West Midlands - Coventry - Bushcraft Weekends

[Cyclingrelf]

Hi all,

I'm planning on camping at Rough Close again on 8th/9th April, if anyone would like to join me. I've even purchased a parachute to ensure somewhere dry for a group if it rains! If you want to see what the last weekend was like, there is a post further down in this thread with a link to pictures.

Same details as before:

Rough Close:
http://www.roughclose.org.uk/

I've booked 3 places, as I know it's rather short notice and close to Easter, but we could probably expand this quite easily. I haven't confirmed all the logistics yet, so I'll give further information when confirmed if you PM me.

How to book
PM me! First come, first served. Looking forward to meeting some of you!!

Description
The whole campsite is a big mixed, mainly broadleaved, woodland. Although the website says the woodland is 43 acres, I think their acres must be smaller than mine. I think it is about the size of my parent's woodland - so about 10 of my acres. Still a very reasonable size.

The basic camping area is pretty much all trees, with no lawn area. However, there are some clearer areas where tents could be pitched if people would prefer those to the tarp and bivvy set up. The ground is quite clayey and not well-drained, so tends to be a bit muddy in places. Water is from a tap a short walk from the area. There is a toilet block and hot showers some distance from the basic camping area, although they are happy for us to use alternative methods provided we are considerate of other users and mark dug toilets appropriately.

We can have fires to cook on, I'm guessing one between two would be about right to keep impact down but still have room to cook, but am happy to discuss. Firewood can be collected from around about. We'll need to clear fires away completely when we have finished with them and leave the campsite as though we had never been there, but I am happy to help anyone not sure how to do this.
Of the long list of things I asked about, the only one we are not allowed to do is snare animals.

I'm really hoping some of you can come this time, as it'd be great to meet some other people interested in bushcraft and share learning. I'm also hoping my hand is better by then, as I managed to chop it when mis-using my axe last week! :eek:

Directions:
http://www.coventryscouts.org.uk/roughclose/Howtofindus.htm
Map (http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=426500.988176596&Y=278000.671527468&width=500&height=300&gride=426474.988176596&gridn=278208.671527468&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=GB&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&keepicon=true&zm=0&scale=10000&out.x=4&out.y=10)

Cost:
£3.00 per night per person (the website is out of date)
If there are any damages as a result of our visit, we may be charged for those.

[Swampy Matt]

Rough Close is about 3 miles from where I live!!

I used it regularly as a scout (many years ago!).

The site is superb. The only problem is finding it. From the road the sign is small and half hidden.

If memory serves me right, there used to be a large circular clearing where the scout groups would build a big fire and all the groups would convene of an evening for songs and campfire tales (eyes glazing over with nostalgia....).

Matt.

[Cyclingrelf]

Wow! You guys are great. All the places are now taken, subject to everyone confirming.

attendees:

trauma (possibly + 3 friends)
Swampy Matt
peds8045
redflex
myself
Craig

If anyone else would like to come, please PM me and I'll let you have places if anyone drops out.

Sorry for keeping the numbers down - I just find it a bit scary organising something like this for the first time, so I wanted to keep the scale down a bit. Also, it'll give those of us going a chance to get to know everyone properly.

[Cyclingrelf]

peds8045 has had to drop out, so if anyone would like to snaffle his place, please PM me!

attendees:

trauma (possibly + 3 friends)
Swampy Matt
redflex
myself
Craig

[Cyclingrelf]

Another person has dropped out, so that leaves:

Swampy Matt
redflex
myself
Craig

So quite a small and select group now! Anyway, be great to meet you guys and if anyone else wants to join us, please PM me!

[Spikey DaPikey]

Trust me to find this after its over :o

Never mind lol

[ScottC]

How was it?

[Cyclingrelf]

I'm back from the weekend at Rough Close.
In the end, only my friend Craig came as everyone else had to drop out for lots of different reasons. But I'll definitely organise another one some time in April, so watch this space.

