Following the bushcraft weekend with David Goodworth at the Hardwick Estate,
Berkshire, Rising Sun submitted the following article.
I arrived at Pangbourne (nr Reading) at about lunchtime on a Friday afternoon in
May and was greeted by one the teachers David Goodworth along with a few other guys who had come
along to the course. The setting was the Hardwick estate, which at 800 acres (including 450 acres of
woodland) is the second smallest estate in the country and a very successful and established organic
farm.
Our bags and packs had first class delivery, via Landrover, while we had a gentle
5 min walk down to the venue for the weekend. It was fairly warm but overcast, and we camped in a
truly enchanted miniature valley which was filled with beech, ash and bluebells.
After setting up our tents we sat around a small fire and were introduced to all
the other people on the course, as well as 'Feathers' the second main teacher for the weekend. There
were 10 of us plus instructors. Most were interested in Bush Craft - how to live more fully
appreciating the outdoors and if all else failed how to survive in a difficult situation. Ray Mears
got mentioned quite a lot!
This course is an introductory course and a taster for the more skill-specific
courses that Wild Life run throughout the year. They also do family camps and days at various
locations together with team building classes and school visits. This is no commando or SAS course
and as long as you are up to normal camping you will not have any trouble with most, if not all of
the areas covered.
After our introductions we got straight down to business with a bit of classroom
introduction to the subjects across the open camp fire. This was soon followed by a class of
collecting leaves and sticks for the building of shelters. Building shelters was fairly hard work
but it was very satisfying to see them completed, especially as dinner was served soon after
completion.
The food was prepared by Feathers throughout the weekend and was better than any
would normally expect when camping. (Please advise them at booking if you are vegetarian.) The
evening was completed with tea, chocolate and humorous conversation around the camp fire. Please
don’t take alcohol.
Day two was awakened by rain but this did not dampen any spirits as within half an
hour of being awake we had erected a small canvas classroom to allow us to start fire making! It is
truly an amazing feeling to have created fire out of two or three bits of wood with a little
know-how. All of us managed to do it with a little help from the instructors and many were so
enamoured by the experience they did it again and again.
A good strong lunch was followed by becoming more aware of our environment,
navigation, and bird song which allowed us to look at silent and invisible movement around the
woodland. This also helped us to be come more aware of our surroundings and to disturb as little as
possible. This was subtle, but for me probably one of the most very important classes. It started to
bring together man and his neighbours and their environment. This is something that I feel many
other pure druidic courses have not managed to do.
This section does look at hunting, but only from a survival point of view. All the
instructors seem to be virulently against hunting for sport and from my point of view as a Druid I
believe they have a very healthy and balanced attitude to the micro and macro environment. They love
and respect the land. No animals are trapped, chased, handled or harmed.
Archery added a little more light hearted fun in the late afternoon and access was
provided to this for the rest of the weekend.
By day three the rain had subsided and we started the day with yet another hearty
breakfast and a fascinating look at animal behaviour and tracking. This again included getting down
on the soil and getting covered in mud which was good fun. There is however a deep forensic slant to
this which will entice anyone who likes to solve mysteries or puzzles and will change your view of
any forest for good.
After lunch we looked at how to make string from various types of materials and
had a whistle stop tour of plants which we can eat or use for medicinal purposes. Most of us brought
our string home which was also a wonderful but simple creation.
At 6pm we held our closing circle and talked about what we have learned. All had
thoroughly enjoyed themselves and had clearly gained more confidence and wish to spend more time in
the countryside.
Personally I feel it was a wonderful weekend where I have learnt many practical
skills that will serve in many areas in life and have gained a far greater understanding and
awareness of the forest that only someone like a forester or a bushman could impart and explain.
Much of modern Bushcraft is based on evidence and experience of Bushmen from around the world
including Native American Indians but you should bear in mind that this is not a purely pagan
course. It’s about awareness and living/surviving in the wilderness which by chance is very
much suited to many in the pagan community. You will get muddy so take the appropriate gear. Cooking
kit is not required.
While this course is only an introduction it does give you a greater awareness and
confidence to know what to do if you ever get stuck. Once people have completed the introductory
course they can enrol on some of the more skill specific workshops such as Tracking, Ancient
Technologies, Hunting, Gathering Class, Medicinal Herbs, Camouflage & Invisibility and
Philosophy.
They also hold family camps which I feel is a must for any children to get them
outdoors and enjoying themselves rather than sitting on the TV or computer over the weekends. Most
of the courses are fairly expensive, but with two and a half fully filled days, the quality of
teaching, location and top notch food its pretty good value.
Wild Life Website: http://www.wildernessliving.co.uk
David Goodworth: 0118 9017191
Rising Sun /|\
pphillips [at] ricsonline [dot] org
