BushCraft Ireland

Crapbag

I am indeed. Might wait until my availability gets a little better with my course. Plus, Im all for camping in the winter but it can throw people off. Are people interested in doing something in the early spring or do they want to brave it? We could practice some winter weekend and if people wanna camp, they can and if others want to head, no problem. I would like to see what they did on the Mears course in comparison to my own. Count me in, id love to get people interested in this more in this country and learn more from others myself

Id have to agree on the non-drinking camp idea. I have no problem with people bring drink but getting pissed and arsing around isnt my idea of camping. Camp side beer after a long day,fine. Electric picnic piss-up, no thanks. Dont mean to mean to be a drag but thats just my opinion, id still like to meet up

Dave!

Yeah I just realised that the coldness might be a factor The Bushcraft Ireland course is April, May, and June, so if I have the money (E275) I'll probably do one of those. I'd probably be on for camping before that though, just busy busy busy for the next month at least. We shall see how it goes anywho, keep an eye on the non-drinking forum and you'll see any developments.

Crapbag

Hmmmm. I would like to see what the Irish course has to offer but would rather get the verdict of someone who has gone before I do. I also want to get practice in over the next year so I wouldnt be doing it too soon. Still though, those up for some practice either now or early next year can contact me

bitemybanger

Bushcraft has facinated me since i was a child, before ieven knew it was called bushcraft, I used to walk for hours through the vally and surrounding fields and woods of north county Dublin wishing i could "live off the land" so to speak. i have never lost this passion, i do alot of hunting and fishing and might stay out for a couple of days using as much bushcraft as possible learned trough books and self tought,
I would be interested if you guys are organising a meet. never anybody i know willing to spend a few days in the wilderness.

Crapbag

Well we definitely have a few interested. Ill ask the question again in the new year when people are more likely to be available and willing given the weather

Dave!

Yeah that's great At least 6/7 expressing interest in this. Would be cool, even if most of us are noobs

bitemybanger

yeah, illl keep a eye on this thread for when an excursion is being arranged.
keep in touch

Roen

If my back steps back into line (literally) I'll be up for it. I'm a bit rusty though

I subscribed to the Outdoor Pursuits forum ages ago so if this thread gets updated I'll see it.

@DaveMcG I'll write a response to your question when I get time, I'm up the walls at the muinute.
Cheers

Crapbag

DaveMcG wrote: »

Yeah that's great At least 6/7 expressing interest in this. Would be cool, even if most of us are noobs

To be honest I would say we are all in the same boat. I have done a bit in the outdoors but have practiced little of bushcraft since my course, which is a while now. This would be an excellent way to start back into for anyone interested.I look forward to the new year

Roen

DaveMcG wrote: »

Was the Mears course any good, Roen?

PDD, a few of the lads on the Non-drinkers Forum seemed interested in organising a trip to one of the bushcraft courses. It won't be for a while (certainly after Xmas), but maybe you'd be interested in coming with?

Right,
this is a difficult one to answer. It was certainly good. But in saying that it was good I need to qualify my statement.

It was good in the sense that I learned a lot. Could I have learned the same information elsewhere for cheaper? I don't know, I'd have to do one of the other courses elsewhere in England or Ireland to find out and I'm not prepared to do that. I suspect I could, but again I have no way of knowing.

I went there with a fairly high level of fitness and it was tested, up at eight every morning and working til eight or nine at night for 6 days straight. And I mean working!
It was very far removed from the lovely 'walk in the woods' type thing that his earlier shows portray.

There is a hell of a lot of knife work, building shelters, setting traps (and removing them), fetching and purifying water, not to mention using the bow drill

You'll get plenty of blisters unless you have tough skin on your hands. *EDIT* You'll get blisters anyway, everyone has to make two metres of cordage with nettles, ouch!

What killed me is the same thing that kills me every time I leave my house. I just can't sleep in a strange bed. I only mention it because some people may have the same problem.
You'll either be in a leaf shelter or under a hootchie for the duration of the course and it may well interrupt your sleep patterns, it certainly played a large factor in dictating my energy levels and as such I didn't perform as well as I should have.

You are well fed during the week, you certainly won't starve. If you're vegetarian don't worry about it, you'll be looked after.

I would recommend the course no problems at all. However as I said at the beginning of the post I have simply no way of knowing if there are cheaper/better alternatives out there.

