What better way to learn about bushcraft and fire than an expedition into the Lake District? We met with Ben McNutt, owner of Cumbrian Bushcraft experts Woodsmoke in the hills above Windermere to learn how to light fire without matches, despite the damp weather. This post is part of our Family Adventure Capital Season ..
Wilderness expert Ben McNutt did an apprenticeship with Ray Mears. He has spent much of his life learning bush-craft from indigenous people around the world. And he was listed as one of CN’s top 50 travellers in the world. Put it this way if I were to be stranded in the jungle, desert, on an icecap or even on a Cumbrian fell, this is the guy I’d want to have around. Most Woodsmoke courses last a week or more; we only had an hour. But in that small amount of time he showed us a core bush-craft skill – how to light a fire using only the natural materials around you. This method of starting a fire without matches is called the bow drill friction fire lighting technique.
Somewhere up in a clearing in the woodlands, we are offered a lesson in bushcraft
We couldn’t wait to share some pictures of this magic. One word of warning, please don’t try this in your local woods, forest or at home unless you are absolutely sure fire-lighting is permitted and know what you are doing.
Or have Ben with you.
You soon have smoke, and everyone knows there’s no smoke without….
Zombie Run- Scare Yourself Fit No one can run away from a global pandemic, but… Read More
February's Light Up Cheltenham festival celebrates the town's classical Regency heritage by throwing a rainbow… Read More
Brutal but Beautiful Skiing in Flaine and the Grand Massif Half a century of piste… Read More
Biking the Camino de Santiago - With or Without kids Up for a cycle challenge?… Read More
Looking for things for kids in Manchester this half term? In the centre of metropolitan… Read More
Had enough of expensive European cities? For the last six months we've been focussing on… Read More
