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Woodland Ways Newsletter July 2010
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Welcome to the July Woodland Ways Newsletter, where we bring you information on what the team have been up to, our free information sheet, kit reviews, special offers, competitions and much more.
Just our way of saying thanks to you for joining us on our courses thats all.
Our website is constantly updated with new courses and kit, check us out on www.woodland-ways.co.uk and let us know what you think!
Hopefully we will see you on a course soon
Jason Ingamells- Chief Instructor
07843064114
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So what have we been up to?
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Woodland Ways are delighted to announce that we have been invited back to the Eden Project in Cornwall for the second year running to provide expert advice and demonstrations on fire lighting techniques as well as drop in sessions for people to "have a go" at various fire lighting techniques. We will also be providing demonstrations and "have a go" workshops on cordage making.
Jason and Jo (and Quercus!) will be heading down to Cornwall for the entire 6 weeks of the Summer Holidays from the end of July to the first week of September. If you are planning to visit Cornwall during the Summer why not come and see us in action at the Eden Project?
Kevan, Martyn and the rest of the gang will be running the courses in Oxfordshire and Derbyshire.
All of our courses are now filling up fast for the summer months and many are fully booked already. We are regularly adding additional course dates to supply the demand so keep an eye on our course calendar on our website for the most up to date availability. Click here for our Course Calendar
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Coming Soon...
New courses soon to be announced include our new Winter Survival Skills Weekend and a Trapping and Snaring weekend, email us at
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New Kit from EKA
The Swede 88 is a classic folding knife from EKA of Sweden.
EKA have been manufacturing knives at Eskilstuna in Sweden since 1882. In every EKA knife there is a combination of modern production technology and a century of craftman's traditions. EKA knives carry a 10 year warranty against the knife becoming defective due to manufacturing or material fault.
This EKA knife has a solid wooden handle made from oiled swedish oak. The blade is 7.2cm long (2.8") and made from Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel. It features a flat grind and a slight secondary bevel. The knife is approx. 10.7cm when folded. The handle of the knife has a purpose made hole in the end to attach a hanging cord if required, knife comes supplied with a Reindeer leather cord for this purpose.
So what do our instructors think? Here Jason writes:
"This is a good alternative to a fixed blade knife for light weight camping where you need to tuck something away in the bottom of your ruck sack. It has a very strong locking mechanism, is light weight and fits nicely in the hand"
Advantages: The blade is made from stainless steel therefore it is rust resistant. It comes with a 10 year guarantee from EKA. Small and light weight. Custom made leather sheath is available to purchase for this product.
Disadvantages: Due to the fact it is a folding knife it is not suitable for game preparation.
Buy this knife together with the 5" natural leather sheath and receive a free gift box!
Perfect as a gift for someone special.
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Our new tried and tested equipment feature this month is the UCO Candle Lantern.
UCO's Candle Lantern - Woodland Ways Quality Assured Approved.
In our humble opinion this is one of the best candle lanterns available on the market. Do not be persuaded by cheaper imitations as they will not be as good as these little gems.
Originally designed in 1982 these are lightweight and compact, and the patented Candle Lantern provides 9 hours of warm light from a single candle.
We use this candle to bring some perfect lighting to a hammock camp late at night, and from a safety point of view you will always find your hammock after dark! They are also suited to backpacking, mountaineering, snow camping etc. Both Jason and Dan live on narrow boats (seperate we hasten to add!) and these are a safe way of providing more natural light onboard.
So what do our instructors think? Here Jason writes:
"They are incredibly simple to maintain and operate, and the spring loaded candle tube ensures a constant flame height and minimal wax spillage. To light the candle you simply slide down the clear chimney to give you instant access to the candle area. Once lit, the chimney slides back up into its original position - providing wind protection for the candle flame... simply ingenious".
Advantages: Collapsible - the design allows the lantern to telescope close, protecting the glass chimney while travelling or hiking. It is convenient to handle - Stainless steel handle makes the Candle Lantern easy to hang and carry. There is a constant flame height - with the unique spring loaded candle tube keeping the flame height constant while a small viewing window shows how much candle remains. Each candle burns for up to 9 hours and the windproof environment further improves the efficiency. They are also safe to use as there are no combustible fuels or no complicated starting procedures, and no bulbs/mantles to break. In fact they are so confident they also come with a lifetime parts guarentee!