Good luck

Crapbag

I was thinking of organising a weekend possibly in February or Early March. The Deer hunting season is on until February 28th so we would require a permit to Camp before then. Anyone have any ideas in relation to a location? We would probably need to consent of the local forest manager or we may be asked to leave. I have no problem trying to arrange this if we can decide on a location. There are designate camping spots in Lough Key and Curraghchase but I dont know if they'd be suitable for what we need in relation to materials. I have scouted a Coillte forest just outside Newcastle Co. Dublin. It has a small stream and plenty of natural resources, although there is limited car access. I need to scout it fully and get in contact with the local Ranger if we were to consider it. Anyone else any ideas?

Jackus

I'm glad that finally I found people interseted in bushcraft. I would like to join You if You want to go for camping or just practising skills. BTW is there anybody in Ireland like Ray Mears?

bitemybanger

I know a good spot around Roundwood/Blessington.
I used to fish there a few years back and i think it would be a good location.
not many people know how to get to it. I also know one of the local rangers to see where we stand in regards camping or setting up a camp. ill make a few phone calls to get some feedback.

Roen

Right, my back is on the mend ...so hopefully I'll be in a position to go along if this ever gets off the ground.

Mac Tire

hey guys, first time ive ventured to this area of boards....id be really interested in going out for a few days and nights along with some of you guys if you are planning something....Im up here in Donegal, but im willing to travel as this is something i have always wanted to do....thanks guys n gals

Crapbag

So we have a good few definitely interested. bitemybanger did you get anywhere with the roundwood/blessington forrest? I hit a brick wall with the forrest in Newcastle but im gonna try a different approach on the phone tomorrow. What about dates? I take it the weekends are the best option. Do people wanna suggest some? If we get permission in good time, we could aim for February/March. Im not around the first weekend in March ie. 1st/2nd but after that im clear.

If we do arrange this, what way would people like it to run? Do we organise an itinerary of skills we would like to cover or just show up and see how it goes?

Mac Tire

maybe we could all post up some ideas on here and pick what seems to be the most popular and that would benefit us the most....just an idea....
say like, edable plants, shelter building, animal tracking and trapping, etc...

robp

I am very much interested in bushcraft and would like to part if an event is been organised. Most weekends would be good for me.

Robert

bitemybanger

Crapbag wrote: »

So we have a good few definitely interested. bitemybanger did you get anywhere with the roundwood/blessington forrest? I hit a brick wall with the forrest in Newcastle but im gonna try a different approach on the phone tomorrow. What about dates? I take it the weekends are the best option. Do people wanna suggest some? If we get permission in good time, we could aim for February/March. Im not around the first weekend in March ie. 1st/2nd but after that im clear.

If we do arrange this, what way would people like it to run? Do we organise an itinerary of skills we would like to cover or just show up and see how it goes?

I rang one of the bailiffs in the area and he didnt realy know what i was talking about, told him that we were a small group of lads wanting to practice the aincent ways of Irish bushcraft and continued to explain, he bascicly said we might have some insurance issues so i was thinking, if we establish ourselves as a club, Countryside Alliance which would be the relevant insurance company do deals for clubs and members, might work out around 25 or so quid for the year. What ye think?

Dave!

Forming some sort of club would be a good idea actually Judging by the interest in this thread, and the popularity of shows like Born Survivor, I'd say it would be successful There's certainly a gap in the market too, I haven't seen m/any clubs for bushcraft specifically.

Anyone actually have a decent amount of experience in this though? I'm interested in it, but I've never done it before So it mightn't be recommended for a bunch of newbies to head into the woods together!

Evil Phil

On the subject of clubs you can get insurance through the MCI. Insurance will cover public liability, internal disputes and loss of limbs(!). You'll have to form a club, get a constitution together and apply to the MCI to become as aspirant club. I think the next date for clubs to become a full club is Feb 16 so get yer skates on.

Of course you're a mountain skills club, not a bushcraft club, seeing as you favour upland areas, right? Upland, not lowland right? If not I don't think the MCI could help you. Am I making this obvious enough?!

Crapbag

DaveMcG wrote: »

Anyone actually have a decent amount of experience in this though? I'm interested in it, but I've never done it before So it mightn't be recommended for a bunch of newbies to head into the woods together!

Sorry Dave but id have to disagree with you on this. Yes, we would all be inexperienced but some of us have some knowledge. If it was a sport with a high risk of serious injury than yes, having an expert with the right qualifications and experience would be essential. The injuries I could foresee would be mostly tool related or falls, sprains or cuts. If we took the proper precautions before going out, as with any camping trip I think we could cope with most problems. We would all be adults volunteering our time. You do have a point but I dont think that our lack of experience should deter us from doing something. Bushcraft is a practice without real support in this country, so it seems we dont have too many experts to call on by the looks of it.

