Some days, it feels like you can’t escape your mobile phone. They’re everywhere and their constant ringing and beeping could well have been the reason we chose the outdoor life. But have we been a little harsh on our cellular friends? Perhaps.

If you’ve got an iPhone then you‘ll know about “apps”. Owners of Android phones and many other smartphones will also be familiar with these ubiquitous little bits of software. The good news is they’re not all fart machines anymore.

Some great stuff can be downloaded to your smartphone that will come in really handy out in the field. Over the coming weeks, we’re going to look at a few of the more useful ones.

For example, if survival is your bag then you might be interested in the new interactive version of The SAS survival Guide. Great if you suddenly find yourself with a blank mind whilst building your shelter or foraging.

Or how about planning your route? Getting that right can be a lifesaver and your smartphone’s got that covered too. Apps like Trails – GPS tracker and MotionX GPS are cheap and comprehensive. And let’s not forget Britain’s own OS maps are now available in apps like the Outdoors range.

Of course, being outdoors isn’t all about survival and trekking. You might just want to brush up on your knots with Knot Guide or Pro Knot. Or you can take in the wildlife with BirdGuide’s Birds of Britain and Ireland or the Collins British Wildlife Photoguide. Even the kids can get in on it with Wildspy Walk in the Woods.

Whatever you’re outdoor needs, you can bet there’s an app for it. Let us know you’re favourites and we’ll tell you all about ours.

No related posts.

School holidays? Kids under your feet? Pulling your hair out?

Not like it was when you were a kid is it? Modern kids don’t seem to have the outdoor sense that the kids of twenty years ago had. Modern kids seem more than happy to stay indoors playing computer games. Which are great by the way, but looking at pictures of the outdoors is never going to be the same as experiencing it.

It’s not just a case of kicking your kids out of the house and telling them to get on with it. That’s why kids complain that being “out” is boring. You need to show them. And if you can’t show them – because you’re not an all knowing child of the forest – then you need to find someone who can.

Local councils are, unsurprisingly, fully aware that the schools are closed for the summer. They make a lot of provision for this and it won’t take much looking to find a variety of activities you and your kids can get involved in. You should probably start by looking for your local parks and nature reserves who are bound to be offering Nature Days.

Nature walks are great fun and a good one will be much more than just some bloke pointing at various trees and birds. You want your kids to get involved. Get them pond dipping, making forts and shelters or maybe even making things like bee boxes and you’ll have a child who’s had fun and has been learning stuff without even realising it.

And don’t forget, the most important thing you can do is, get yourself involved. Go on; get muddy.

No related posts.

From the BushcraftUK forum, The Cumbrian, Michael, takes us for a hike around the beautiful Stora Neten lake in Sweden

A Walk Around Stora Neten, Sweden

Location: http://maps.google.se/maps?f=s&ie=UT…15398&t=h&z=13

My original plan was to drive near to the start of my walk on the Friday night and camp out. But it rained all day and showed no sign of stopping by the time I finished work, so I changed my plans to a night in, a few glasses of wine and a film. It’s not that I object to a night out in the rain, it’s the fact that drying my gear is a massive hassle at the moment. I’m staying in a room the size of the box bedroom I had as a kid, so space is at a premium.

I had a good lie in on Saturday, and decided on one of the shorter walks that I’d route planned. This was also partly due to the fact that my new boots haven’t broken my feet in yet. I drove to Nösslinge, about 45 minutes away and parked the car near a picturesque old church.

The start of the walk was straightforward, and it gave me a good chance to get used to the Swedish 1:50,000 map that I’d bought. I’ve been using OS 1:25,000 maps at home for years now and have got familiar with the high level of detail on them, so it was a bit of a shock going back to the scale that I learned to map read on. This lack of detail would result in some minor navigational glitches, of which more later.

Once I crossed the bridge over the narrows of the lake. I joined the Halland Trail for a short distance. This trail takes you the length of Halland County, and links up with other trails through counties to the north and south, and ultimately forms part of the North Sea Trail that links together all of the countries surrounding the North Sea.

