We arrived at the Bushcraft Uk Bushmoot (Merthyr Mawr in South Wales) on Sunday evening. I am here for the next week and a half working with the Mootley Crew on what is what I call – My Busmans Holiday.
Sunday night was a busy one with all the set up of the family campsite – 3 hammocks, one tipi for kit, one tent for daughter and the main tarp for the kitchen/fire area.
Late evening/Early morning
Needless to say we relaxed when it got dark and had an early night (Not before spotting all the Ooglie eyes on the trees).
Alison got her customary coffee in her hammock and we all got out customary pancakes – fair trade I think.
It was good to catch up with everyone as they started to arrive on the Monday. I did get a bit of relaxation time and spent it snoozing under the main tarp – woke up to some lovely shadows dancing above me.
Busy Monday
Alison headed off on Monday evening but thankfully she will be back later in the week.
It is all busy now setting the Moot up so I will finish here and catch up with you all later.
Day 2 of our Grumpy Chums adventure brought us to the beautiful Cadair Idris range. These mountains are stunning to look at and a joy to walk.
The walk starts steeply, up through beautiful woods, with raging waterfalls and great views back down into the valley.
Heading for Mid Wales
Our route was in a clockwise direction up to Llyn Cau, following the Minffordd path, over Craig Cau, Penygadair, Mynydd Moel before returning to the car park at Dol y cae.
Day 2 – Cadair Idris Range
There was a good covering of clouds over the mountains however the views over Llyn Cau were stunning. Once we got up onto the Minffordd path we soon lost the views, except every now and then when a window in the clouds opened up to reveal Llyn Cau below. We stood and watched a helicopter buzzing over the water below us and I spotted a strange shaped rock on a cairn that reminded me of the ‘Sorting Hat’ from Harry Potter – someone had carved a Grumpy Face at its top for some reason (you can see this more clearly in the video below)
A tad drier today
We finally reached the summit of Penygadair however the visibility was as usual zero. We had a quick break in the bothy there and were soon heading over to Mynnd Moel and down.
Half way down the clouds lifted and we were treated to a breathtaking view of the whole horseshoe.
The beauty of Cadair Idris
Once we got down it was time for the long trip down to the Brecon Beacons.
Enjoy the video below of what I think is a brilliant playground – Cadair Idris.
‘We need a new challenge’ – from a conversation one night in the pub with the rest of the Grumpy Chums.
The guys were looking for something a bit more challenging this time and I remembered seeing a picture on Facebook by my friend Shelly Bristow of her completing the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge – Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen y Fan – so I put this to the guys and we were soon on our way.
Heading for North Wales
Unlike Shelly though we opted for the more sedate challenge of one mountain a day and to make a long weekend of the trip. We headed (last September) for North Wales to tackle Snowdon first. As the weather was expected to be very bad with high winds and driving rain I opted to keep the group to the main tracks. We started from Pen y Pass car park, followed the Pyg track to the summit and descended on the Miners track.
Day 1 – Snowdon
Starting off we were in the shelter of Llanberis Pass however as soon as we crossed over the pass below Crib Goch the wind really picked up. There was no rain but we could see the heavily water laden clouds above us – we made best of the views of Llyn Llydaw and cracked on up.
Ascending the Pyg Track
We soon entered the clouds and the rain soon got into every nook and cranny. On the way up I chanced upon two friends Jacques and Deano coming down from the summit (Deano had been getting his nav tested by Jacques in readiness for his Mountain Leaders assessment).
I spotted quite a few people ascending Snowdon in trainers, jeans and cotton jackets – it makes me wonder sometimes what people think mountains are all about!!!!
Getting a tad damp
Topping out on Snowdon was great as the wind and rain really tested everyones spirits. We did not hang around long but did chat for a while with a radio ham who had hauled all his kit to the top of the mountain.
On the way down I bumped into a young couple (a young lady and man) struggling to ascend in the wind and rain and after having a chat with them they decided best to try the mountain again the next day. The young man eventually agreed with me that a waterproof would be a better option the next day rather than the trendy leather jacket he was wearing – his young lady friend backed me up all the way 🙂
Wet but Fun
We all came off the mountain soaking wet but in good spirits. I put together a short video of what was a very drafty and damp day on Snowdon.
Parts 2 & 3 will cover our days in the Cadair Idris range and around Pen y Fan.
Over the last week and a half I have spent some glorious (and somewhat tiring) days on the South coast of Wales at the BCUK Bushmoot.
I will write a fuller report later of the event with lots of video but for now here are some of the highlights.
As usual there were far too many workshops being run for someone to attend them all. A particular favourite of mine is the Damp Tinder workshop run by Rich59 proving you can get a Fire in the dampest of conditions.
This year my friend Alan Lewis from the Sea Cadets came along. Alan is a trained chef and was soon helping Phil up at the Naughty Corner with baking the Pizzas.
On Monday the whole Moot community came together and created what is now our traditional communal meal. Everyone brought along Dutch Ovens full of different concoctions for everyone to try out.
In the evening we were expecting a band to turn up but for some reason they did not make it. Undettered we soon had a group jamming away making for a perfect end to the evening.
