Where did it all start for you?

[commandocal]

It varies ive always been an outdoor person, in the mountains at a young age, always out etc, Im into Survival skills as such because im not too good at the craft part of bushcraft , Ive always been intrested in it but to be honest Bear Grylls got me in the mood again for it

 

[Timinwales]

Daft as it sounds a family holiday when I was about 5 in luxenburg, a walk up a seemingly huge mountain and my first knife as a reward at the top, along with the lessons on how to
use it, courtesy of my Dad.
Grandparents and their understanding of gardening (something I'm not good at) but my Grans kitchen and garden remedies seemed like magic potions and worked really well, to the point that 35 years on herbal remdies still fascinate me.
Then the usal, I suppose Scouts, DofE, and finally HM Armed Forces.
Bush Tucker Man and Ray Mears really caught my own lads imagination when he was very young and as he has been walking, camping and climbing with me since tiny bush craft seemed a natural progression.
I've tried to do what many others did for me where my Lads concerned,and make our time in ''the real world'' an adventure but never any more dangerous than it absolutely has to be, trouble being now he is 15 it's getting much more difficult.
Cheers Tim

 

[fred gordon]

'Other'for me. I suppose my parents got me into it. They were all for building fires in the woods and cooking on them. Tickling trout, boiling the kettle, making pancakes were all part of what we did in the woods as kids.

 

[fred gordon]

Bush Tucker Man - memorys. And what a hat!!

Is there anyone on this site brave enough to wear one of those?:Wow:

 

[addo]

When I was quite young we used to live next to 3 fields in the middle of a very build up area. It had trees a stream and a lot of kids messing around, an oasis. No one went to scouts unfortunetly. Then when I was 10 we moved to a house in a village backing onto miles of open countyside with small copses in the corners and had the whole place to myself and a couple of mates, and me dog, no public paths etc. Built loads of dens and fires then saw Peter duncan and Lofty(i think) on Blue Peter surviving. That rearly set me off
Couple of years off working and stuff then Ray came along on tracks and I havent looked back.

 

[Ogri the trog]

I have wondered which one to click for a few days.
Finally opted for "Other" - certainly the Cubs and Scouts had a channelling effect, but it was playing in the woods, building dens, just being there, that sparked the initial interest. Then the military did their bit to add/subtract/confuse the outdoor situation with a few trips to the muddier and colder parts of the world.
The family got a little closer to my ideal existence with a move to the hills of Mid Wales in 2001 which is when I got back into shooting airr*fles again. It was from an Air Gnu forum that I found this place, stir in a little Ray Mears and the rest, they say, is history.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Chris G]

Is there anyone on this site brave enough to wear one of those?:Wow:

Just show me where I can get one! Being of the folically challanged nature, a decent sun/rain hat is just what I've been looking for for ages.

Challange back at you!

Chris

 

[pibbleb]

It probably truely started for me when I was about 5 My Grandad would take me out on to the Weardales for the day.

After that Cubs, cadets and TA. But it was my Grandad that got me out there in the first place!

Pib

 

[Osprey]

I voted 'other' .
Playing in the woods as a kid, building dens and fishing all contributed to my interest. I joined cubs at around 9, but the pack I joined only seemed to play football or indoor games in a church hall, so I felt rather cheated and left ! I had been encouraged to join by tales of camping and fires, but the reality did not come up to my expectations and I did more bushcrafty things with my own mates
My parents were great gatherers and foragers of firewood, blackberries, sloes and elderberries etc. but never took us camping. My father had lived under canvas for several years during WW2 and I think it put him off camping for the rest of his life
Doug.

 

[Silverback]

Born and bred in a very small village in the heart of Bucks. I spent every waking minute outdoors in the surrounding woodland and have never looked back I moved from the village when the rich townies started destroying the true community spirit and drove the house prices beyond my means (don't get me started) but I intend to return one day and my parents still live there who I see nearly every day (my Dad is my shooting buddy)

 

[dtalbot]

It was just part of growing up for me, I've always lived on the edge of the Peak District and had plenty of access to the countryside

 

[Northern Giant UK]

Well I lived in Grimsby until my 20's so as a kid camping was purely a back yard pastime. we had a local woods (well sortof lol) but it was (and is) next to an abattoir (not the most pleasant memory eek).
I too remember Jack Hargreves, It's a pity there aren't programmes like Out of Town now.
What gave me the interest in Bushcraft tho?
. .
I moved

Need I say more

Kev

 

[RobertRogers]

Grew up in a mountainous, some say remote, area.

 

[commandocal]

Well I lived in Grimsby until my 20's so as a kid camping was purely a back yard pastime. we had a local woods (well sortof lol) but it was (and is) next to an abattoir (not the most pleasant memory eek).


Kev

Grimsby lad ere too mate! how ya doing! Which woods you on about the one near Morrisons? If not explain please?

 

[Northern Giant UK]

Grimsby lad ere too mate! how ya doing! Which woods you on about the one near Morrisons? If not explain please?

Hmmn, Morrisons?!? must be after my time there lol I moved up here in 93.

I lived near Bradley cross roads so Bradley woods were handy as a kid (I remember spending a lot of time as a kid collecting conkers in Bradley church yard) although now i think about it there were a few trees near the willows estate but we were warned away from there (can't remember why now).

BTW how did GY do during the floods?

Kev

 

[jasons]

watching robinson crusue the black and white tv series at the age of five .still hooked.

 

[KNC]

Reading Robinson Crusoe as a kid, and then watching Ray Mears not long after.

 

[Seoras]

Another Grandfather student here. Growing up on an island living a crofting/subsistance lifestyle you were not taught skills under the heading of Bushcraft but skills that you were just expected to know.

No woods but plenty of moorland, coastal areas and mountains to play about in with minimal restrictions, like "be back before dark and not before". Don't come across that much nowadays.

 

[Treeclipper]

It's got to be my Grandad & my Uncle.

My Grandad for making me sit & watch folks like Les Hiddins & Jack Hargreaves & programmes of the like, saying ' watch these & learn' & telling old stories & my Uncle for taking me walks in the countryside around our village & pointing out as much as he new.

lol then it took my another 30 years to want to use it , it's funny what a wife and kids can make you want to do lol

Tree

 

[Mike Ameling]

Grew up on a small farm, and played in the woods/pasture all the time. We tinkered, and built, and camped, and did all those things now called Bushcraft - all when we were supposed to be fixing fence, chasing cattle, clearing brush, and all sorts of other farm work of course. Never had the chance to do Boy Scouts or any Academy type training, and that In-Country stuff will sour you to "camping" very quickly. And I've never seen any of that Ray Mears stuff, nor read any of his books. Ditto Bear Grylls and Lee Stroud. Altho, I did watch the Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone TV shows back in those black/white days. The rest I learned from reading books by people like Dean, Kephart, Hunt, Seymour, and Mel. And it is a bit surprising what you can gleam from journals and diaries written a century or two ago. The rest was all picked up doing Living History reenactment participation and research.

It's hard to beat growing up on a small farm to learn the ways of the natural world.

Just my humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' blacksmith out in the Hinterlands