Why do Sweden and other Nordic countries feature so heavily in British bushcraft?

[shortyman]

Hi

Not posted as a complaint. In fact far from it.

I'd love to hear your views on why Scandinavia has such an impact on bushcraft in Britain. I mean in terms of techniques (eg axe carving) and equipment (eg Swedish surplus and Scandinavia knives). Is it that the British have lost their own bushcrafting skills as there's no need for self sufficiency? Is it that the Nordic forests are the most similar wilderness to those in the UK? Is it just that they're better at it?

I can't say I'm very knowledgable on Bushcraft but my thoughts at the moment are that it's a loss of skills in this country and that in Scandinavia the skills are widely practises and it's a relatively similar environment.

Over to you...

 

[Samon]

Good quality tools, beautiful forests and probably because alot of us Brits have some viking left in our genes from the ol' days.

 

[johnnythefox]

it could be culture as well i worked with a lot of the armies of the word
we seemed to find more in common with Danish,Swedes,Norwegians,Canadians,Australians and New Zealanders

not to say we didnt get on with others

 

[stinger]

this would be my own personal opinion but to me its the quality of tools and landscapes that would make me think of it as the home of modern day bushcraft. places i would love to one day visit.

 

[Imagedude]

In a word - marketing.

 

[Samon]

In a word - marketing.

yeah..and that. mora knives are a true bargain though, so I guess it's a reputation that has become more and more fashionable due to marketing and the increase in 'bushcraft' enthusiasts to lap it up.

 

[rik_uk3]

They have space and outdoor activities akin to bushcraft never went out of favour I suspect.

 

[born2roam]

As Preben (Mortensen, Weiss) said: what's this sh!t you Britisch call bushcraft...... we just call it living ;-)

Grtz Johan

 

[durulz]

Same reason as Canada and New Zealand feature - they have genuine wilderness, more-or-less similar climates, recognisable and related cultures. For those reasons I think we in the UK can learn a lot from them (and it'd be nice to think they could learn stuff from us as well).

 

[HillBill]

Same reason as Canada and New Zealand feature - they have genuine wilderness, more-or-less similar climates, recognisable and related cultures. For those reasons I think we in the UK can learn a lot from them (and it'd be nice to think they could learn stuff from us as well).

That's more or less my thoughts aswell. Pristine wilderness stretching for miles. Also I think it is the Swedish attitude to nature, which I hope rubs off onto all of us. From what I understand, I believe kids are taught to respect nature and the land from the time they start school.

 

[johnnythefox]

the attitude is what we also believe in


http://naturetravels.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/wild-camping-in-sweden-and-the-right-of-public-access/

 

[Manacles]

I would suggest it may be something to do with the terrain in Scandinavia. One of the last remaining numerous indigenous populations are the Saami peoples whose traditional lands cover a huge swathe of northern Scandinavia. The Saami live in a very traditional way as reindeer herders, and knives and fieldcraft are an intrinsic part of their way of life. In addition the areas of forest and open land (above the arctic treeline) are vast and are a genuine wilderness.

 

[Doc]

I agree the Nordic countries have a very strong nature ethic, which we would do well to emulate. They have the advantage of low population densities and large areas of woodland.

The linking factor between ourselves, the Nordic countries, the northern US and Canada issimple: boreal forest. Ours is sadly depleted, but the remnants of the Caledonian forest, (such as you see in Glen Affric and Rothiemurchas, and on islands in lochs) is very similar to the boreal forest I saw in Finnish Lapland. I suspect a Canadian or Minnesotan would feel quite at home in Glen Affric or Finnish woodland.

I think Ray Mears once described boreal forest as his favourite environment and I'm sure many here would agree.

However, I do think we need to rediscover our nature ethic. In Finland there are many simple timber shelters, free for everyone to use, run by their equivalent of the Forestry Commission. The Finns treat them with great respect. I have an unpleasant feeling that a similar network in Britain would be vandalised or destroyed by unthinking people. Even our bothy network suffers significant abuse.

 

[Manacles]

I agree the Nordic countries have a very strong nature ethic, which we would do well to emulate. They have the advantage of low population densities and large areas of woodland.

The linking factor between ourselves, the Nordic countries, the northern US and Canada issimple: boreal forest. Ours is sadly depleted, but the remnants of the Caledonian forest, (such as you see in Glen Affric and Rothiemurchas, and on islands in lochs) is very similar to the boreal forest I saw in Finnish Lapland. I suspect a Canadian or Minnesotan would feel quite at home in Glen Affric or Finnish woodland.

I think Ray Mears once described boreal forest as his favourite environment and I'm sure many here would agree.

However, I do think we need to rediscover our nature ethic. In Finland there are many simple timber shelters, free for everyone to use, run by their equivalent of the Forestry Commission. The Finns treat them with great respect. I have an unpleasant feeling that a similar network in Britain would be vandalised or destroyed by unthinking people. Even our bothy network suffers significant abuse.

Agree absolutely Doc. One thing I noticed about the Finns is that bond with nature you describe. They are very communla people and sauna (which is only modern style sweat lodge) and swimming are a standard relaxation. I also noticed that they are far less consumerist than us in the UK and seem to have an intrinsic appreciation of the simple and beautiful (look at the Saami nation dress for example) which is on the ebb in western society and something to be treasured and fostered.

 

[John Fenna]

Good quality tools, beautiful forests and probably because alot of us Brits have some viking left in our genes from the ol' days.

No Viking in my genes - pure bl00dy Celtoid/Britton/iberian mongrel from the West of the British Isles!
Hence short, wide, dark and moody....and Scandi clothing is too long in the sleeves being built for the tall Nordics!

Scandinavian influences on Bushcrafting comes from a great outdoor ethic, great tools, great access to great scenery and some of the most attractive women in the world...
Just makes us jealous realy....

 

[johnnythefox]

No Viking in my genes - pure bl00dy Celtoid/Britton/iberian mongrel from the West of the British Isles!
Hence short, wide, dark and moody....and Scandi clothing is too long in the sleeves being built for the tall Nordics!

Scandinavian influences on Bushcrafting comes from a great outdoor ethic, great tools, great access to great scenery and some of the most attractive women in the world...
Just makes us jealous realy....

you would of loved the machine gun toting Swedish soldier girl who used to greet us on the gate at kiselik

 

[John Fenna]

you would of loved the machine gun toting Swedish soldier girl who used to greet us on the gate at kiselik

Sounds good - any pictures?

 

[Badger90]

There is also the mind set of those along the west European belt, even the engineering side of vehicles are dominant from these areas ( think BMW, Audi, Saab etc ). Yes China etc can mass produce good cars, but when you think of a vehicle in terms of engineering ability and build quality then western Europe comes to mind, I've travelled along Germany, Norway, Belgium and found the attention to detail is much more and widely respected in these places for the most part in alot of what they do, respect for the environment is more paramount in the publics eye as well.

 

[Tengu]

We have also to remember the enviroment.

Subarctic, yes, but very mild.

There are frogs and snakes living well above the arctic circle in Sweden.

Also, compared to other wild places, very cheap. I have considered places like Greenland....You need a very deep wallet to even think about Greenland.


Dad says it is because the TV presenters are only allowed to go to `safe` places.

 

[suburban bushwacker]

My guess is that it's allemansratt or the tradition of 'freedom to roam' because the outdoors is so accessible the populous never urbanised like we have in the UK