Bushcraft Adventures

Half-term arrived and with it came extreme weather conditions of the like we haven’t seen since we began on our bushcraft journey! It was touch and go whether the woods would be safe to explore but on the day we risk-assessed and watched carefully as the wind and rain finally dropped… It is always good to see some familiar faces but I knew were in safe hands when some of our regular Bushcrafters Ella, Felix, Harris, Sam, Otto, Josh, Hector, Magnus and of course the twins, Freddie and Lola, appeared in the farmyard. Our intrepid Bushcrafters arrived kitted out for all weathers and we set off across the fields determined to make a good day of it.

And we were not disappointed.. as we were dealing with potential hard core weather conditions our Bushcrafters had to get busy from the moment we arrived in the woods. With 14 children aged from 6-11 years old, we decided to split into two main groups. I was impressed to see how the older children helped the younger ones and actually vice versa with some impressive first timers Jo, Hamish, Amelia and ‘Tall Sam’ throwing themselves into the day with great team spirit. Shelter-building was the first order of the day and this time we were building for good reason not just for fun. With rain forecast for a large portion of the day, the children realised quickly that if they didn’t have proper shelter they were going to get wet!

Once the shelters were built, it was onto warmth – so firelighting was our next focus, together with some whittling and wood cookies to take everyone’s minds off the impending rain and wind… The children were brilliant working together in teams and making new friends as the day progressed.

My favourite part of the day was discovering one group of boys singing a rousing rendition of a school hymn to their fire – encouraging some very damp fuel to ignite! Just brilliant bushcraft spirit.

The day ended as always with hot chocolate and smores over the fire. They were a totally fab group of children and it was a joy as always to spend the day with them in the woods. Roll on Easter Holidays!!

We are back in the woods on 20th February for our first Bushcraft Adventure Day of 2020… It should be a really fun day with lots of activities planned whatever the weather – we will need to keep moving to stay warm and there will definitely be some fire-lighting and obligatory hot chocolate and Smores! If you can’t come in half term we will be running days in the Easter holidays for different age groups so keep an eye on  our Facebook page and also follow us on Instagram @bushcraftadventuredays….

At the weekend we were so excited to welcome a fantastic group of Youth Action Wiltshire kids into the woods for a day of fun. 17 inspiring young carers and their three peer mentors spent the day learning, playing and generally having a brilliant time just running free. Youth Action Wiltshire is an amazing charity providing support and care for hundred’s of children throughout the county and we were so happy to have a few of these terrific kids out in the woods for the day. The children really enjoyed fire lighting, nest building and learning about their surroundings but it seems pancakes and hot chocolate over an open fire might have been the highlight! We will be running lots more days with YAW over the Summer so watch this space..

So once again this April we are planning to head to the woods once again to have some Easter Bushcraft Adventures…

So far the confirmed dates we have so far are:

Tuesday 3rd April: 10am-3pm Ages 6-9 years. Maximum 12 children.
Friday 6th April: 10am-3pm Ages 10-14 years.  
Monday 9th April – 10am-3pm. Age range 6-9 years old.
Tuesday 10th April – 10am-3pm. Age range 10+ years old.

For further details on the days visit https://bushcraftadventures.net/page/

OR to just book your child a space please email:
your child’s name and date of birth to annielpalmer@gmail.com