Although I spend a great deal of time in the outdoors, I must admit that ‘mod cons’ play a significant role in enabling things to happen. For example, it’s a lot easier and quicker to get a Jetboil going to cook dinner and make a brew than to try to light a traditional fire in the wind and rain. It saves time and effort and allows more time for the ‘activity’ itself. However, to enjoy the full experience of what the outdoor environment has to offer, sometimes it’s good to slow down and make the practicalities of living in harmony with the environment the whole point of the exercise.

Chris Hughes and I were joined by Paul Francis, another local outdoor instructor, as we set about refreshing our bushcraft skills today. Chris is the main bushcraft guru out of the three of us, and gave Paul and I the benefit of his experience and knowledge.

We spent time looking at the use of different tools, various methods of lighting fires (which came in handy for cooking lunch) and played around a little with shelter building. It may not sound like much, but it’s surprising how long things can take when you strip everything back to basics.

It was certainly a useful day from my end, with a few new techniques and ideas which I’m sure will come in handy. Thanks for a good day out Chris.