I've put some photos from the weekend on my website, for those interested to see:
http://www.susannahrelf.co.uk/Bushcraft/weFeb06.html

We had a wonderful time trying out things we hadn't done before. I've ended up with even more questions than I had before, but here's a quick list of new things we did:

I had a go at sleeping with the hammock set-up, which was lovely until it started to rain, and my hammock was too long for the way I set the hoochie up, so I swiftly decamped and reverted to my usual bivvy-bag. :) Craig was trying out sleeping in a bivvy bag for the first time, and I think it was successful, judging by the snores!

We both tried tapping Birch trees for sap. There was lots of sap welling up, and we were able to collect quite a bit in a short space of time. However, we tasted it and were disappointed as it tasted rather bitter. Were we doing something wrong? Is it just the wrong time of year and we should have waited until end of March?

I decided I wanted to try tanning one of the rabbit's pelts, so that was another new thing for both of us. So far, it's looking OK - but still more work to be done on it. I am currently drying it and stretching it. Next weekend in the woods, I'd like to smoke it.

We also sampled some home made Ginger beer (my first time making that) which went down very well. :D Craig liked it so much, he's run off with half my bottles so that he can have a go at making Ginger beer too.

On top of the new things, we also enjoyed cooking rabbit casserole, roasting a pheasant, exploring the woodland and, of course, sitting by the campfire.

Looking forward to the next one already!

[falcon]

It is difficult to get a big turn-out when people have so many commitments but it looks like you packed in some fun...always good to shrare things with others. Looks like a good flow of sap too....we cut down some small sycamore (10") diameter last Wednesday and I was amazed at the amount of sap flowing given the cold weather we've had. Glad you had a good time.

[FruitBatInShades]

If your doing anything else in the midlands, let me know. I only just saw this one, been offline for a while. Sounds like you had a good time :)

[Cyclingrelf]

Hi FruitBatInShades, I'll certainly PM you when I organise the next one. It'll be in April some time - still tba at the moment.

:-)

[FruitBatInShades]

Yeah, let me know. Would have gone on the brecon beacons one too but I don;t think I can walk that far :(

[Cyclingrelf]

Bump - details of the weekend in April at the top of the thread. :D

[Singeblister]

This sounds great and its not to far away :) I will see what i can sort out , Love your fire by friction video on your web site Cyclingrelf I must try it

[Cyclingrelf]

Love your fire by friction video on your web site Cyclingrelf I must try it

:o

I was really self-conscious making that video as my neighbours must have thought I was completely nuts, so was half whispering, but excited to get a fire at the same time - how embarassing. But glad you enjoyed it anyway!! :D

If you can make it on 8th/9th, I'd be happy to teach you what I know about bow drills, although I'm not consistent with the technique myself yet.

[FruitBatInShades]

I can't find the link to your site Cyclingrelf! Wouldn't mind having a look at the vid :)

[Cyclingrelf]

I knew I was going to regret putting that on a public website!! I thought to myself "Oh, only my family will ever bother looking on there, so it should be alright"... :rolleyes:

Oh well, here goes - it's about 25.6MB, so rather large (sorry) - right click the link below and choose "Save target as..." to download to somewhere on your computer.

Bow Drill Video (http://www.susannahrelf.co.uk/bowdrill.AVI)

[Cyclingrelf]

Just a brief update (time to go home from work, really!! :))

At the moment, the following people are coming for the w/e April 8th/9th:

Swampy Matt (and possibly his friend)
FruitBatInShades
Singeblister
Fae Eyes (My cousin, who hasn't posted on the forum yet, but has joined us!!)
Possibly my friend Craig, depending on work

I'll PM further information to you all when I get a chance - life rather busy at the moment.

[FruitBatInShades]

muhahaha downloading video now :)

This will br my first moot! I must admit I'm new to all this bushcraft as an activity kinda thing. I bought a hammock but never used it before. I'm normally used to just taking a knife, saw and sleeping bag and making my shelter wherever I go but I don't think the campsite would last long if everyone did that ;)

Any help or advice on what to bring. I don't think my normal gathering of kit will fit in! Will someone show me how to use a hammock? If not i'll just build a shelter ;)

[FruitBatInShades]

Just watched the video, well done :) Not even tried a bow drill yet!