I for one am all for the club idea. In the mean time though, if we classed our excursion to coillte as camping, would the same insurance problems apply? Its not ideal but it would mean that we at least get to meet and discuss things properly and get things off the ground while people are enthusiastic and willing. I know someone on the MCI board who I can get more information off. I will speak to him monday about it

fergalr

Just an opinion, and you probably shouldn't listen to me, but...

Before getting tied up in the beaurocracy of starting a club, shouldn't you guys just go camping together as a group?
I mean, no point trying to start a club if the people don't get along, and have similar interests... and trying to form a club together before even having one outing could kill your momentum.

Perhaps the people interested could just go wild camping in wicklow national park?
You don't need a permit for groups of less than ten people, according to the website.
Just going wild camping in the hills, with modern kit, might be adventurous enough as a first step. You could see how the weekend went, practice managing a campsite, discuss future plans etc. Just practicing simple outdoors craft might be a good first step before going into bushcraft...
Maybe stay away from anything dangerous (use of new tools?) and be conservative on your first outing. Something simple that's well within the groups' ability would be important - if you go into the hills with a load of people from Boards, you can't be sure what level different people will be at.
Make sure you have at least a few that know what they're doing.

If you decide that you need insurance to do this, you could affialiate to the MCI as individual members, which would be less work than setting up a club at the start.

Crapbag

fergalr wrote: »

Just an opinion, and you probably shouldn't listen to me, but...

Before getting tied up in the beaurocracy of starting a club, shouldn't you guys just go camping together as a group?
I mean, no point trying to start a club if the people don't get along, and have similar interests... and trying to form a club together before even having one outing could kill your momentum.

Perhaps the people interested could just go wild camping in wicklow national park?
You don't need a permit for groups of less than ten people, according to the website.
Just going wild camping in the hills, with modern kit, might be adventurous enough as a first step. You could see how the weekend went, practice managing a campsite, discuss future plans etc. Just practicing simple outdoors craft might be a good first step before going into bushcraft...
Maybe stay away from anything dangerous (use of new tools?) and be conservative on your first outing. Something simple that's well within the groups' ability would be important - if you go into the hills with a load of people from Boards, you can't be sure what level different people will be at.
Make sure you have at least a few that know what they're doing.

If you decide that you need insurance to do this, you could affialiate to the MCI as individual members, which would be less work than setting up a club at the start.

Thats a very valid point. Thats what i was trying to get across in my last comment. Just to get the ball rolling to begin with and talk about how to proceed. We just need to get a time and place agreed

pirelli

It sounds like a great idea and if someone had some skills it would be a great learning from them.I imagine a scenario where people with modern outdoor gear not being very impressed with learner bush craft outdoor people trying to do it the traditional Ray Mears fashion. if someone has any skills they would be golddust. I am a fan of compulsive bull****ter Bear Grylls, and it could be bear grylls and ray mears and Lee stroud all rolled into one with some deadliest climb too.

fergalr

bear grylls and ray mears and Lee stroud all rolled into one with some deadliest climb too.

Hey, sounds like you're trying to kill off the population of the forum!
Deadliest climb? Hopefully not!
Whatever about Mr. Mears and Survivorman, don't go emulating old Bear too closely... "got stuck midway up Djouce with darkness coming down so we decided the best thing to do was to jump down powerscourt waterfall"...

Dave!

haha, yeah, I dont think im quite ready to seek shelter from the wind in an animal carcass -- just yet!

Evil Phil

fergalr wrote: »

"got stuck midway up Djouce with darkness coming down so we decided the best thing to do was to jump down powerscourt waterfall"...

Don't you mean, "got stuck midway up Djouce with darkness coming so we called in the chopper and it was back to the hotel for a martini. A martini with a pink umbrella in it!".

IPNA

Hi,

I am interested in bushcraft skills and some of us here in Kerry are putting together a skills group that meets once in awhile to practice. We are going tracking rabbits this morning.

I have just moved here from Canada and don't know if there are wild places here in Ireland where a small group could go for an overnight survival trip.

Over the past ten years, I have attended survival courses offered by Tom Brown jr, and Jon Young in the US. I wonder how hard it would be to apply these skills to Ireland?

Crapbag

Hi,

We are currently trying to get something similar together close to the Dublin area. Some of us have done courses and some are just enthusiasts. Does your group have an area which you meet? How did you go abour arranging it? Some of us were thinking of setting up a club. Given bushcraft is only fledgeling activity in this country, it would be good to get people from all over the country involved. Would it be possible to meet with you guys at some stage?