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Bushcraft Club thread
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We always like to practice new skills in the club and a bit of adventure is always welcome. We decided a while back to organise a canoe trip down the barrow and from Friday to Sunday we camped and paddled the water ways of Carlow/Kilkenny.
The Barrow is a fantastic river for a nice cruisey weekend with weirs and small sets of rapids to keep you entertained if you have the experience. If not, there are loughs you can navigate around the hazards which makes it fun for all levels.
After getting the Canoes dropped to use on Friday evening, we set up camp on the side of the river. Unfortunately there is a lack of woodland along the barrow for our normal set up. So we were all in tents. Using the tents also allowed for more flexibility in where we picked as there was flat ground immediately beside the river at at loughs and some weirs.
We had a mix of experience with us, from those of us who had qualifications in water based activities, to those who had no boating experience at all. Its a perfect river to enjoy and to learn on. Long wide sections with the odd eddys dotted around the place to practice breaking in to and out of the flow.
The first day we paddled down towards Bagnelstown. No trip would be complete without a little bit of drama which was provide by Chris and Bryan. After a little bit of indecision about which arch to go through under a bridge, they glanced one of the bridge supports and capsized. Thankfully, they reacted well and kept calm. Everyone pitched in and we got the lads and the upturned boat full of gear to the bank. A change of clothes and a cup of tea helped them warm up again. After a few minutes to allow the adrenaline calm a bit, we were back on the river again. Thankfully they were able to laugh about it. However lessons were learned by all and it could have been a different story if we had been at a different section of river.
We decided against using the weirs since some people were new and others were now down to a single set of dry clothes. We hoped to do one or 2 on the 2nd day. Everyone was in good spirits and taking the scenery in. The weather was brilliant, we only encountered one brief shower at Bagnelstown and that was it for the weekend!
We camped at the lough on the Saturday. The lads dried their clothes and others got some fishing in as the evening set in. Everyone was tired from a full days paddling but enjoying the good weather chilling by the lough.
The second day was a shorter day on to Goresbridge. Another smashing day weather wise and we got lowered through one of the loughs which was a novelty. We managed to forage some blackberries, beech nuts and spotted some Artists conk fungus on a large beech tree.
At Goresbridge we dropped off the boats and reluctantly finished for the weekend. It was a great weekend and everyone really enjoyed it. We will definitely be doing another event like this soon.
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I'm looking to get out this weekend and my mate said he'd drive
So I'm looking for a place that would be within 1.5 hours from Dublin, park up the car and walk somewhere we can set up and fish. I'll be in a hammock and he'll tent. Any suggestions?
Any suggestions appreciated, and I can get a licence if required for fishing.
Jester
Has anyone been out to Killeshandra, Co Cavan? From all my various google's and such, looks to be the only place suitable for camping and fishing.0 -
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We always like to practice new skills in the club and a bit of adventure is always welcome. We decided a while back to organise a canoe trip down the barrow and from Friday to Sunday we camped and paddled the water ways of Carlow/Kilkenny.
The Barrow is a fantastic river for a nice cruisey weekend with weirs and small sets of rapids to keep you entertained if you have the experience. If not, there are loughs you can navigate around the hazards which makes it fun for all levels.
After getting the Canoes dropped to use on Friday evening, we set up camp on the side of the river. Unfortunately there is a lack of woodland along the barrow for our normal set up. So we were all in tents. Using the tents also allowed for more flexibility in where we picked as there was flat ground immediately beside the river at at loughs and some weirs.
We had a mix of experience with us, from those of us who had qualifications in water based activities, to those who had no boating experience at all. Its a perfect river to enjoy and to learn on. Long wide sections with the odd eddys dotted around the place to practice breaking in to and out of the flow.
The first day we paddled down towards Bagnelstown. No trip would be complete without a little bit of drama which was provide by Chris and Bryan. After a little bit of indecision about which arch to go through under a bridge, they glanced one of the bridge supports and capsized. Thankfully, they reacted well and kept calm. Everyone pitched in and we got the lads and the upturned boat full of gear to the bank. A change of clothes and a cup of tea helped them warm up again. After a few minutes to allow the adrenaline calm a bit, we were back on the river again. Thankfully they were able to laugh about it. However lessons were learned by all and it could have been a different story if we had been at a different section of river.
We decided against using the weirs since some people were new and others were now down to a single set of dry clothes. We hoped to do one or 2 on the 2nd day. Everyone was in good spirits and taking the scenery in. The weather was brilliant, we only encountered one brief shower at Bagnelstown and that was it for the weekend!
We camped at the lough on the Saturday. The lads dried their clothes and others got some fishing in as the evening set in. Everyone was tired from a full days paddling but enjoying the good weather chilling by the lough.
The second day was a shorter day on to Goresbridge. Another smashing day weather wise and we got lowered through one of the loughs which was a novelty. We managed to forage some blackberries, beech nuts and spotted some Artists conk fungus on a large beech tree.
At Goresbridge we dropped off the boats and reluctantly finished for the weekend. It was a great weekend and everyone really enjoyed it. We will definitely be doing another event like this soon.
Hi guys, Looking for a stop over on the river barrow ? Graiguenamanagh -> st. mullins and about 7 miles down river in an area called tintine,Ballyanna, co. Kilkenny..nature reserve called River hollow where you will find John o' brien, (see link) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150522308824751&set=a.10150522308784751.379656.755039750&type=1 a few acres of oak,beech, birch, John is all about the wild..0 -
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Well it was certainly a cold weekend for Bushcraft but non the less enjoyable. We snow on the east coast and temperatures dropping below zero, it was good to be out in the woods.
I arrived down to a nice surprise as some of the lads had already set up and had some Oak smoked Mackerel in a biscuit tin. It was delicious and such a simple idea. The Oak gave the Mackerel a beautiful flavour and it only took a few minutes
We had 3 new faces with us which is always good to see. We did a bit of work with flint. Tony make a few arrow heads and I started my bow drill set using a flint scrapper. Also got some practice in making some feather sticks and started a 'one stick fire' using my fire steel and the feather sticks. It always surprises me how sharp flint can be and what you can do with it.
Tony demo'ed the bow drill and with the temperature at zero degrees and plenty of moisture in the air, the going was tough. However he showed his persistance and got the ember, finally blowing his tinder bundle to flame.
The new lads got stuck in and one got an ember with Tonys set. All of them had a go at carving a try stick also.
We woke up in the morning to frozen water in peoples bottles and cups.
It was a great weekend and im looking forward to the spring edibles coming out0 -
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