Alternating between the Halland Trail and forest tracks for the first mile and a half I made good progress, through scenery reminiscent of the deep dark woods in “The Gruffalo”.

Anyone with kids under five who have read the story to them will be able to picture the scene immediately.

When these paths ended (unfortunately in the middle of a small field, complete with fire ring, bag of rubbish and a discarded kettle ) I made my way south with a combination of bushwhacking, walking along the water’s edge and following animal trails heading in my general direction.

At about the two mile point, I was forced inland and uphill by a big outcrop of rock that went down to the water’s edge, with its opposite number facing me on the peninsula across the water. At the top I took these pics, take a note of the big pine tree for scale later on.

As I dropped down the other side of the outcrop, I passed several glacial erratics, of which I’d notice many more as I continued on my walk. There’s no shortage of stone in these woods.

It was about this time that my boots started to rub in some bizarre places; under my right ankle bone on my right foot, on the sides of my heels on both feet and the Achilles tendon on my left foot. I adjusted my laces, cut myself a walking stick and set off to find somewhere for a brew.

Crossing a stream, I found a fatwood stump and took some for later on. There was much more than I took, but I wasn’t even half way around yet so I left it where I found it.

I got back onto a forest trail soon after, and took several pieces of bark off some downed birches as I passed for my fire. I found a place on the lakeshore with a good view and stopped for some tea and snacks. With the birchbark and fatwood the kettle was soon on the fire, and I sat down and refuelled.

This is a view back to the rocky outcrop that I had to skirt around. The pine tree that’s casting its shadow on the slab is the one that I took a photo looking down on earlier.

And opposite on the peninsula

Feeling much more energetic after my brew, I set off again and crossed some fields towards the woods at the back of the peninsula. It was in these woods that I had to backtrack a couple of times after realising that the overgrown paths that I’d walked past was actually the forest roads marked on the map that I should have taken.

I kept on heading roughly north (finding the occasional chanterelle ) and gaining height until I reached a bald hilltop. The setting sun gave the leaves a real golden haze.

Re-entering the woods, I had a quick look at my compass to make sure that I was going north, aiming to intercept an east-west forest road that I would take east to gain another forest road that would take me north. I found a few more chanterelles, picked them and began looking for more.

This is where I should have been taking much more care with my direction of travel, as when I found a forest track I assumed it was the one that I was looking for and turned right, walking along quite happily for a couple of hundred metres until I passed through a clearing, and the sun was on my right, not on my left, as I was expecting.

The compass came out again (and stayed out this time ) and told me that I was heading almost due south, exactly the opposite direction that I wanted to be going. Despite being certain that I was on the correct path, and going in the right direction, I knew that it’s much better to trust your compass, so I turned around and walked north. My choice was soon vindicated when (much to my relief) I passed Furesjön, a small lake in the woods.

By this point then sun was below the horizon, and the temperature was dropping quickly as it got darker. Knowing that I was now on the correct track I pushed on quickly, reaching the car just before full dark.

All the best,

Michael.

____________________

Have you been Out and About?

Send us your story.

Related posts:

1. A walk in Lanthwaite Woods

Surviva Jak Heat Reflective Jacket

Right from the off I’ll say it: get one, they work.

The kayaking trip turned into a hike along a section of The Ridgeway. Not disappointed as I’ve always loved the chalk down landscape, we set off from Letcombe Regis.

I had an “Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole” sensation tramping up the tree-lined, muddy lane. When we got to the top and came out into the fields I’d been dropped into another world.

“There are big cats around here,” my friend commented as I pointed out a large circular paw print. No idea whether she was pulling my leg but later, up on the ridge and down in the punchbowl, it wasn’t hard to imagine a large feline predator crouching in the tussocky landscape.

A healthy, new hedge marks the field boundary, a tiny piece of patchwork in the blanket that covers this part of Southern Oxfordshire. We followed it before striking off to a line of trees near the top of the ridge, a great place to stop for a bite to eat. Heavy rainclouds plodded above the wide-open landscape below us.

