekend I now know the basics of Cordage Making, Making/Setting Snares, Rabbit Dispatch, Game Preparation and some Plants to Forage, also had plenty of practice at using my knife properly/safetly, and also did some work with the axe - that Gransfors Mini is truly amazine!!! Looking forward to doing this again and also seeing some of the pictures that Stuart took over the weeknd.
Weekend started off with a slightly glitch, I parked up and waited for about 45 minutes for Stuart to turn up (he lived 5 mins away) but turns out he was parked about 100 yards up the road waiting for me
My first surprise was the amount of kit that the other 3 bought.... or lack of it my bag was probably about the same weight as the the others put together.... not a mistake I'll be making again in a hurry.
We arrived at the location, found a site and set up camp, 3 hammocks... and my Blue tent... not exactly DPM but it did for the weekend. After seeing how easy the hammocks went up thats deifnately going to be my next purchase/diy project.
So the shelters were put up, a space for a fire was cleared and fire wood was gathered. Stuart and Ed went to set some traps while Dean and I gathered more wood, set up a stand for the billys and got the fire started. First nights meal consisted of Biltong wihich I bought, Jews Ear which was growing in abundance and some beech leaves - which taste amazingly like apple peelings!! Stuart picked up some of the bark which we had been playing around with and showed Dean and Me how to make cordage... now that can get entirely too addictive once you've started!!
Following day woke up and checked the snares - 1 Rabbit, now who says you can't catch anything with only 6 snares in place. After the rabbit was hocked and hung and after a quick (albeit slightly burnt) bannock breakfast we set off foraging. With very little effort we turned up: Field Mushrooms, Jack of the Hedge (Hedge Garlic), Asparagus, Beech Leaves and Mint. We met up with some interesting locals and then headed back to camp where Ed and Stuart showed us how to set snares. The fruits of our foraging was added with the rabbit and turned into stew with some dumplings made from bannock mix, now this was better than I usually eat when home - how often do you have rabbit and asparagus??? That evening I made my first spoon and more cordage.
Well last morning we checked the snares, one of mine had missed a rabbit (fur still attached) but the snare had been set slightly too low so the rabbit had ran over the top.
Camp was cleared and the area covered back up with foliage, all wood was dispersed it looked like the campsite that never was.
Again thanks to Stuart, Ed and Dean for this weekend I now know the basics of Cordage Making, Making/Setting Snares, Rabbit Dispatch, Game Preparation and some Plants to Forage, also had plenty of practice at using my knife properly/safetly, and also did some work with the axe - that Gransfors Mini is truly amazine!!! Looking forward to doing this again and also seeing some of the pictures that Stuart took over the weeknd.