Disadvantages: We struggled with this one... you could argue that they are expensive in comparison to other candle lanters but we firmly believe you get what you pay for if the kit is of a high enough quality... and this is!
Click here to go to Uco Candle Lantern
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Bushcraft Fact Sheet Number 16
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Our monthly free information sheet just for you.
Since our last newsletter the Elderflowers have virtually been and gone, but there are still a few tucked away in shady parts of the hedgerow which are just about suitable for making Elderflower champagne (see recipe below) or cordial. The flowers of the Cow Parsley have been superseded by the related HogWeed, and as June turns into July the hedgerows are now a blaze of colour.
Rosebay Willowherb
The vibrant pink flowers of Rosebay Willowherb are appearing everywhere. The plant has numerous bushcraft uses.The young leaves and tender shoots are edible, either raw or cooked, but they tend to be too bitter for most palates.The root is also edible, being particularly sweet in spring, the dried leaves can be used as a tea and the pith from the stems can be used to thicken soups and sauces. Medicinally it has been used to treat everything from diarrhoea, prostate problems and mouth ulcers. The fluffy seed heads make a superior tinder for the centre of tinder bundles and the outer bark can be peeled off the stems and used for cordage.
In full flower at the moment is St John’s Wort. So called because they traditionally flower on St. John’s day, 24th June, there are several members of the family all with bright yellow flowers. One of the commonest is Perforate St. John’s Wort, so called because if held up to the light the leaves display tiny perforations. The plant has a long and clinically proven history of treating various mental disorders such as depression but it also has many others uses particularly for treating ulcers, burns and sunburn.
Perforate St. John’s Wort
This year is seeing a particularly good show of poppies in the fields. Earlier in the year, before the flower buds appear, the leaves can be eaten, but the best food use will come later in the year when the tiny black seeds can be collected. They are great added to damper breads.
Poppies
Both of the common plantain species (Ribwort and Greater) are also just starting to produce their seed heads. Although somewhat fiddly to prepare (they need winnowing and grinding before use) they are very tasty and nutritious especially when made into a paste with some water and baked into thin biscuits.
Greater Plantain
It’s at this time of year that from a food foragers point of view things start to get interesting. We have spotted Chicken of the Woods in our Oxford Wood. This fungi typically produces its fruiting body at this time of year and looks like yellow polystyrene oozing out of a tree trunk. It can grow on a number of tree species, particularly Oak and Chestnut. It is one of the better edible fungi, which when cooked bears a remarkable resemblance to the texture of chicken, hence it’s name.
A couple of words of caution must be mentioned at this point; Firstly there is a significant proportion of people who may have an adverse reaction after eating this fungi so only try a very small amount if it’s your first time. Secondly, the fungus can also grow on Yew and there are documented cases of people being poisoned as the fungus can absorb the toxins from the Yew.
The real exciting thing about this time of year is that the first crop of summer fruit are also starting to ripen. Cherries, Raspberries, Red Currants and Wild Strawberries will all be ready to pick this month and all of them are quite common but easily overlooked plants that grow in most woodlands across the country. We can’t wait until the Summer foraging courses in a few days time.
Elderflowers
Finally here’s a recipe for Elderflower champagne, but be quick!
For about 10 litres of champagne;-
- 6-10 large elderflower heads – picked late morning preferably in full sun
- 1 kg sugar
- 2 lemons
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 10L water
First wash and sterilize all utensils and bottles with boiling water.
- Add the sugar to a large plastic container that will hold over 10L.
- Boil 2L of the water and add to the container and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the remaining 8L of cold water.
- Shake any insects off the Elderflowers but do not wash, and add to the sugar and water along with the zest and juice of the 2 lemons and the white wine vinegar.
- Stir and cover the container.
- Leave for 24-48 hours stirring occasionally
- Strain through a muslin cloth into screw cap plastic pop bottles and leave for at least 2 weeks but ideally longer.
Keep an eye on the bottles, if they start to swell up too much it may be necessary to release some built up gas to prevent them exploding. At the natural yeast on the flowers starts to work the liquid will become cloudy but if left it should clear to leave just a small amount of sediment on the bottom of the bottle.
Cheers!
