Where do you go and what do you do?

[Walks with dogs]

Virtually all the land round me is agricultural and there's virtually no woodland, which means getting out and finding an area to even just sit quietly is difficult enough , let alone spending the night out practising bushcrafty stuff.

So for me at the moment its just a case of taking things slow when out with the dogs, looking at whats around me, whats in season, having a stab at identifying the local plant life, trying the odd nibble at wild grub etc rather than the hands on building shelter, making fire etc, that many on here seem to have a suitable location to do.

So what do you lot get up to? To what extent do you get involved?

 

[SimonM]

My "playground" is 50 hectares of recently planted (up to 15 years ago) native species of tree mixed with open areas of moorland.


Here is the description that the woodland officer used to "sell" it to me...

"a 50 hectare mosaic of with 10 year old mostly native woodland and open space adjacent to moorland fringe and mature private woodland , some of which is ancient semi natural .
On the site there is a good chance of seeing red, fallow, and roe deer, fox, badger, peregrine , raven etc.
The owner would be prepared to let you camp there on a low impact basis. There is potential for much volunteer management work including tree planting, fence and wall repair, pruning/ coppice etc."

So not much in the way of firewood or carving material as the trees are too small to shed much. The stream is not potable either, due to old lead mine workings in the area and an abundance of liver flukes!

On the plus side the wildlife watching possiblities are endless. I can spend hours just sat watching the resident herd of fallow deer, trying to get up close is difficult tho! To date I have only seen 1 red deer stag on the plot, but that day will stay with me for a long while as we both startled each other at extreme close range!

Most of the time is spent just chilling out tho, watching the wildlife go by, reading a book, enjoying the "me time".


Occasionally the local sheep get onto the plot, and so I have to round them up and get them back onto the farmland. If I can't do it alone I contact the woodlands officer and he contacts a local shepherd to come down with a dog - Not the sheep owner mind - he is just plain unhelpful most of the time!

So to some up - I do an awful lot of nothing!

Simon

 

[DKW]

I'll go anywhere.
Bushcrafting is in my humble opinion a very poor word for what i think its all about. You don't need to go into the bushes to set up a camp.

I've had the pleasure of camping in very dense fern-forests right here in denmark. Camping on timbercrafts on the middle of lakes in Denmark, set up camp on the middle of the ice on greenland, in the fjells of Norway and Sweden below and above the treeline, set camp in birchwoods in swamps in Finland, and even set up camps on Skifer-slopes in Germany. One of my best trips where on a plain right outside my doorstep here in Denmark. Kind of a moor-land really. Nothing growing higher than 15 cm's, and an abundancy of sand and deer-moss.

Yes. Forests and trees are brilliant, but in many places absolutely unnessecary for a good campsite, all it takes is a bit of ingenuity and a good rucksack to bring all your needs and nice-to-haves with you.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

The Letterewe estate were I live/work it something like 85000 acres
dont have to walk far for a bit of fun, how ever if I practice bow drill / fire making normaly do that at my garden burning area..

 

[bushcraftbob]

I practise a lot in my garden too, mainly firelighting, cordage making, odd bit of carving. I live in the middle of a town and the nearest woodland to me is about a 15 minute drive so that tends to be an every other weekend thing.

There is a very small copse near me where i can put up the tarp and make small fires and practise, in the winter its probably again every other weekend, but in the summer ill go up there maybe every other evening and just mooch about and practise the skills.

I have heard that there is a housing development planned on my little copse though, so not sure how long ill be able to go there for

I also walk my jack russell along the windrush river path, and try to identify as many trees, plants etc as possible (have just found a load of cat tails so planning on digging up the roots and giving them a taste). I'll also do a fair bit of crayfishing and fishing on the windrush.

Thats about it really

 

[Shewie]

Could be worth cranking up google earth and having a look to see what`s local to you. I think you`ll be surprised at the amount of woodland there is in this country just waiting to be explored.

I too live in a town but I`m only half an hour from the Peak District, one hour from the Dales and a couple of hours from the Lakes. I also have permission for camping in a few spots closer to home, so a quick phone call or email sorts a night out no problem. If you plan your day and get out there early enough there`s plenty to find and do.

