Fundamental bushcrafts: a week in the North West Highlands
This week is aimed at beginners and those with some basic
knowledge wanting to improve their skills. You’ll explore in some depth the key
skills needed to survive and you’ll get plenty of practice with expert guidance
in developing your skills. The week includes shelter building, firecraft,
wilderness cooking, foraging, water collection and purification, knife and tool
skills development, cordage from natural materials, useful knots and camp
furniture.
Day One
ShelterShelter is essential; it protects us from the weather, keeps
us warm and dry and is psychologically important for morale.
- You’ll learn how to make a one person emergency shelter
using the materials found around you
- You’ll learn how to make a lean-to cold weather shelter that
maximises the benefit you get from the warmth of your fire
- You’ll learn how to use a tarpaulin to construct a shelter
- You’ll learn a range of useful knots and lashings
Knife and tool safety and use- You’ll learn the safe use and sharpening of cutting tools
such as knives and axes
- You’ll practice knife and axe skills through a number of
useful projects
- You’ll cover the legislation relating to these so you don’t
fall foul of the law.
Day Two
Firecraft
Firecraft is one of the oldest skills known to mankind; it
is thought that our evolution as an intelligent, dominant species was helped
greatly by our ability to cook raw food. Firecraft is a central survival skill;
it warms us, it dries us, it makes water safe to drink, it cooks our food, it
lifts morale.
- You’ll learn several different ways to generate a flame
without using matches
- You’ll find out about collecting, preparing and using a wide
range of tinders to get the flame going
- You’ll learn how to build the flame up into a fire you can
cook over
- You’ll light a fire using three different techniques and
natural tinder types and you’ll use three different cooking set ups:
Swedish steel, fulcrum set up
Flint
and steel, tripod set up
Fire by friction, multi-pot beam set up - You’ll learn ways of lighting fire in damp or wet conditions
- You’ll learn how to manage the fire from start to finish to
minimise impact on the surroundings
Day Three
Wilderness cooking and foraging
There are few things more satisfying than preparing and
sharing a meal round an open fire; it takes us back to our basic social
instinct as a species and when we share food round a fire we re-enact something
humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years. It is an experience
that is deep inside all of us and links us closely to our natural past and more
closely to each other.
- As a group you’ll set up your camp fire for cooking, using a
method of your choice without matches
- You’ll discover how to use the different areas of the fire
for different cooking techniques
- You’ll bake, grill, stew and smoke your way to a tasty meal
of bread, fish, meat or veggie stew and a dessert if you fancy it. We’ll add a
few seasonal wild ingredients as available.
There is plenty of food growing wild around us. 7,000 years
ago, our ancestors started growing their own food but before that we hunted
wild animals and picked wild plants to eat. It was really important to know
what was edible and what was poisonous; it could be a matter of life or death!
This is an introduction to a very big subject but we’ll get
you off on the right foot. We’ll be out in the field looking at identification,
discussing preparation and some tasting. We'll cover:
- Easy protein sources (not for the squeamish and we won’t
make you try them!)
- A selection of edible leaves, flowers, roots, berries, seeds
and nuts found locally
Day Four
Water
Surface water found in Britain is rarely safe to drink.
- You’ll learn how to identify possible water sources
- You’ll learn a number of different ways to collect water and
process it for safe use. These will include:
Collecting ground water
Collecting rain water
Collecting transpired water
Making a solar still
Making a natural filter
Modern filtration and purification
Cordage
Out in the wild there are no nails or screws for
constructing the things you need but there are 101 uses for good cordage.
- you’ll learn how to make strong useable string from plants
around you such as nettles, brambles and tree bast
Day FiveAdding a few luxuries!
We’ll explore a range of additions to your camp site and
bushcraft existence including making camp furniture from round wood, making
simple baskets and some useful utensils.
Duration: 5 days: 7
to 8 hours per day
Cost: £500 for two people (£250 each), £100 per additional
group member.
Individual one-to-one booking available at £500. Accommodation not included;
see booking information.
Further information: Minimum group size two; maximum 12.
Participants should be 16 or over. Bring a packed lunch each day.
Activity leaders are qualified through the Institute for
Outdoor Learning to teach bushcrafts and are CRB checked.
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