Where to start..?

[Lee Wright]

Can I suggest Explorer Scouts as an option? It's not as cliche as you might expect and you'll get plenty of access to knowledge and time outdoors

We're taking ours to some woods in April to build and sleep in their own shelters, cook on fires and give them a full weekend to have a go at anything they might want to try with supervision. Scouting is one of the few places where it is still acceptable for young people to use sharps without people fearing for their lives!

I'm assuming the SAK is the right side of the legal limit? If so, get down the woods with that and a cheap folding saw and practise some firelighting with birch bark and other natural tinders. If you take something with you to contain the fire (Ikea cuttlery drainer to be made into a hobo stove at a later date) it will look responsible to passers by and keeps the fire off the ground.

Be sociable too, people might be worried by a shifty looking youth cutting up deadfall and surrounded by smoke, be polite and open to passers, be respectful and they will more than likely be respectful back.

Sorry for the ramble! Good luck getting stuck in, I hope you come to love the outdoors

Cheers, Lee.

 

[MrMonster]

Can I suggest Explorer Scouts as an option? It's not as cliche as you might expect and you'll get plenty of access to knowledge and time outdoors

We're taking ours to some woods in April to build and sleep in their own shelters, cook on fires and give them a full weekend to have a go at anything they might want to try with supervision. Scouting is one of the few places where it is still acceptable for young people to use sharps without people fearing for their lives!

I'm assuming the SAK is the right side of the legal limit? If so, get down the woods with that and a cheap folding saw and practise some firelighting with birch bark and other natural tinders. If you take something with you to contain the fire (Ikea cuttlery drainer to be made into a hobo stove at a later date) it will look responsible to passers by and keeps the fire off the ground.

Be sociable too, people might be worried by a shifty looking youth cutting up deadfall and surrounded by smoke, be polite and open to passers, be respectful and they will more than likely be respectful back.

Sorry for the ramble! Good luck getting stuck in, I hope you come to love the outdoors

Cheers, Lee.

That is a suggestion i'll definitely be looking into, I haven't even considered it until now. Don't worry about the ramble, it's exactly what i'm looking for because like you said, a youth surrounded by smoke isn't always an approachable one to most of the dog walkers etc in my woodland. Thank you for that, i'll look into that soon!

 

[R3XXY]

Hi Monster, I would advise just getting out and about and trying things out as much as possible. You can watch videos on youtube and read books tull your eyes fall out but there's no substitute for experience and trial and error.
Also the more you get out there and try things the more comfortable and confident you will become, nothing is as easy as Ray makes it look

Good luck and most of all have fun.

Tom

 

[superc0ntra]

Welcome. You can practise a lot of things at home or in your yard. This includes fire making since the trouble is getting it started, once it's going the problems are nearly always over. When you become confident in the basic skills (knotting, cutting, chopping etc.) try to find a place not too far away and someone to go bushcrafting with. I wouldn't advise on soloing from the beginning. Bring everything you shouldn't need (tent, sleeping bag etc.) but only use it if you have to.

All the best from Sweden

//Hans

 

[dasy2k1]

well if you are nearly 18 i would suggest volenteering to be a leader at your local scout group... if you are just 17 then join the local explorer scout unit....
that way you should get loads of experiance when on camp for very cheap, and if you join as a leader you will be able to pass on your new found knowlege to the younger generation. along with learning loads of other fun new things that may or not be bushcraft related

 

[Lee Wright]

You can watch videos on youtube and read books tull your eyes fall out but there's no substitute for experience and trial and error.

This Feel free to PM me if you need any advice or guidance on the scouting front, would be happy to get another enthusiastic adult into it

 

[Sleepy Weasel]

Welcome to the wonderful world of BCUK, come on in, the water's warm and the locals are friendly!

You don't have to go on courses to be a bushcrafter, just spend time outdoors enjoying yourself, pretty soon you'll find yourself doing bushy things.