[Cyclingrelf]

I guess kit will need to be something similar to what I suggested last time, which I've more or less copied and pasted below - if you've any more questions about what to bring, or think I've missed anything out, please feel free to check with me:

Kit
Please bring everything you're going to need for overnight camping. I'm assuming most people probably have plenty of experience of this sort of thing, but as a rough guide:

Enough food for 1 breakfast, 2 (hot but quick) midday meals and 1 evening meal. We will not be allowed to hunt/snare on site. (Presumably in case we catch any boy scouts!! ) However, we are allowed to forage. It's just there isn't that much to forage on site...

Cooking and eating utensils. I'd say the minimum would be a Billy can, metal cup, spoon and/or fork, sharp knife, depending on what you're cooking and what you plan to improvise when you get there. Cooking will be over open fires, unless you'd prefer to use a stove of some kind and bring one with you.

A water bottle, at least 1 litre capacity, more would be useful - the water tap is a medium walk from the camping area, and I wouldn't trust the stagnant pools in the area as the woods are surrounded by farmland and there may be chemical contamination.

Sleeping kit, so: sleeping bag, tent or tarp/hammock/bivvy bag, sleeping mat, toothbrush, toothpaste, nightwear (spare socks et.c.), comb et.c.

FruitBatInShades, I'm happy to show you how to put up a hammock now that I have learned. (I was practising at the beginning of the month when I was in Cornwall :)) However, you'll need something to keep the rain off as well - a tarp or hoochie of some kind? Also, a warm sleeping bag and a mat such as thermarest to provide insulation under the sleeping bag where it compresses against the hammock.
Or, if you've got a waterproof bivvy, then you could skip the hammock and just use a sleeping bag, insulatory mat and tarp for shelter (I can show you how to put up a tarp as well)?
Or, you could just build a shelter, as you suggest, so long as you reckon you can dismantle it and make it disappear reasonably easily in the morning - I'd be quite interested to see what you make and how you build it. The owners of the site are OK with us building occasional bivouacks. (Like you say, we couldn't build them all the time, but as a learning exercise, they wouldn't mind...)

Methods for lighting fires

Cutting tools

Tissue paper to help with cleaning pans and personal hygiene, since the water tap is quite a distance from the site. Although, it's not THAT far if you want to wash pans/hands et.c. properly.

First aid kit

Wet weather gear/ warm clothing/ sensible shoes (it will be muddy)

Nylon cord (10m seems to be a reasonable quantity)

Plastic carrier bags - these are always useful - you can pack wet/dirty things in them to keep the rest of your kit dry/clean, use them to carry out non-burnable rubbish...et.c.

I'll bring a toilet roll in a waterproof container with matches - I'm considering digging a toilet nearish to where we camp, as the toilet block is quite a distance if someone wants to take a midnight dump...also a washing up bowl and soap so we can set up a washing hands station...and a parachute if it arrives in time and I've picked one that can be used as a shelter (crosses fingers)

[Cyclingrelf]

This will br my first moot!

Lol, I've never organised a moot before either (unless you count the weekend in Feb, which ended up being just me and my friend Craig :lmao: ), nor have I been on a BCUK moot, so I don't know if this will be very representative. But it should be fun, and I'm really looking forward to meeting a bunch of people interested in similar stuff to me. :)

[Cyclingrelf]

It was great to meet some BCUK folk at last! Thanks for an excellent weekend.

I'm afraid I forgot my camera, so no photographic evidence, but Rough Close is a superb site and we had a very relaxing weekend pottering around in the woods.

I made some Charcotton with FruitBatInShades' help, and most people were interested in learning some knots for putting up tarps. I taught them the Evenk reindeer hitch, tension knot and guy line knot. We had a double hootchie for a day shelter with a permanent star fire underneath to keep the kettle hot. We also practised the bowdrill, but I had to stop as winding the spindle into the bow was hurting my axe wound too much. CVTWoodlife got really close to getting an ember, but in the end none of us succeeded. I guess it's all good practice and will have built up our muscles for next time!

