The Bushmoot(referred to generally as the Moot) is an annual event here in the UK and for many years now has taken place at Merthyr Mawr in South Wales. The name Bushmoot comes from the word Bushcraft (as popularised by Richard Graves and Mors Kochanski) and the Saxon word Moot (used to describe a gathering of people).
I like the Moot as it is a gathering of like-minded people with a multitude of skills to share with each other. Not only can kids run free and have fun but so can the adults and I am a firm believer in learning through fun .
Fun learning
I am writing 10 blog posts on the Moot this year and this first one is on the theme of Learning. I tried to write just one post however I really struggled to choose just a few pictures out of the many hundreds I took. My wife Alison suggested a number of short blog posts on different themes from the Moot and so here we are.
A couple of well-attended courses nowadays are the Startercourse (a full breakdown of the course can be seen here on the BCUK site) and the Spoon carving course run by Dean Allen. Alison and our kids did the spoon carving course this year with Dean and carved their very first spoons.
The basics
I managed to fit in a few courses this year and did a cracking traps course with Perry McGee.
The Moot is usually run over 2 weeks with a core 5 days in the middle where many short courses (2 hrs to 1 day) such as fire making, bow making, spoon carving, tarpology, knife safety, axe work, net making, cordage making, bread making, foraging, atlatl making and knotwork, to name just a few, are run.
There are other longer courses run either side of the core days (with an additional fee) such as an accredited First Aid course, Bhutenese bow making, coastal survival, tracking and lobster pot making with willow.
Fine detail
Many of the courses are based on using different materials, from basket making, pottery, sling making to learning about different knots.
I enjoyed running the ‘show and tell’ workshop on campfire cooking constructions and observing the father and son bows being made.
Working with wood
One of the things I love about the Moot is the sharing of knowledge such as how a stove was constructed or that Ikea make good quality drying racks that double up as brilliant cooking grills.
A bit of metal
A favourite of mine is the art of fire making. At the Moot you can learn about making fire with firesteels (old and modern), bowdrill, handrill, with damp tinder, pump drills and in many other ways.
Flamage
Shelter building is a big subject and is covered well, from simple tarps and debris shelters to large group tarps, permanent constructions and the magical art of tarpology.
Shelter in many forms
There are many other courses to attend at the Moot with new ideas coming up each year. I have found that the Moot has really broadened my knowledge of all things Bushcraft over the years and I expect will continue to do so for many more to come.
While out and about assessing for a Gold DofE expedition last July in the Lake District with the Sea Cadets I spent a lot of time searching out all the beauty that was around me.
This could be natural or man made however when I returned and looked at my pictures I was able to neatly drop them into different categories. These orchids below (Common and Marsh) I categorised with the carved toadstool in the middle as ‘Tall beauty’.
Tall beauty
Sometimes the beauty was totally unexpected, as with the Money tree, the Laughing tree and a hedge carpeted in spiders’ webs.
Weird beauty
The gentle beauty of the Valerian, the Dandelion seed head and the Cotton grass struck me as they ofen live in a very inhospitable environments. They look very fragile however they are designed to withstand much of what nature can throw at them.
Gentle beauty
July is a great time for spotting the Sundews and Butterworts in the marshy places of the lakes. Once you get down close you can easily get drawn into these sticky little fellas.
Deadly beauty
I spent a lot of time crossing or just gazing at the numerous little streams or waterfalls that trip. They can be quite hypnotic and relaxing if you allow yourself the time to relax (there’s lots of waiting around on a DofE trip).
Fast beauty
One day I was wandering along the road admiring the betony and the Cuckoo flowers when a tractor came along and mowed the whole lot down ( I appreciate that this is a working landscape – I am the tourist here and I remember that fact) – they were gone in a blink of an eye.
Thankfully many of the farmers in the Lakes encourage wild flowers in their fields these days so there was still plenty to see and for the insects to visit.
Disappearing beauty
There were plenty of reds around, such as the Foxglove and the English Stonecrop (not sure about the little fella on the bottom right). Had to take these pictures from weird angles, often involving climbing rocky outcrops.
Red beauty
The Bog Asphodels and yellow Poppies were simply stunning. I do not see these plants in many other places and they were carpeting whole areas up in the Lakes.
I had to jump on a number of occasions to avoid squashing frogs however they do like to play dead if they are spotted, allowing you the chance to really get up close to them.
Yellow beauty
My favourite pictures of the trip was of this little Damselfly. Simply stunning.
Blue beauty
I had fun with my macro lens extensions (especially with the rather grumpy little fella on the bottom left – I think I was in his personal space by the look in his eye).
Bug beauty
Lastly some fleeting beauty – the geese on Coniston Water and a deer and an owl in the woods
Fleeting beauty
Keep your eyes open on your next trip out and you will see different beauty all around.