 

[saddle_tramp]

This is probably why im sometimes at odds with a lot of 'bushcraft' ideology. My stomping ground has mostly been southern England and predominantly the southwest. which is mostly agricultural land. My bushcraft interest has always been about being able to live an alternative lifestyle but in the bounds of my everyday, working, travelling environment. So to me, the idylic woodland scenario, is a very small part of that environment. and so only warrants a percentage of thought or resource. Were i living in the Canadian or Scandanavian wilderness i could perhaps embrace so much more, but im not, nor am ever likely to

 

[spamel]

I like to go tramping about Wharnecliffe Crags, I can be there in fifteen minutes or so and then wander for however long. Closer to home is Hugset Woods, a good walk with a view of Emley Moor Mast. I went up last weekend with my eldest daughter and a friends' son as they were visiting my wife for her birthday. They live in Dundee. On the way up to the woods, the kids started to play Lord of the Rings. Nice one! I pointed out Sarumans' Tower (EMM) and that really helped them along in their playing. At the end, we were running away from any crows/rooks we saw, as they were the enemies spies! As The Ratbag can tell you, this area is teeming with rooks, so we pretty much ran all the way home! I was bloomin' knackered!

It was a fun day out though!

 

[reddy]

I live in a town, so wherever I'm going on my daily business I do what you do OP - id plants, birds, wildlife etc - even if it's just going to the shops or travelling on the train. I can't help it - it's automatic now!

There are some cool places near where I live though I don't get out to them as much as I'd like. However, nothing excites me more than discovering nature on my doorstep (I've even seen a badger in the middle of town near Tescos!).

I've learnt that wildlife is all around me, I just have to open my eyes to see it

If I want to practise small hands-on bushcrafty things I sit in my liitle backyard and do them.

I guess I'm more of an 'urban' bushcrafter if there is such a thing!

 

[johnnytheboy]

I usually go fishing, either by boat or a very long stroll can get you into some excellent locations out of everyone elses road where you get peace and quiet and get some pretty good fishing to boot.

There are plenty of remote locations and if anyone comes across you, you are just fishing, they stop for a chat and soon move on.

I have a log fire in the house and practice my firesteel everynight but it holds me back from practicing with natural tinder, cotton wool and tissue paper is just to easy to find around the house!!

I have a big oil drum inthe garden that generally tends to get used at any oppertunity for a pow-wow, i guess my friends all think i am a pyromaniac with the drum and the stove lol

I do love a little shed project, i'm between sheds at the moment so my shedist pursuits have been suspended just now

I'm saving for a canoe so hopefully it will open up a few mor possibilitys

 

[xylaria]

I go for walks. The sort of stuff that dog walkers do but without the dog. Most of my local area is semi urban. There is a lot places that nature has reclaimed from industry, with hedgerows, horse fields, old pit pony lanes and various places that are now fallow. I even have a flint pit left from the bone china industry. People moan about urban environments but I have always lived in cities and have never had a problem finding little secret green corners.

 

[demographic]

Another one who often walks the dog with a Collins Gem in my back pocket and sometimes goes camping up in the fells when time permits.

 

[Walks with dogs]

"Could be worth cranking up google earth and having a look to see what`s local to you. I think you`ll be surprised at the amount of woodland there is in this country just waiting to be explored"

Good plan Shewie, I did that a few months ago. I've found a few very small bits of woodland but they are all either very close to houses or on popular dog walking routes with lots of people wandering about.

Some great replies so far, much appreciated. It seems that I'm not alone in what I do, which is reassuring.

I feel like a bit of a whinger really as there are miles of fields two minutes from my door, that are all farmland. I took the dogs out yesterday evening, found a nice quiet spot under a tree and sat for half an hour as the sun went down. Fantastic.

Thanks for the replies folks, any more for any more?

 

[Wayland]

I'm most likely to be out and about taking landscape pictures so for me it could be almost anywhere.

I often work from my van which is equipped with a sleeping deck above the cargo area so sometimes I just find somewhere out of the way that I can park up and cook on a hobo stove or set up a fire tray if it's quiet enough.

Of course, if I'm in Scotland I can usually wild camp easily in striking distance of the shot I'm looking for.

 

[saddle_tramp]

i agree with spamel about google earth tho, what a brillaint tool that is peaking over barbed wire fences

 

[Cobweb]

I'm lucky enough to have a woodland and a forest about 10 mins away from the house with old and new wood mixed together, no so lucky am I that it be a forestry commission base

 

[Ge Hanzhi]

My main purpose to going off into the hills or woods over the years has been to get away from people for a bit. I remember when I got told off as a lad for making a fire on a windy day by a bloke who then espoused a bit of what he called 'woodlore' - which seems more appropriate as in northern Europe we don't have much 'bush'. I'm not a great geographer, but isn't bush semi-arid land to be found typically in Australia/Africa?
I'm happy either up mountains or in forests where I can meditate, feel time stretch back to normal.

 

[Dannytsg]

My local grounds that i normally frequent is basically a very large *unsure on the size* wooded valley with a river running through it with very few public footpaths so the prospect of exploring off the beaten track is good.

I also live in the middle of the pennines within driving distance of the lakes etc so i can have my pick of the bunch when it comes to deciding whether i want to travel far and wide of go wild and stay relatively local.