Fae Eyes was pleased because she got to use all the new kit she bought. She won't look quite such a green horn at the Woodlore Birch Bark course now!!

I'm really looking forward to the next meet! :)

[FruitBatInShades]

Here are some photos I took on crap camera phone. Sorry I didn't get any of the guys but they didn't stay till the morning. I learnt to tie some knots which I have now completely forgotten!
Great to meet everyone, I had a good time and spent my first night in a hammock! Comfy, but bad for the back.

http://fruitbatinshades.com/Lee/bush1.jpg

http://fruitbatinshades.com/Lee/Bush2.jpg
http://fruitbatinshades.com/Lee/Bush3.jpg

[Cyclingrelf]

lol - I even LOOK worse for wear. I might keep that photo as a terrible warning should I ever be tempted to sit around a fire late into the night drinking sloe gin and CVTWoodlife's delicious home-brew at any point in the future...

Thanks for posting the photos, FruitBat! :)

[Juantwothree]

The Coventry moot was really nice to be able to attend with Cycling Relf ,Singe Blister, Fruitbat in Shades,Faeeyes and my friend CVTWoodlife. Shame I could not make it for the whole duration although i am grateful to you all as I felt I learnt alot and as ever its great to be around a fire with like minded folk.

The site i thought was ideal and showed signs of being a relative of ancient woodland, part of the arden forest once upon at time i suppose. Just right for practicing the old skills.

I look fwd to the next one , i will be happy to help organize it if you want some help,and will look fwd to practicing fire bow drill again and knots (the evenk one is a beaut). Presuming everybody is still up for another moot there i will get some stuff prepared for having a forage and plant id session sorted.

Did we say June for another.... :)

Thanks again Juan23

[Cyclingrelf]

Juan23, great to hear from you! I'd definitely be up for another meet up in June, and a foraging/plant uses sort of one sounds an excellent plan. So, yes please! Feel free to organise. I'm on holiday at the moment (Birch Bark course next week), but I'll contact you when I get back.

My parachute has arrived now, so plenty of cover if you'd like me to set up a day camp again.

[Juantwothree]

Hi there Cyclingrelf, good news about the parachute look forward to sitting under it, do have a good time on the birch bark course :)

If you want to set up daycamp again that would be tops you chose a good spot.

I can organize something for the forage/plant ident activity I plan to run hopefully with cvtenviros expertise aswell, and we could start looking at some dates how about the 3rd, 4th or 17th, 18th June for a meet up at rough close again.

No probs will do my best to organize this time .

If fruitbatinshades , fayeeyes, and dope forgot Relfy?,see this what do ya reckon. Coming again is that weekend any good ?

[matty31]

Hi,

I live in Leamington and really want to get out there and practice my skills. Would you let me know when you next go into the woods. Which woods do you use by the way?


Matt

[Cyclingrelf]

Sorry to all those I failed to invite, (matty31, redflex :o ) I was rather disorganised this time! But CVTWoodlife, Relfy and I made it out to the woods again this weekend, and here are a few photos for those interested:

http://www.susannahrelf.co.uk/Bushcraft/weAug06.html

[Rob Tangtent]

ah you guys look like you had so much fun, i wish there was a meet for younger people. im in leamington aswell and id love to spend a weekend practising some bushcraft skills
there ought to be one in rough close for 13-18 yrs ish.
i guess i should just join the scouts but im really reluctant!
dont like the idear of having a uniform and that sort of thing

[Andy2112]

ah you guys look like you had so much fun, i wish there was a meet for younger people. im in leamington aswell and id love to spend a weekend practising some bushcraft skills
there ought to be one in rough close for 13-18 yrs ish.
i guess i should just join the scouts but im really reluctant!
dont like the idear of having a uniform and that sort of thing

Rob, PM Decorum on here as he sorts the Midlands Meets out. He may be able to give you more information regarding the age group you want to bring.

Andy

[decorum]

... more information regarding the age group you want to bring. ...

Easy to answer that. Anyone under 18 is required to bring a parent or legal guardian with them.