We zipped up our waterproofs, hitched our packs and struck out from our cover to Segsbury Camp, an Iron Age hillfort that’s now dissected by a modern lane leading to The Ridgeway. In Celtic “sego-byrig” literally means “powerful fort” and you get a sense of that by the size of the ditch even today.

By this point I was starting to get a bit chilly. I had purposely not worn the usual three layers under my waterproof in the interests of research for you, dear reader. But I hadn’t banked on rain hitting this early into the day.

Stepping onto The Ridgeway for the first time I had to take a minute. We were on a long, straight section, the ancient road seeming to close in the distance. Saturated greying chalk clung to boot bottoms but thankfully they are totally waterproof. Pools and puddles became ankle deep in places.

We nipped off the road and walked a path through a line of trees, a welcome respite from the rain under the scant cover. We found plenty of Jelly Ear Fungus. Either I’ve got “my eye in” better this year or they are more abundant.

Tree cover disappeared after crossing Gramp’s Hill and rolling fields stretched away either side, the flinty soil criss-crossed by mini-mammal tunnels. A marked right-of-way through the fields leads to the Devil’s Punchbowl. The rain had eased but up on the ridge the stiff breeze was chilling.

Testing the Surviva Jak

Dropping down into the bowl we stopped to grab another bite. Sitting still only served to cool me down further. Time to test the Surviva Jak Heat Reflective Jacket. Vacuum packed and tiny, the thin foil jacket fitted easily, with plenty of room for my inadequate two-layers.

Does my bum look big in this?

The re-sealable fastenings were a bit fiddly to begin with and I imagine with colder fingers it could be more difficult. But they are re-sealable and they do have a strong enough hold when stuck down. But it’s the addition of the hood that makes this the ultimate hypothermia survival jacket.

I noticed the difference immediately. Hoods up on both Surviva Jak and my waterproof outer layer made it difficult to hear much with the crinkling but within a couple of minutes I was warm again. Even scrunching my gloveless fingers into the cuffs of the Surviva Jak warmed them up.

Tramping down the steep sides of the punchbowl we came across rabbit skulls, bones and a full skeleton. Not too far away, fox scat, grey with hair and all along the sides of the valley animal trails. The badger’s trails were more distinct and wider than the rabbit’s. Where one had snuck under the fence, a few hairs revealed it was definitely badger.

From the rim of the bowl the valley had looked almost desolate. That’s the way with nature, sometimes you’ve got to get in there and look a little closer. But when you do, a whole new world opens up.

After we’d swung down through the fields I took the Surviva Jak off. We were still about 3 miles from the car but I wanted to be sure it was the Surviva Jak and not the walk that had warmed me.

I was cold for the rest of the walk.

My advice: Get two Surviva Jak Heat Reflective Jackets, chuck one in the glove box and one in your pack. They work. And in a potential hypothermia situation it could be a life-saver.

Related posts:

1. WebTex Surviva-Pure

wildelycreative gets Out and About in the woodlands of Kent. This article first appeared on the Natural Pathways blog.

The woods are quieter in the winter, at least it seems that way. Tiny creatures that scurried around at harvesting time are bedded down, warm and snug. They pop their heads out occasionally to sniff the air and grab a bite to eat from their hidden stores.

When the snow blanketed the woodland, trails of tiny footprints could be seen making tracking very easy. But now the snow has melted and left the leaf litter damp and squishy you have to look closely to see evidence of animal movement.

The first thing I noticed were the tiny green shoots poking through the fallen leaves. They are everywhere and a welcome promise of Spring soon arriving. Bluebells – the woods will be covered in a vast carpet of the nodding flowers. But before that the snowdrops will unfurl into the cool air. They are around four inches tall already but no flower heads yet. Even as far South as Kent, Winter still holds sway.

Good eating but not much flavour

There are plenty of fungi around though. Good eating on this old log is the Jelly Ear fungus. They don’t have much flavour of their own but soak up the flavours of whatever they’re cooked with. And they’ve been used for all kinds of medicinal purposes over the years – from throat ailments to eye infections, haemorrhoids to angina.