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Essential Items for the Summer Holidays
Woodland ways are always on the look out for exciting new and useful items of quality kit, we have recently extended our range of accessories to include essential travel items, be it for a day on the beach, a camping trip or a flight to somewhere exotic we have all the accessories you need, here are just a couple..
It is a highly concentrated gel so you only need to use a small amount and it is suitable for washing both your hair and body and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth. It lathers in both fresh and salt water and is environmentally friendly. Supplied in 15ml bottle with screw cap lid.
Hennessy Hammock Expedition
In our view the market leader in hammock design - Woodland Ways Quality Mark Approved.
If you have ever walked through the instructors camp on one of our courses you will see that each and every one of us is suspended in one of these. The ultimate design in hammocks we have tested these throughout the UK, in the Atlas Mountains and in the Jungles of Borneo, and they have never let us down. We like items that have multiple functions, not only can this hammock be used as a sleeping system, just drop one side and it can be used as a chair, and remove the basha on a sunny day it can also be used as a sun lounger... fantastic.
The complete package comes with a diamond shape basha to cover the hammock, the hammock itself is all enclosed with a mosquito net, and can be suspended just using the fixed ropes supplied direct to a tree or with the tree guards (supplied) to ensure no damage is done to the tree.
The hammock is designed so that you enter it from underneath in a sitting position, lift your legs when inside and the velcro fastening closes behind you leaving you completely insect bite free!
So what do our instructors think? Here Jason writes:
"I have tried a number of different hammocks over the years and finally settled on the Hennesy... it is such a comfortable design to sleep in. But not only this, sleeping in a hammock means you have to pay less attention to what is going on on the floor, and your impact on the surrounding area is reduced so much more than sleeping on the floor. These hammocks come into there own in the jungle where the rain can just come at you for hours, I was able to remove my wet clothes under the hammock down to my undergarments, climb inside and complete my change of clothing with no embarrassment to anyone! As a word of caution whenever setting up camp there are a number of different factors to take into consideration, but probably the most important is to check the health of the tree before suspending it and always look up to look for dead limbs hanging in the canopy"
Also availble for this model of hammock are large tarps for extra protection from the elements and snake skins to assist faster set up time. Please click HERE to be taken to the Shelter section of our website for further information on Hennesy Hammocks and accessories.
To see more of our range of travel accessories please click here.
Thanks to you all for your continued support, we hope you enjoyed this months newsletter, do come out and see us in July if you can get the time away and keep in touch!
Jason Ingamells- Chief Instructor
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Please note it is never our intention to spam, if you dont want to recieve future issues of this then just email Info@woodland-ways.co.uk with remove in the subject heading and we'll do the rest!
You have received this newseltter because you have subscribed either through attendance on a course, subscribing through the website, or by direct contact with us
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IN THIS ISSUE
What have we been up to?
New Kit - EKA folding Knife.
Kit Review - UCO Candle Lantern.
Foraging Fact Sheet 16
Recipe for Elderflower Champagne.
Essential Items for Summer Holidays.
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These are available for specific courses,as an18 Month voucher, and also for kit, just click on the link below.
Vouchers start at just £5 and make the ideal gift for the person who has everything!
Delivery of Gift Vouchers is FREE!
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Whats in the pipeline?
We have our Summer Foraging Courses running in our Oxfordshire woodland on the 10th & 11th July 2010 as well as our Woodland Ways Weekend Courses running every weekend in July.
Our Teenagers Fundamental Bushcraft Course will take place on 28th -29th July in Oxfordshire and we still have a few places left but you better be quick! Please click Here for further details.
We are exhibiting and providing Fire lighting demonstrations at the Hollowell Steam Rally in Northamptonshire on 3rd & 4th July 2010, if you are in the area why not pop in say hello to Jason, Jo, Kev and Ruth!
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07843064114
Woodland Ways Ltd,
The Cottage,
Wash Road, Fosdyke. BOSTON, Lincolnshire.
PE20 2DD
Trading Address: The Cottage, Wash Road, Fosdyke, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE20 2DD
Registered in England and Wales at Companies House: Company Registration Number: 05856429
Woodland Ways Ltd is a member of the Institute for Outdoor Learning- membership number 7513
Registered Office: 86-88 South Ealing Road, London, W5 4QB
VAT Registration number 970 7080 14
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