A great weekend was had at BCUK Wooplaw Community wood.
I slipped away early this morning as I was being picked up due to prior commitments. I left before I could say thanks to those who of you who helped me and made the meet an enjoyable and interesting experience.
Thanks to Orric the ranger for persisting with me during my first ever leather working session. With his help I managed to create a pouch for my glasses. We share a few things in common in that I too read fantasy novels, am interested in prehistory (Futhark runes/Ogham) and would like to be a park ranger. Perrin's a really nice dog.
Thanks to Chiseller, Canoedude and several others who gave me plenty of advice regarding flint and steel firecraft. Although overwhelming at times the advice was definitley helpful. Those with the knowledge should share it with beginners, and that's exactly what they were doing. Good job. I like to learn at my own pace and in incremental steps, but the information was welcomed.
And, last but not least, thanks to Mike who ran the woodland walk. That man definitley knows his primitive living skills and should be on this forum.
So here's my trip report. I don't want to flood the page with photos, so I'll keep the report to bare minimum. I'd like to share you with some of the better photos in my collection. This report is from my point of view only.
DAY 1 - A fairly relaxed day in which I met most of you and got a feel for the woods around me.
The obligatory sign shot that indicates the start of the report.
The communal chute. A sight to behold.
A glimpse of life under the chute.
DAY 2 - Leather working, flint and steel practice and a woodland walk.
Getting ready for the day ahead.
First event. Leather working with Orric the ranger. Good to see another LotR fan. The detail and form of the White Tree of Gondor is incredible.
I made a pouch for my glasses as my case has been broken for a while now. It took a while to make, but I got the hang of it in the end I think.
An incredible array of primitive technologies were on display.
Second event. Practicing with the traditional flint and steel for the first time. After only 30 - 40 minutes of my time and a small cut to my finger I was producing sparks like this. I think before I buy my own flint and steel set I'm going to try to get to grips with fire maintenance. I feel like going back to basics by using matches to create my fires. Once I'm more comfortable with fire construction and maintenance, and maybe a few more rounds of camping with the firesteel, I'll carry on with flint and steel.
Third event. A woodland walk with Mike and others. Very informative.
It was a great two days and I learnt a lot. I'm not one for the nightly communal banter, but it was a great atmosphere. It was definitely a good decision to come to the meet and talk to like minded people.
EDIT: I think we forgot to get a group photo. One of those would've been good. Oh well.
I slipped away early this morning as I was being picked up due to prior commitments. I left before I could say thanks to those who of you who helped me and made the meet an enjoyable and interesting experience.
Thanks to Orric the ranger for persisting with me during my first ever leather working session. With his help I managed to create a pouch for my glasses. We share a few things in common in that I too read fantasy novels, am interested in prehistory (Futhark runes/Ogham) and would like to be a park ranger. Perrin's a really nice dog.
Thanks to Chiseller, Canoedude and several others who gave me plenty of advice regarding flint and steel firecraft. Although overwhelming at times the advice was definitley helpful. Those with the knowledge should share it with beginners, and that's exactly what they were doing. Good job. I like to learn at my own pace and in incremental steps, but the information was welcomed.
And, last but not least, thanks to Mike who ran the woodland walk. That man definitley knows his primitive living skills and should be on this forum.
So here's my trip report. I don't want to flood the page with photos, so I'll keep the report to bare minimum. I'd like to share you with some of the better photos in my collection. This report is from my point of view only.
DAY 1 - A fairly relaxed day in which I met most of you and got a feel for the woods around me.
The obligatory sign shot that indicates the start of the report.
The communal chute. A sight to behold.
A glimpse of life under the chute.
DAY 2 - Leather working, flint and steel practice and a woodland walk.
Getting ready for the day ahead.
First event. Leather working with Orric the ranger. Good to see another LotR fan. The detail and form of the White Tree of Gondor is incredible.
I made a pouch for my glasses as my case has been broken for a while now. It took a while to make, but I got the hang of it in the end I think.
An incredible array of primitive technologies were on display.
Second event. Practicing with the traditional flint and steel for the first time. After only 30 - 40 minutes of my time and a small cut to my finger I was producing sparks like this. I think before I buy my own flint and steel set I'm going to try to get to grips with fire maintenance. I feel like going back to basics by using matches to create my fires. Once I'm more comfortable with fire construction and maintenance, and maybe a few more rounds of camping with the firesteel, I'll carry on with flint and steel.
Third event. A woodland walk with Mike and others. Very informative.
It was a great two days and I learnt a lot. I'm not one for the nightly communal banter, but it was a great atmosphere. It was definitely a good decision to come to the meet and talk to like minded people.
EDIT: I think we forgot to get a group photo. One of those would've been good. Oh well.
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