Bushcraft Club

Event details

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Events at Sherwood Pines - Bushcraft Camp
Buy tickets for on Saturdays in 2023: 14 January, 11 February, 11 March, 15 April, 10 June, 08 July, 12 August, 09 September, 14 October, 11 November and 09 December

Foraging, fire lighting and natural crafts in a monthly club just for adults (all participants must be aged 18 years +). 

Each session is different as we move through the seasons but always includes fire lighting, foraging, and a craft skill. Learn woodworking and whittling skills, weave with willow and rush, create containers from bark, make natural paints and pigments and have a go at botanical printing and natural dyeing … all based around the campfire at our secluded bushcraft camp.

You will need to bring a packed lunch but hot drinks will be provided and we often cook a snack over the fire. Booking and payment in advance are essential. 

Full details of each event are listed below. For more information, please contact our Customer Relations Team by email at customerrelations@forestryengland.uk  or by phone 0300 068 0400.

If an event is showing as sold out, please contact the event leader Karina Thornton at karina.thornton@forestryengland.uk to be added to a waiting list. 

Event DateEvent Details
Saturday 14 January 2023For the first bushcraft club for 2023, we are going to have a go at antler carving. We will make buttons, beads, toggles and keyrings and decorate them with traditional Viking designs.
Saturday 11 February 2023Willow weaving. Learn basic basketry techniques including a three-rod wale, pairing weave and a simple border as you weave your own bird feeder for fat balls. We’ll forage for some cleavers to make a refreshing spring tonic.
Saturday 11 March 2023It’s birch sap harvesting time! We’ll collect some for a refreshing drink and then learn some leather work skills as we make a canvas and leather foraging pouch. We will also find out how to scour and mordant fabric ready for the natural dyeing session next month.
Saturday 15 April 2023Natural dyeing. Find out how to dye fabric using foraged plant materials. Create yellow from gorse, grey-green from nettle and red from birch bark. Enjoy some delicious wild garlic pakoras cooked over the fire.
Saturday 10 June 2023Sap is high now so it’s the best time for foraging bark for making containers. We will weave and stitch willow and chestnut bark to create your own bark container. We’ll forage for elder flowers to fry up some fritters over the fire.
Saturday 08 July 2023Natural paints and pigments. We will process rocks to create mineral pigments which we can blend into paints, make inks from tannin-rich plants and artist charcoal from willow.
We’ll be foraging for plantain to make a soothing antihistamine balm and self-heal to make an antiseptic cream.
Saturday 12 August 2023Find out how to create paper from plant fibres as we bash and blend a pulp to mould into sheets. Forage for apples and berries to cook a crumble in the clay oven.
Saturday 09 September 2023Block printing. Carve your own wooden printing block and print onto paper made last month with the ink we made in July. Create prints of flowers and leaves to create your own plant ID
guide.
Saturday 14 October 2023Fungi foray time! We’ll take a stroll through the woods in search of fungi to see how many we can identify. We’ll forage for chestnuts to roast over the fire.
Saturday 11 November 2023Whittling, wood working and knife sharpening. Use traditional greenwood working tools to create your own butter spreader or spatula then learn some detail carving and painting techniques to decorate your whittled wonder
Saturday 09 December 2023Christmas party! Enjoy festive spiced punch warmed over the fire and create wooden and willow bushcraft-style Christmas decorations.