The beginning of July found me in the Lake District with Sea Cadets from the London and Southern Areas helping to run a Gold and Silver Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) expedition. I was working with John Kelly, Carol O’Brien and Chris Bonfield.
My main roles were to act as an assessor for the Gold Expedition and as the Mountain Safety Officer. It was a very hard trip for the cadets and staff with the terrain and the atrocious weather however as you can see in the picture below of the Silver team finishing that these slight irritations did not dampen their spirits at all.
DofE with the Sea Cadets
Day 1 – Saturday 4th July 2015: Hawkshead to the NT Campsite at Great Langdale
Initially the Gold group were to set off from Grazedale on the Furness Fells however due to road works on the way the minibus could not get through (the Silver team was being assessed by Carol and Chris and were on a different route). The group set off instead in good spirits on a wet morning (though it became increasingly dry and warm throughout the day) to the west of Hawkshead and headed up to Hawkshead Moor.
I gave the team two checkpoints that I would meet them at. These were at Tarn Hows and Little Langdale. There route was initially uphill through Forestry Commission land, over Hawkshead Hill to Tarn Hows. From there they navigated on clear footpaths over to Little Langdale and then north to Chapel Stile.
I spent my day paralleling their route and staying high where possible. I took the time to do a lot of nature photography as well and will post these pictures up as a separate post.
Day 1 with the Gold team
I observed the group taking pictures and notes around the slate mines along the way as part of their project for the expedition.
The group were in good spirit and made good time throughout the day returning to the campsite at Great Langdale following the path alongside Great Langdale Beck.
Project work and relaxation time
In between all the walking I took out time to feed some ducks, show the cadets some great hammock seats (from UK Hammocks) and to just enjoy the views.
A bit of diversity
Day 2:Sunday July 5th 2015,Great Langdale – Dalegarth Campsite.
Using their 1:25,000 OS Map & route card the group set off west into the Oxendale valley along farm tracks. The weather was fine initially however as the day wore on it slowly deteriorated with thick low lying cloud and drizzle. I had set them 3 checkpoints I would meet them as they would be walking up to the Three Tarns below Bow Fell. I met the group at Hell Gill on the ascent, at the Three Tarns (700m) on the saddle below Bow Fell and at Lingcove Bridge over the Lingcove Beck.
Up to the Three Tarns the group were walking on clear paths and they took their time on the ascent however they worked well and always kept together. I had good views of the group on the ascent as the cloud cover at this stage had not dropped. I could see that each member of the group took it in turns to either use the map and compass and also take it in turn to select what ground to navigate over to avoid rocky or boggy areas.
Day 2 with the Gold team
One of the group informed me she was feeling slightly unwell at the Three Tarns and was worried about carrying on. After a good lunch and rest though she felt better and was happy to carry on. The weather started to deteriorate and the path became very faint before disappearing. The group worked on compass bearings and I kept a slightly closer eye on them from the surrounding hillsides at this stage. They navigated well around some particularly rocky and boggy terrain down to Lingcove Bridge in the rain and poor visibility.
Up onto 3 Tarn Pass
After the team left Lingcove Bridge (below) I spotted three guys trying to cross another stream. The crazy thing was they were dressed in trainers and jeans. Madness when they could have gone back the way they came.
The team then navigated on the path SW alongside the River ESK to the base of the Hardknott pass and then along the path on the valley floor to Dalegarth campsite. I spoke with the team when they arrived and they told me that they err’d slightly along the path in the Eskdale valley but managed to re-locate themselves before going too far.
The team arrived very wet and tired at the campsite but still in good spirits after a very trying days walk
A wet day
Day 3: Monday July 6th 2015, Dalegarth Campsite – Conniston Hall Campsite.
This was a very challenging day for the group with a lot of ascent and poor weather. Initially the day started overcast however it deteriorated to low lying cloud and persistent rain until evening.
From Dalegarth they set off SE around Crook and Green Crags (400m). I met the group at lunchtime at High Tongue near Seathwaite. The group found the mornings leg navigationally very challenging however they took their time and managed to locate the checkpoint. The local forest had been felled recently making navigation very challenging however they made good use of high points to spot landmarks they could identify.
Day 3 – Waiting
Eventually after much sitting around (fairly common in the assessing world) everyone started to appear with the Silvers first.
I spotted the Golds as they were making their way over the stepping stones.
Silver and Gold appear
After a good rest I left them and headed up onto the slopes at Walna Scar to observe them. This is where the low lying cloud came down and the rain started. I observed though that the team took a wrong turning at the base of Long House Gill and were heading up towards the Old Man of Coniston. I did intercept them before going too far and got them to work out where they were heading and soon they were going up over Walna Scar (600m) towards Coniston. Two of the group were suffering from foot injuries so I observed that they were travelling very slow but steadily. The visibility became very limited and I moved in closer to the group to ensure that they stayed on the right track.
