When it comes to visiting wilderness, is bushcraft at odds with leave-no-trace principles? Or is this even the right question? Are they really mutually exclusive or are there bigger issues to consider?…
In this episode I answer questions about top trees for bushcraft, dish cleaning in random camp spots with no water, the best time for carving, how not to get wet under a tarp (revisited), light saws for bushcraft, equipment for maintaining axe and knife at home…
Wild Wanderings 4 takes us back south to the woods of Sussex as summer starts to feel a little lazy. The students were anything but lazy though, working hard for everything they achieved, including foraged foods…
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions about bear-resistant containers, bushcraft in the National Curriculum, blisters, modern Swiss Army Knives, bushcraft and skis, and making use of trash you find in the woods…
Two weeks on Windermere. It could be a lot worse! Spending two weeks based in the same spot outdoors is always interesting, though, wherever it is. Well it is for me. It is if you are interested in nature. In two weeks you really spot the changes which occur. Plants coming into flower. Flowers going to seed. Berries ripening. So on and so forth. And there was a lot to see here…
Canoe capsize recovery skills are important for any canoeist who ventures onto open water, even as part of a group. Windermere is England’s largest natural lake and the venue of the Expedition Canoeing Skills course that Ray Goodwin and I run there every summer. Part of the course programme involves learning and practising canoe…
In this episode, I answer questions about compass bubbles, old man’s beard, hand-drill use in the UK, physical fitness for the outdoors, long-log fire lays and sparks from Gransfors axes…
I’ve had various comments on some of my videos and articles along the lines of “tarps are OK until it rains”, or “good luck when it rains”. Here is a short response…
How to get over a fear of wild edibles, is Leave No Trace completely at odds with Bushcraft, which other methods of fire by friction work in the UK, my view on firebox stoves, whether wood stoves get around no-fire rules, ideas on DIY sleeping bags and can you use two sleeping bags together for the winter, plus what shirt am I always wearing?
#AskPaulKirtley returns with questions on vapour barriers, firesteels on lanyards, what to do in electrical storms, trekking poles and pitching tarps, dehydrating your own meals, especially favourite recipes, how to know when to stop bow drilling. The latter makes for a neat case study. AND there is a nice sneak preview in the middle of the video as well as a fun little blooper reel at the end. Enjoy…