While seeking out some water mint in the bottom of a lovely, verdant, narrow forested valley, I also documented some common trees and plants of damp ground, which are very representative of this type of wet woodland in the UK. I also took the opportunity to include some common fungi… Read more >>
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While the Crake is a short river, it’s definitely a worthwhile adventure in canoe. It’s a narrow, and often rocky, creek of a river, never reaching any great width. Three of us headed to Coniston Water in the English Lake District, out of which the Crake flows for a day of adventuring by water, some of which literally became bushwhacking by canoe… Read more >>
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I find myself back in the Lakes again. These days I’m here a few times through the year. There are various reasons for this but a fixture each summer is a canoe-camping programme, where we live by the side of the water for a couple of weeks. For the past four years these courses have been scheduled as a block in July but this year, we moved them forward to June. Every year is different anyway but being here a month ahead means it’s different again. It’s good to see the differences, some subtle, some large. Here’s what caught my eye…. Read more >>
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James Raffan, scholar, outdoorsman and celebrated Canadian author joins me to discuss adventure, risk, failure, teaching, wilderness journeying, lifelong learning, personal development, human potential and journal keeping, along with characters such as Kirk Whipper, Bill Mason and Sir George Simpson of the Hudson’s Bay Company… Read more >>
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In this episode, I answer questions about the longevity of pathogenic organisms in water containers, magnifying glass specifications for fire lighting, the dangers of branches dropping in woodland, umbrellas for bushcraft and camping, resin content in bow-drill materials, and shorts (yes, shorts)…. Read more >>
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In this episode of my Q&A show, I answer questions about surprisingly smoky firewood, clean clothes and hardened hands, water purification by evaporation, iodine for wounds and water, investing time in leatherworking skills, my philosophical starting point for bushcraft… Read more >>
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It’s often said that you can’t learn bushcraft skills overnight, that there is always more to learn, that many skills take years of practice to even approach mastery. So, how does the average person with a job and a combination of any or all of kids, mortgage, family commitments, weekly shopping, gardening, DIY, and who doesn’t live outdoors, make significant progress with these skills? Read more >>
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This episode of #AskPaulKirtley was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2017 Bushcraft Show in Derbyshire, U.K. There was a wide range of questions from the audience, none of which were known to me before the session. It was fun to do and we got through a lot in the hour we had together… Read more >>
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In this episode, I answer questions about changing boots on canoe trips, sharpening a knife with a secondary bevel, tidying up after harvesting dead, standing wood, knots for attaching guylines to tarps, billy can choices and handle clips, sickness and diarrhoea on a wilderness journey… Read more >>
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In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer more of your questions, this time tackling using a tarp with a canoe, earning from bushcraft content, sleeping bag liners and avoiding sweat, dealing with frowns, strides for walking, vegetarianism and veganism within bushcraft…. Read more >>
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