Second weekend in a row of uniformed adults having adventures in the woods! But this time, we’re not pretending to be Scouts and the neckerchiefs aren’t a festival costume; we’re the real thing – Girlguiding adult volunteers and the neckerchiefs were mostly Region ones. Try Inspire Qualify is an adults-only event run by Girlguiding South … More I made a knife at Try Inspire Qualify 2026
Welcome back to the second part of Camp Wildfire 2026. The story so far: it’s rained for 24 hours, I’ve made a copper necklace, mastered lino printing, earned a point for Hawks Patrol in Filipino stick fighting and met the Chief Scout. And now, on Camp Wildfire… I always wake up early in a tent … More Camp Wildfire 2026 part 2 (in which I
Last summer, I set off to Purbeck intent on a weekend of “adventure”, which I spent at Norden Farm Campsite, exploring Corfe village in the pouring rain, doing my first sea swim and getting to jump into the cab of a heritage steam locomotive. This year I found myself back there for the “My Outdoors” … More My Outdoors: a night on the water
My ordinary church hall Brownies seem to have become Forest Brownies. I’m in an outdoorsy bushcraft wild state of mind and the plague is still ravaging, so Monday Evenings Indoors Brownies are (maybe temporarily) Forest Brownies now. Being a Brownie leader is stressful sometimes, especially when you only took on the Brown Owl job right … More Forest Brownies: campcraft & firelighting in the woods
I’ve done some whittling before – I own my own bushcraft knife and, for safety, a pair of kevlar gloves – but the other day I went out in the woods to learn how to carve a spoon. I was looking into bushcraft but ultimately, it’s all stuff I’ve done before (firelighting, shelter-building etc) or … More How to carve a spoon
Last week I went to West Sussex for a couple of days of training. I’ve talked before about my forays into becoming a casual (read: occasional) outdoor activity instructor (archery | fencing | selection day) The full-time instructors were over at the training centre for two weeks (depending on what they were already qualified in) … More Bushcraft training day