News Room
Don't Forget that Woodsmoke has their very own Private Forum for Alumni, and a Facebook Networking Group.... Check them out!!
Woodsmoke busy in the Press!
We've been busy writing of late, with Ben and Steven penning articles about Tracking and Mountain Bushcraft. You can find them in our Article Archive...
Woodsmoke will be attending the Keswick Mountian Festival between the 18th - 22nd May. We'll be doing demonstrations and mini-lectures throughout the weekend on various subjects as well as hanging around at our stand. We hope to see some of you there...!
NEW - Bushcraft Instructor Apprentice Positions Available for this season…
We are currently recruiting for assistants and possible instructors for this season (April to October, with possible international dates in the winter) and will be hosting a selection weekend in early April. More details and applications instructions here - please follow instructions carefully…
Well Done to the Snowshoe Crew... A big well done to the guys who joined our winter expedition last month – what a great crew, it was a real privilege to spend some time with you. A fantastic trip; textbook igloos and quinzees, hand-made and hand-tempered crook knives cooked in the bush, sightings of bobcat and moose, bacon and bannock, whiskey and hot chocolate, clear skies and blizzards! Also, a MASSIVE thank you to Garrett and Alexandra Conover for making it such a special trip! Check out their book - the Snow Walkers Companion, to whet your appetite for next year's expedition. The guys have already cleared their diaries for next year, so the 2012 Winter Skills Bushcraft Expedition dates are up…and an intermediate course is currently in discussion...
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We have now uploaded a little photo-montage from the trip, so turn up your speakers and have a peek!
Trail Magazine – More Top Tricks Trail Magazine –
Ben is in this months Trail magazine again, this time showing the subtleties of another lost art – how to make a poacher’s whistle (newsletter only). Ben also has a small piece, dispensing some erudite wisdom in the free ‘Gear Supplement’ that comes with March edition of Trail magazine…Watch out for next months Trail (out 16th March), as Ben will have a five-page feature on how to blend bush-skills with hill-skills.
San Bushman Desert Survival Skills Bushcraft Expedition
This year’s dates are up…with a brand new itinerary. So, join us as we head deep into the remotest areas of the Namibian Kalahari; for the shade of giant Baobabs, sun-scorched desert pans and powdery white sand.You will go hunting with the men at dawn, relax and work on craft skills during the heat of the day, and join the tracking excursions in the late afternoon and twilight, when your San teachers will show you how to look for the spoor of elephant, hyena, lion, leopard and cheetah.Included in the price is a complimentary traditional Bushman Chop-Chop (handmade axe / adze), all transfers, all food provided (inc. lodge meals) and any lodge accommodation before/after the main bush phase.
Jungle Survival Skills - Borneo Bushcraft Expedition… Game on!
The Borneo Jungle Bushcraft Expedition webpage has just gone live, but be warned…there are only six places left already! In line with the ethos of all Woodsmoke expeditions, this two-week expedition enables you to go beyond the normal week-long survival skills package; to recover from jet-lag and really immerse yourself in the skills of jungle travel and expedition life. The Woodsmoke team will teach you practical routines and jungle bushcraft to feel comfortable and at ease in this ‘extreme’ environment. In addition, the Penan elders will impart a myriad of techniques used to sustain life, from hunting with blowpipes to casting nets for fish.Included in the price is a complimentary traditional Penan Parang (including a small utility blade), all transfers - 4x4's,Dug-out canoes & Light-aircraft , all food provided (inc. lodge meals) and accommodation before the jungle phase to sleep off jet-lag and acclimatise, and then afterwards to recover and catch some sun in a beautiful jungle beach lodge.
Spring Forager Wild Food is First Up…
We have some delectable dishes lined up for you this Spring – mouth-watering mussels steamed in wine and wild garlic, hearty chowder, delicately flavoured seaweeds, zesty wild herbs and a medley of wild food madness – conducted by wild food fanatics Fergus Drennan (professional forager) and Ben McNutt. If you fancy kick starting your bushcraft year with a weekend of baking bannocks, foraging for spring greens and munching lobster and crab - come and join some like-minded folks and pull up a log around the Woodsmoke fire on the Spring Forager Wild Food Weekend.
2009 & 2010 Testimonials from our bushcraft courses and expeditions are now on-line.
We have just updated the 'Woodsmoke's Ethos' web pages - Woodsmoke’s image arises directly from the values, pursuits and passions of its founders and instructors. Our ethos is a reflection of who we are and what we believe - so check it out before you book a course...
New photo-montage of our African Bushcraft Expeditions with the San Bushmen - register your interest for our next trip in autumn 2011...
We have just updated the 'Woodsmoke's Ethos' web pages - Woodsmoke’s image arises directly from the values, pursuits and passions of its founders and instructors. Our ethos is a reflection of who we are and what we believe - so check it out before you book a course...
New photo-montage of our African Bushcraft Expeditions with the San Bushmen - register your interest for our next trip in autumn 2011...
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New Course - Re-connect with your origins and spend a couple of days with us on the Flint Knapper with stone-age skills experts Will Lord and Werner Pfeifer, playing with sticks and stones to learn the fundamental techniques of lithic technology. Werner’s Kalahari Bushmen friends will also be there. The course is only £195 and will begin on the morning of the 12th of July.Check out our
latest newsletter
Photo-montage of our 2010 Northern Wilderness Bushcraft Expedition next exped January 2011
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Check out Ben Orford's new website - for bushcraft knives, bushcraft tools and leather work. Ben is the maker of the 'Woodlander' knife available with the Woodsmoke logo stamped in the blade.Welcoming Marcus to the team
Throughout 2009 many of you will have encountered Woodsmoke's
latest assistant instructor and backwoods chef extraordinaire,
Marcus Storey. We've finally gotten round to uploading Marcus'
Bio on the website, where you can read about how he has honed his expedition cookery skills everywhere form the African bush to the London Stock exchange!
New Course !!! The Woodcraft & Whittling Workshop.The main thrust of this course is to teach advanced carving techniques. We will focus mainly on knife skills covering classical Scandinavian carving projects such as kuksas, decorative techniques and Kolrosing. There will also be a strong emphasis on our own traditional British heritage of greenwood carving. A perfect companion course to the Axe Workshop, this weekend workshop will suit those of you who really enjoyed the carving aspects of the Woodlander or would like to refine the
skills learnt on the axe course.
A blatant display of nepotism to advertise my folk’s place in Gascogne. They have renovated a beautiful old farmhouse into a sizeable Gite for letting. It has a private swimming pool, stocked carp pond, a help-yourself organic vegetable garden and is surrounded by woodland and lakes, and is less than an hours drive to the Pyrenees. For more details, check out www.mcnuttinfrance.com