View all of Joe's Blogs on http://joeoleary1.blogspot.co.uk Or choose from the list below: The Winter Bushcraft Challenge A Week in the Wilds part 3: Bush Crafts If spoons could talk... Packing your kit for winter Building A Long Term Shelter part 2 Building A Long Term Shelter part 1 The Advanced Crafts week 4th - 11th August 2013 Putting together a realistic survival kit A week in the wilds part 2: Living from the land Fire lighting part 2 – using the bow and drill method Fire lighting - effective techniques for all weathers Moccasin boot hybrids - old meets new A Suitably Snowy Test for a S ..read more

I love this time of year! Although the daylight hours are shorter, the weather cold and often damp, it's the perfect season to wrap up warm, batten down the hatches and get craftin'! However, I can't hide indoors all winter and those same shorter, colder days spent outside at the mercy of the soggy British weather always trigger a want for better, warmer, updated kit. This annual winter requirement for good gear that really works seems to tie in perfectly with those long, dark winter evenings and cold, rainy days trapped indoors. A kind of evolutionary symbiosis between the need for stuff an ..read more

Ok, so there was just a very light drizzle in the breeze on this late December afternoon but most natural tinders in the woods capable of lighting from a fire steel spark, were pretty cold and damp...(birch bark would probably still have lit with some preparation). But this was a training exercise! Train hard, fight easy as they say!! When everything in the woods is damp, your best bet is to fall back on standing dead wood – cutting and splitting down a larger log to take advantage of the dry wood inside. This takes more time and effort to process into all the fire making materials you'll need ..read more

Earlier this week we were hit with an unexpected second dumping of snow. Snow rarely lasts very long in the UK, especially so late in the year so in addition to the standard seeking out of a suitably snowy incline to slide down on our backsides, I seized the opportunity to practice one of the more fundamental bushcraft techniques, lighting fire in inclement conditions. When I first started teaching bushcraft sixteen years ago, I found that having to perform a certain survival skill in front of a group of paying customers was a great way to hone that particular skill under significantly increas ..read more

New for 2018, two workshops designed as a 'follow on' course to the Bushcraft Weekend. The Wilderness Skills Weekend and Fire Craft, Traps & Triggers. Check out the courses page for full details and 2018 dates ..read more

If your dream is to feel completely at home in the wilderness then this seven day course will take you several steps further towards that goal, building on the skills you may already have whilst learning some incredibly handy new ones along the way. Working from a base camp deep in the woods, cooking over an open fire, living and sleeping amongst the very materials you'll be using to create and craft, you'll also gain a far greater understanding of the natural history of woodlands and wood crafts. Bushcraft Week Course ..read more

Hello, I'm initially breaking radio silence in blog world with a well deserved kit recommendation in the last few days before Christmas! However, keep an eye on this blog as I'll be updating it regularly over the winter months with articles for anyone interested in traditional skills, crafts, kit advice, bushcraft skills and other adventures. I'll be kicking things off with a series on making your own outdoor gear from scratch. In the meantime...if you're looking to make the transition from tent to tarp in 2015 or possibly hoping to swap your existing tarp for a lighter, stronger version ..read more

This post was originally published in a magazine but after spending the weekend weaving perfectly useable kit carrying devices using only willow wands and rushes, I thought it deserved an airing! When I first started down this route over twenty five years ago, it was with a view to learning the essential survival skills that might give me the edge in an unplanned outdoor emergency but I never really devoted a lot of thought to where I was heading and why. Over the years my direction has seemingly changed from 'survival training' leaning more towards the traditional crafts and wilderness li ..read more

I love this time of year! Although the daylight hours are shorter, the weather cold and often damp, it's the perfect season to wrap up warm, batten down the hatches and get craftin'! However, I can't hide indoors all winter and those same shorter, colder days spent outside at the mercy of the soggy British weather always trigger a want for better, warmer, updated kit. This annual winter requirement for good gear that really works seems to tie in perfectly with those long, dark winter evenings and cold, rainy days trapped indoors. A kind of evolutionary symbiosis between the need for stuff an ..read more