Flax Phormium tenax is a plant from New Zealand that is pretty common in gardens and public spaces in Scotland. I learnt about the plant from Simon and Carol West, on a recent About Argyll Walking Holidays tour to Orkney in July 2017. The Maori name for flax is harakeke and is used for making …
Category: Bushcraft
Marram Grass Cordage
I visited the Shetland museum last week and was keen to find how local plants have been used to make rope, cordage and baskets (the Shetland word for rope is simmens). As well as reeds and straw I was interested to see that marram grass was used to make rope (see photo below). Yesterday I …
Foraging for food in Orkney and Shetland
Here are some edible plants I have been munching on up in Orkney and Shetland these past two weeks. Been guiding with About Argyll Walking holidays who run week long walking tours in the northern isles. I have to say a big thanks to Dr Carol West for teaching me so much about plants last …
Practising Friction Fire
Spent the afternoon in the woods today practicing friction fire using a bow drill. All went well to start with, got a good ember and blew it into flame using a tinder nest made of purple moor grass and bracken. Unfortunately my twigs didn't catch and the fire died. Thankfully I had put some charred …
Fire with Quartz and Steel
On Friday I took a wee holdiay, 24 hours camping on the Cowal coast - a place called Asgog Bay. The weather was fantastic, sunny and warm; and with no midgies it was perfect weather for camping. Asgog Bay has a shingle beach with great views of Arran tot eh south. Along the shore there are …
Hammock camping, campfire cooking trail runner
So my plan was to do a big 60km reccy of a gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award route in Perthshire, running it in two days travelling really lightweight, sleeping in my hammock and cooking on a fires - so no stove. My rucksack weighed 7kg with food and water and all my overnight kit. I …
Continue reading Hammock camping, campfire cooking trail runner
Woodland Light
Spent the day exploring Whinny wood near Balloch. This mixed woodland is on two small hills on the southern shore of Loch Lomond. It's managed by the Woodland Trust and has a super network of paths allowing you to explore and reach some lovely vantage points with views across the loch to the Luss hills …
Youth Vision
Youth Vision is a charity based in the Pentlands, at a cottage near Harlaw reservoir. Its committed staff and volunteers run forest schools, gardening and wilderness experiences for young people from Edinburgh. Their base is a fantastic place for young people to learn and be inspired. The cottage is like a comfortable well resourced bothy …
New site for Bushcraft Courses
There are a lot of considerations in finding a suitable site for teaching bushcraft. You need the permission of the landowner to have fires and use cutting tools; you need the right mix of woodland, ideally with hazel, birch, willow; you need a supply of materials and thatch for shelter building and lastly the forest …
Friction Fire
Here's a recent video of me using the bow drill to get a fire going. Was a bit tricky because it had been raining and the birch twigs I was using weren't very dry. The bow was made of willow and I used paracord with some beeswax to make the cord grip better. The …
