8 May 2023 - Nearly Wild Camping

The details for the Experience Weekend are:

The date 28th – 30th July

The location Worcestershire

The experience Bushcraft

Experience provider Rupert from Feral Science

The location is a working family farm located 2 miles from the edge of Droitwich Spa. They keep sheep, Boer goats, cattle, a few hens, and some arable fields.

Our hidden valley of quiet permanent pasture fields are either flat or rolling banks either side of a brook, with some woodland, all with plenty of wildlife. You might spot a muntjac, roe and fallow deer, kingfisher, heron, badger, and bats and owls at night.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Please honour the ethos and don’t try to book for non-members. We are providing this opportunity to fully paid-up members and it is not fair for non-members to take limited places. Thanks for your understanding.

More about Rupert from Feral Science

From the earliest age, Rupert has been involved in the outdoors. An idyllic childhood in the Forest of Dean on a private deer estate made for long days outdoors in the mature Beech and Oak woodlands and there were very few pheasant pens, snare lines or streams with crayfish pools that he was not aware of by the age of 9 or 10.

Rupert has tried to maintain links with the outdoors throughout his working life. An interest in wine that started with retail resulted in a successful winemaking career that took him to work in Italy, France, North America and Australia.

On his return to the UK he took a job as a science teacher which gave the opportunity to become part of an Outdoor Learning team as well as to set up and coach a ground-breaking alternative sports program.

The details for the Experience Weekend are:

The date 9th – 11th June

The location South East

The experience Bushcraft / Foraging

Experience provider Lizzy Maskey

This Campsite is where a true outdoor adventure awaits you in the beautiful East Sussex green and rolling countryside…..wild camping with few rules and regulations but a few little luxuries to make your camping trip easy and stress free.

Situated near the Bluebell Steam Railway – is a relaxed and laid back campsite. Think river swimming, fire building, campfire cooking, den building, messing about on the river – all in the tranquil and idyllic environs of East Sussex loveliness.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

More about Lizzy Maskey

Join Lizzy From Pippin & Gile to explore a range of traditional crafts and bushcraft skills.

Lizzy’s passion for the outdoors started at a very young age, playing on the swings, lighting fires with her grandfather and eating runner beans straight out the veg patch. It quickly turned into a passion for minimalist living, using all of resources and keeping things as local as possible. She runs Pippin & Gile, a highly successful bushcraft and countryside craft course provider, for adults in the Green Belt of South London. Where her aim is to ensure that “people will never walk though the woods in the same way again”, having changed their perspectives to ‘natural world’ around them.

Lizzy has gained her knowledge and understanding from many years of experimentation, play and exploration, both in the UK and overseas. She has also learnt extensively from others, specialist in their fields and also people for which this is the way of life rather than a conscious choice. She will never stop learning, deepening her current skill set, and broadening the range of skills that she has.

Join me this weekend to learn or extend your understanding of a range of skills. These are examples of the taster sessions we will have on offer over the weekend. Some of the sessions will be at set times, many of them will be drop in throughout the weekend.

These sessions are aimed at adults however younger people can be incorporated into a number of these sessions down to aged 8 please either reply to this email to ask for more information or pop by and ask Lizzy over the weekend. All children must have a responsible adult at all times.

Learn to wet felt a small container, (14+)

Turning soft sheep’s wool into hard wearing, non fraying, insulating and water resistant felt. Learn wet felting techniques to turn fine natural woollen fibres into a strong hard wearing, insulating and water resistant material. Using a seamless wet felting technique you’ll create a small pouch or bowl. Giving you the knowledge to create larger projects at home where your imagination is the only limiting factor.

Create a willow basket, (12+)

Using a wooden base create your very own woven willow basket.

Create a willow platter, (8+)

Using willow cut for conservation craft a wonderful platter.

Light Fires using natural tinders and a ferro rod. (6+)

You will learn how to get the best out of a ferro rod and how to gather and process a range of natural tinders to get that fire started.

Prepare Pigeon Breast (8+)

Starting with a whole pigeon we will remove the breast meat, for you to cook back at your camps.

Fire bow – Friction fire using an ancient technique. (12+)

Needle Felt a leaf (8+)

Learn the modern art of needle felting, to create a felted leaf. Watch as soft fluffy wool wool fibres become a hard strong fabric.

Create a Foraged Hand Balm (12+)

Create your very own repairing hand balm using a range of foraged greens from the site.

Cooking Demonstrations with a Dutch Oven over The Fire

Lizzy will be cooking up a range different foods over the weekend and will talk you though what she is preparing, and how she is cooking it in a cast iron pan as she cooks her meals.

More about Rupert from Feral Science

More about Lizzy Maskey

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