But my favourite part of the day in the woods will always be getting a fire going and putting a brew on. There’s nothing that will give you a sense of place more than a fire crackling in a pit, warming a kettle full of water. Instead of my usual coffee, I tried some pine needle tea. Breaking up the long needles into tiny pieces and pouring hot water on I expected some kind of strong scent from the brew. There wasn’t much of a smell, nor much of a taste in the drinking, but I know my body was glad of the boost in Vitamin C.

We had a lovely time soaking up the atmosphere in the woods as the smoke drifted lazily through the bare trees.

When were you last outside? What are you waiting for? The woods are calling…

Related posts:

1. Lake District walker dies after falling 300ft
2. A walk in Lanthwaite Woods
3. Wilderness Gathering 2010

wildelycreative got Out and About last weekend with her new tarp and bivvi – seems like there’s no stopping her now! This post was originally published on her blog.

I went camping last weekend – a bit cold in November you might think, but I wanted to practice the bushcraft knowledge I’ve been learning at Natural Pathways.

And do you know what, I wasn’t a bit cold living out in the woods!

The answer really lay in a good camp set up. Using just a tarp, a bivvi bag, a pile of leaves for a mattress and my trusty fire steel in about an hour I had my shelter ready and a pot of water on for a cuppa.

Setting the tarp up so it caught the heat and reflected it around my sleeping area made me very toasty indeed. I could have made it even more efficient by building a reflector to bounce the heat back at me, but I thought that was overkill considering the warmth of the November evening.

We’d hiked to our chosen woods, up hill and down dale. We’d watched a huge Red Kite circling above a field of sheep looking out for a tasty snack! We’d seen a kestrel and a crow dive bombing each other – not for food, they seemed to be playing the way they were at it! We chomped on sweet rosehips as we rambled along, enjoying the crisp air and letting the green world around us soak into our souls.

As we entered the woods we startled a deer that leapt off into the undergrowth away from us noisy humans. We stopped at the pond to check it out and see if it could provide our water for the duration. Many oxygenating plants suggested it might be a good source but we boiled the water anyway, just to make sure. There are so many pollutants on our land and in our rivers great care must be taken when choosing a water source. You can read more about that here.

This is the first time I’d made camp outside the safety of the Natural Pathways wood but the knowledge I’ve gained went a long way to keeping me very warm and comfortable.

Catches and holds a spark - perfect fire lighting material

Collecting firewood I concentrated on hot, slow burners like ash and spiny oak, and banking the fire when going to sleep meant there were still a couple of tiny embers in the morning. We got the fire going with strips of birch bark and a spark from the fire steel. It would have been just as easy to use King Alfred Cake fungus to get the glowing ember needed to set the kindling off.

En route to the woods we’d found some puffballs (sorry, no pictures!). Very easy to mistake puffballs for earthballs and not one you want to make if you want to stay healthy! Foraging for fungi is almost as mesmerising as searching for fossils.

A WORD OF CAUTION: Go with someone who knows what they are doing – life is too precious to make a mistake and it’s so easy to do where fungi is concerned.

You'd never know we'd been

When we broke camp we completed the most important task of all. “There’s something sacred about it,” my friend commented. And she’s right. Leaving only footprints and taking only memories (four puffballs and a bottle of pond water) is the only way to be completely respectful to nature.

On the way home, we found some parasol mushrooms that were delicious fried in a little butter. Nearby was a badger trail strewn with pillaged corn. They must love the yummy yellow grains, there were so many chomped ears of corn on the trail!

Parasols and pilfered corn!

But the highlight – and the true test (IMHO) of being comfortable outdoors – was the chocolate bananas for supper and breakfast. You can’t get a better breakfast outdoors than a chocolate banana, sticky and warm straight from the fire!

The next trip will be in February – to see what it’s like when it’s really cold.

It’s your turn now. Get outdoors, walk, hike, run, play, camp, sit, be. However you do it MAKE THAT CONNECTION TO NATURE.

Mother Earth is waiting for you.

