Having not posted for a while and not being able to travel due to the Corona pandemic I have been looking back at some my older pictures and videos to bring a smile to my face and it worked – plan is to make this a regular thing until we get the go-ahead to get out and about again.
So here goes – It was a great trip on Dartmoor with the Sea Cadets/DofE last year where we had a little fun along the way (Dave you have to put up a lot with me I know). Alison and Catherine had no idea they were being watched while I photographed them at The Vyne (National Trust).
I spent a bit of time stalking (with a camera) a herd of Deer in the snow (very crunchy snow) and I had a laugh watching the mother Bison scratching her cheek on her calf’s bottom.
Finally looking at my Youtube channel this short video from the Bushmoot always brings a smile to my face – great people in a great location – here is to hoping we can meet up this year.
This morning I opened a few presents (being it is my birthday) and one contained the GoPro Hero Session camera – thank you Alison :-).
I have been wanting one for quite a while now so I was soon of out at our local National Trust property – The Vyne.
Nothing strenuous or exciting I am afraid as I just wanted to see how it performed under water. Here is a very short video of it in action.
The Hero Session did not take me long to get used to and I really like that it is waterproof without the need for an extra casing. It is not the most expensive GoPro, nor does it have all the features such as the Hero 5 but it is simple to use and waterproof straight out of the box – just what I need 🙂
Looking forward to using it in my adventures in the future.
A few weeks ago I had some Father and Son time with my lad Finlay at The Vyne National Trust property here on the outskirts of Bramley in Hampshire.
History and Archaeology have always been of interest to me so to get up close to see the renovation work going on at The Vyne was a chance not to be missed. Along the way we also took time to watch the Greylag Goslings and spotted some of the many Lego characters hidden along the way.
If you have not been to see the renovation work then I urge you to pop along to view it before the roof is all covered over again.
Today I came home to find our village paper – The Bramley Magazine – had been delivered. Inside was a nice surprise – a full page given over to my pictures from the Wild Wicker Walk at The Vyne National Trust property (thank you Rachel).
These are just some of the wicker sculptures you can find at the property and I heartily recommend a visit if you are in the area.
This last week has found me cooped up in the house nursing a ripped muscle in my calf – the after effects of a nearly 50 year old going to a trampoline centre with his children (my advice is don’t do it – no matter what they say about how much fun it will be).
So today I got out (well hobbled out really) to The Vyne National Trust property here in Hampshire.
Spring Shoots – Sycamore
I was taught a while ago that any decent photographer can stand in any spot and after considering all the angles take a half way decent shot. This is what I did here at the side of the man made lake at The Vyne.
I spotted some newly burst sycamore shoots at the base of a tree at the edge of the lake and thought that the angles could work for me. It was a bit of a struggle to get low down for this shot without causing myself any further damage but the soft mud at the edge of the lake worked for me 🙂
I have worked on the picture to brighten the new sycamore shoot on the right but to to give the picture a slightly darker look all over – probably to reflect my current mood where I do feel slightly better now but am still really frustrated over my lack of mobility.
Ok, not so much a picture of the week but a collage of the week.
I had a delightful walk last Sunday with my family at The Vyne National Trust property in Hampshire. The gardeners have installed a number of wicker figures around the gardens and named the trail the Wild Wicker Walk.
The Wild Wicker Walk
Some are easy to spot but some are not (the Hawk in particular) however they kept our whole family happily busy as we hunted for them.
My favourite (they are all excellent) because of its location on a fallen log has to be the Fox.
Thanks to all the gardeners for taking the time to make these wicker characters and placing them in some beautiful spots for us to find.
Today found me out and about with my family at The Vyne National Trust Property near Bramley in Hampshire. The day started wet and overcast but we still managed to get out and get muddy.
Stick Fun
I took lots of pictures but this one of my son managing to have fun with just a couple of sticks on an old wooden fence really put a smile on my face. He likes his X Box but thankfully likes to get muddy just as much.
This is my 200th post on my Bushcraft Days blog and I have had fun writing every one – Looking forward to the next 200.
Thank you to everyone who follows my little adventures.
Today I woke to some lovely sunshine, a rare treat so far this winter. I’m writing up all the little adventures I had last year, and looking back at my diary I realized the next one in line also happened on a lovely sunny day, in fact it was an idyllic day.
The day after I came home from the Wilderness Gathering in August I took my two kids and one of their friends to the local National Trust property, The Vyne in Hampshire. Â The house itself is beautiful but the grounds and woodland are my real playground. They have a kids’ play area built around the theme of a Hobbit house with none of the usual swings or slides but plenty of cranes, water, stones, wood and sand to get stuck into.
I sometimes get so caught up with what I am focussed on when studying bushcraft that I lose site of the wonder of everything else. My kids remind me of this when they are out and about exploring and discovering new things.
I have walked past this tree a couple of times with my eyes down on the lookout for a new flower to photograph but when the kids look at it they see a magical figure with hairy nostrils. If you look at the tree from their angle (and I did) you can easily imagine this.
Hairy Nostrils!!
To my son this ditch is a world of wonder: I just see the plants on the side but he see trolls under the bridge. It was here that I started to remember all the bridges I had crawled under as a kid in search of those damned elusive trolls. It was a fun time though a bit wet and even though my mother would scold me I would always find another bridge.
Can I jump in Daddy?
The National Trust have built this excellent play area but all Finlay wanted to do was collect as many sticks as possible and build a shelter. This need to build something out of a pile of sticks must be imprinted somewhere in our brains and I guess for many people that need is erased as they grow up: thankfully for me that has never happened.
Shelter building anyone
While Finlay was off building, Catherine was in the sand pit patting it all flat. I like to think she was creating a sand pit trap (to collect tracks) as she has done this before but I think she was just dreamily making shapes. I really like my daughter’s artistic side and it is nice sometimes to just sit and watch where her imagination takes her.
Sand Pit Trap
We spent a bit of time around the pond where the kids lay down beside the edge and waited for the carp and ducklings to come a-calling. The kids asked if a carp would eat a duckling. I have no idea. I just told them that the carp were kept well fed so as to leave the ducklings alone (sometimes you just have to sound confident).
Luckily the carp were not hungry today
I like this pond as the dragonflies put on quite a show of acrobatics. We spent a good half hour just watching what was happening here. I do not normally get that length of time for an activity like this but since Mother Nature was being kind and always up to something here the kids (and I ) were kept enthralled.
Dragonfly spotting
Sometimes you can be wandering through the woods trying to keep the kids occupied and what you see just stumps you – No way could I beat these guys sending kids up and down the tree like yoyos. Next year I want to get the kids on this activity (that includes me of course).
Strange happenings in the trees
Idyllic days require some fancy food – Catherine took the bottom picture just before we went home 🙂