One of the highlights of the week is the Hot Chocolate evening around the main campfire. I was hoping for a cupful but the demand from the kids for seconds put paid to that 🙂
Now it is time to rest for a few days, tidy up camp and then head home.
As family holidays go the BCUK Bushmoot is hard to beat. It has it all, with activities for all ages, a stunning location and people who are happy to share their knowledge with you.
The week started with three days of wet weather however that did not stop us getting out and about. I spent one day with my friend Fraser Christian (Coastal Survival) setting nets and lobster pots out on the coast for a class he was running.
Beginnings
My family spent two weeks at the Bushmoot in early August and the kids cannot wait until next years return trip. The Bushmoot is held on the Ogmore Estate by the beautiful Merthyr Mawr sand dunes in South Wales here in the UK.
While the kids were off playing I was busy with running or attending classes. Once again this year we ran a Starter Course for anyone new to Bushcraft. Alison decided though to crack on with some more spoon carving this year with our daughter Catherine under Deans watchful eye while Finlay got on with climbing everything he could find..
Play for some – Work for others
This year I spent some time with Anita (our resident potter) discussing how to make a primitive pot for extracting birch bark oil. Anita came up with a design for me which I am hoping to try out in the winter. Anita ran a number of sessions and a particularly popular one was making clay whistles.
The picture of the clay dragon whistle shown below won the August heat of the BCUK Bushmoot competition – It was a cracking bit of craft
Pottery Art
A course I thoroughly enjoyed this year was Perry McGee’s (National Tracking School) grass rope making (I had attended last years one as well). I really like Perry’s style of teaching – it is relaxed in one way however he really does make you work :-).
The whole group made enough rope from grass to make a hammock that took the weight of anyone in the group, This is a skill I have been looking into more after seeing rope that was made out of heather recently up on the Isle of Lewis.
Grass – comfy and tough
David Willis (Bushcraft with David Willis) attended once again this year and his class was packed. The smell of fresh baking bread could be detected from afar and I made sure I swung by the class a few times.
Alison attended the class and we were well set up for bread for the next couple of days.
Beautiful Bread
There was plenty of wood working going on as usual this year. Ed Livesy ran a busy class on carving a Figure Four Deadfall mechanism, Roy Budd was running the pole lathe continuously every day (where he got the energy I do not know) and I ran for the first time the Dovetail Campfire Crane class.
This class on the crane I will run again next year as a lot of people have never heard of it and became very interested in it after seeing what my students created. It is basically an adjustable crane made out of one pole.
Wood Skills
Food as usual plays a big part in the life of the Bushmoot. The communal meal was a great success again, Tony got himself a lovely birthday cake and the kids enjoyed a few evenings supping hot chocolate around the fire.
Top Scoff
It must be getting on 6 or 7 years we have run the archery range with the competition later in the Moot.
We have sessions run most evenings and the competition is broken into two parts (kids and adults). I received many great presents to give away as prizes so thanks to all who donated. The winners are each to receive a handmade bow from Wayne Jones (Forest Knights).
On a down side my Holmegaard bow snapped this year at the Moot. It has been a trusty bow since I made it 8 years ago and it has been used by hundreds of people on my courses. I did though get an Elm stave from Chris Claycomb – so that is a project for the winter.
Down on the Range
Another first for me was running the Damp Wood Log Rocket stove class. The rain we had earlier meant that all the logs were damp (the spray was hitting us in the face when we split them) so it was great to see after all their hard work all the students managed to get their log rockets fired up.
The coffee I can tell you was brilliant 🙂
Proper coffee from Damp Log Rockets
As you can see I did take a few pictures at the Bushmoot however there were a few special ones to me. Below are three that I really was glad they turned out so well.
The first one was a moment I captured when taking a picture of the battery candle sitting in basket of carved flowers. Mark was just saying goodbye to Tony with a manly hug when I pressed the shutter.
Next was sitting beside the beautiful artwork created by Keith Beaney. Every year Keith comes along and patiently creates these works of art for us all to enjoy.
And finally one day someone pointed out to me a dragonfly sunning itself next to the shower block. This little fella was not moving for anyone and really let me get up close and personal to photograph him.
Special Moments
There were too many workshops run to be able to attend them all (approx. 110 were run over the core days) however keeping my trusty Nikon with me I managed to capture a few moments from just some of them.
Wayne was busy teaching knife throwing, Theresa ran a very busy workshop on flint knapping and Stuart spent two days splitting the most twisted trunk in the world without using metal wedges. There were many, many more workshops run by different instructors, I saw some, photographed some but missed many – that is the nature of the Bushmoot for you.
Passing On By
After the core days were over we spent time dismantling lots of the classrooms, mooching by the fire and taking long relaxing walks down to the beach,
Winding Up
During the Moot I finished off doing my 22 Day 22 Push up challenge and videoed it each day. In the video below you will see in the second half of it lots of Bushmoot locations, finishing up with pushups in the swash zone in the sea at Merthyr Mawr,
So if you are into activity holidays that do not cost the earth then head on down to the Bushmoot next year.