With good navigation they found my checkpoints along the Walna Scar road and were soon down into Conniston. The weather was atrocious however the team spirit was great with everyone helping to keep their spirits up by singing and keeping to a steady pace.
The campsite was on the edge of Conniston water and very basic and open to the elements. Everyone was wet however they soon had their tents up and dinner on. I left them tired but in high spirits.
Another wet day but good spirits
Day 4: Tuesday July 7th 2015, Conniston Hall Campsite – Grizedale
The final day was much better in terms of the weather. It was clear, cloudy and there was little wind. The team set of early from Conniston following the footpaths to the head of Conniston Water at Monk Coniston.
The Silver team successfully navigated to the finish point and were delighted to have made it.
Silvers finished
The Gold team navigated up through the woods onto Monk Coniston Moor as well however due to the many tracks in this area the team err’d slightly but managed to make their way to Grizedale on time for a revised pick up there.
Even though this was one of the better days they were tired and some carried injuries they stayed positive and carried on. I observed them helping each other and this allowed them all to finish as a happy team.
Gold finished
Both teams faced many trials throughout the expedition, from injuries, navigational errors, poor weather and some very tough terrain. They could so easily have given up with any of these trials however they chose to work through each one and came through well at the end.
Catch up time again – I ran a bushcraft course with my colleagues Charlie, Dave, Cliff and Alan for the Southern Area Royal Marines Cadets last June in the military training area around Aldershot here in the UK.
This is an excellent area with lots of woodland to roam around and learn about the art of bushcraft.
A great bushie weekend
I wrote three short articles about this weekend back in June for the Wildlife Trusts 30 day Challenge I undertook however this is the full report on the weekend now.
Set up took most of the Friday and we were joined by a number of the Royal Marines staff so it did not take too long.
Setting up the HQ
I wanted the cadets to experience sleeping in hammocks so brought a dozen or so along. They took a while to set up but it was worth it in the end.
A dozen tarps and hammocks to put up
The cadets arrived in the evening and after a safety briefing, some supper and a stroll it was time to bed down for the night.
Some cadets were in the hammocks and some under their tarps on the ground. It was a wet night however everybody was mostly dry in the morning.
Bedding down
We ran a number of classes starting with building different types of shelters, and looking at how the tarps and hammocks were set up.
Shelter building
The camp chores such as gathering wood and getting fires going were soon under way. At this stage we taught the cadets how to use firesteels to light their fires.
I had also brought a number of cooking rigs for them to try out. The one in the bottom picture is the Double French Windlass rig and is one of my favourites.
Setting up the cookhouse
I wanted the cadets to feel comfortable so we spent quite a lot of time setting up different apparatus for cooking such as this Broiling rig or just taking time to chill out (bottom left).
One rule I had made at the very beginning was that unless there was an emergency there was to be no running. Quite hard for Marine Cadets to do I know however the feel of the weekend was to be one of a relaxed atmosphere.
Learning the art of Broiling and doing nothing
So relaxed that magically some cup cakes appeared in Dave’s lap.
Charlie had a good time ponnasing some trout around the fire and it tasted equally as good as it looked cooking.
Taste comes in many forms
We spent quite a while learning about knife safety, battoning and carving. Then later in the evening Dave and Cliff ran a stalking game and Atlatl range.
Knife work, stalking and Atlatl
Once the cadets were bedded down the staff relaxed around the woodland TV to plan the next day out (and have a cupcake or two).
Some Woodland TV
I think you can tell by the happy smile on this cadets face that the hammocks were a success.
Morning all
Our resident master chef Alan soon had breakfast organised with plenty of sausages and bread on the go.
Brekkie time
Classes began again soon after and I ran the group bowdrill sessions. Every team that did this got an ember and successfully blew it to flame. No mean feat considering how damp everything was.
Group Bowdrill
We tried out the handrill however without success. The cadets and myself gave it our best shot but the conditions were not with us for this one so we went back to using the bowdrill.
Having a go at Handrill
Some groups also carried on with carving their butter knives. Some ended up as pointy sticks (teenagers tend to do this for some reason) however we did get a number of very nicely shaped and functioning wooden knives carved in the end.
More knife work and archery
Cliff ran another stalking game involving water pistols however they all failed to work so improvised with squeezy bottles instead (worked a treat so I will be using them in the future).
I had also brought along a number of Father and Son survival bows for the cadets to use on a short range and they were soon happily pinging the arrows down range.
Stalking and archery to finish
We had to pack up on the Sunday lunchtime so it was over before we knew it however it was a great weekend.
My aim was to show the cadets how to make themselves comfortable in the outdoors and to have fun so that when they went back out again to practice their field craft skills they would have a wider and better understanding of the nature around them.