Related posts:

1. Tatonka Tarp 2 Bazil Review
2. Snugpak SF Bivvi Stands Up to October Downpour
3. A walk in Lanthwaite Woods

Making her first public appearance at Lakeland Bushcraft is wildelycreative talking about the Snugpak Elite Softshell.

Snugpak Elite Softshell

Getting ready for my next bushcraft weekend in Kent and feeling slightly deficient in the kit department, I got some great recommendations from Lurch. Lovely guy, a bit tall, but I suppose some of us have to be. He suggested a Snugpak Elite Softshell wind proof jacket to keep me warm and dry should the weather be typically English.

A bit wet and windy, perfect for trying out the Snugpak

Eager to try it out I headed straight for Castlerigg Stone Circle on the way back from Cockermouth. While it wasn’t a particularly cold day, the breeze was cool enough to warrant something other than the thin jumper I had on.

Clouds clung to the hill tops and the wind picked up somewhat on the exposed Castlerigg site. I was surprised. While the wind made it into the collar area, I imagined with a polo neck jumper underneath, this would stop. The extra layer of fleece inside the jacket provided just enough insulation to keep my torse and arms warm; but without a jumper underneath this Snugpak jacket is definitely not a winter alternative.

Inside the generous pockets I found the natty little stuff sack that would make this jacket a must carry for Spring, Summer and Autumn pursuits. (They’re also big enough to carry an A5 reporters notebook with ease.)

Luckily, or unluckily depending upon how you look at it, after five minutes being in the stone circle, the rain started. Drops beaded on the outside of the Snugpak jacket and there wasn’t any liquid penetrating through seams. Although I’ve yet to experience it in a real down pour, with the integrated hood I reckon it would be a great emergency backup. Incidentally, all folded away, the hood did provide some measure of neck protection, but not as good as a scarf.

There aren’t any inside pockets but I truly realised the jacket’s windproof abilities when I pulled the zip down to check. The wind whipped in, cooling me quickly so I didn’t check properly. There might be some there. (There aren’t, I checked in the comfort of home afterwards.)

Verdict

All in all a great addition to any walker/bushcrafter/camper kit bag – small enough to chuck in “just in case”, substantial enough to do the job. The only cold bits were my hands, face and legs. Better get a hat and gloves next!

Related posts:

1. Snugpak SF Bivvi Stands Up to October Downpour
2. John Fenna on the Snugpak Response Pak
3. Getting cold in Oxon

My first Brook Trout

This is a Brook Trout that I caught (and released) at a local fishery. I’m just posting this as it’s the first time that I have caught a brookie, they aren’t so common in fisheries in Blighty.

According to Gilbert at the Gilcrux Springs Trout Farm it is not permitted to bring in brookies anymore so that only those farms which already have them can have them. If you catch my drift.

The brook is crossed with a brownie to produce a tiger trout, I’ve never seen one of those in the flesh though.

Apparently the brook trout is a slower growing fish than the rainbow so the fish you see here is likely some three years old (I’d estimate this one at a pound and a half).

No related posts.

Lorton Valley, Watch Hill, Cumbria

Known locally as “The Hay” (no idea why), Watch Hill is apparently classed as a Marilyn and I’m given to understand it formed as Moraine. It towers over the farm which was my home for 20 odd years and is now farmed by my brother.

Fell Top Tributes

Bracken and Plastic Holly

A touching tribute to a family pet no doubt. I can’t say I approve though, I’d prefer the fells to remain as untouched as possible. Whilst obviously we have fences etc they are at least there for an active purpose. Were we all to seed tributes like these then the fells would pretty soon be a mess of them. By all means remember your pets and the walks you had on the fells but please stick to memories not physical tributes.

Related posts:

1. Afternoon Filming
2. What’s That Chicken About?
3. Snugpaks and stone circles

Strange Brew!

Trying to brew up some charcloth in the garden! I think I’ve been a bit over ambitious as there’s a whole pair of trousers in there and the process is taking somewhat longer than I thought! Plus that can is going to be hell to clean….

Related posts:

1. Backyard Bushcraft
2. Welcome to Lakeland Bushcraft Trading