We are always looking for ideas or inspiration to get outside. So we’ve been having a look at a new book called Bushcraft – A Family Guide: Fun and Adventure in the Great Outdoors
by John Boe and Owen Senior.
by John Boe and Owen Senior.
Bushcraft covers a broad range of exciting outdoor activities including building shelters, tracking, foraging. Learning the art of bushcraft in a fun and safe way is an excellent way to spend quality family time together. Bushcraft adventures can involve getting a bit dirty, smelling like a campfire, but gets you having fun outdoors learning and discovering together.
Building a shelter out of sticks, logs, and leaves.
The book is A5 size, so a good size to throw in a rucksack. The illustrated, practical guide contains everything that both children and adults need to know to have fun and stay safe in the outside world. The guide starts with a brief safety introduction and a note on equipment needed, as Bushcraft is all about using what nature provides, so you don’t need much equipment to carry out most of these activities.
Some examples of actives included in the book are:
- how to find and collect water
- how to build a shelter
- how to navigate naturally
- how to make a bow and arrow
- tips on tracking
- foraging ideas
- inspiration and recipes for outdoor cooking
The activities are well written and simple to follow with illustrations to help bring the ideas to life.
My favourite chapters in the book are how to find and collect water and Natural Navigation. These two activities appealed as they are activities we’ve not tried before and useful skills to learn.
We decided to have a go at the Natural Navigation learning activity. It didn’t all work to plan, but learnt lots along the way and succeeded in getting all the family together. Though we might not all be natural navigators yet, we discovered a few new things along the way, which is what it’s all about.
My least favourite chapter is preparing game and seafood for cooking. The preparation of game does not appeal to me at all, so I quickly bypassed this section. Hunting is, of course, personal choice, if you like this kind of thing, then that chapter may prove useful.
At the end of each chapter, there are a couple of blank pages (lined ) left for notes, which is an excellent idea. You can write up any interesting finds along the way, ideas/inspiration, and you could include some pictures to remember your bushcraft adventure 
Tips on building a tarp shelter
…and enjoying our tarp shelter.
Bushcraft – A Family Guide is an excellent guide book, whether you are new to bushcraft or more experienced and looking for further inspiration and information. It is well presented with an easy to follow format making this book a useful guide to take on your outdoor adventures.
is an excellent guide book, whether you are new to bushcraft or more experienced and looking for further inspiration and information. It is well presented with an easy to follow format making this book a useful guide to take on your outdoor adventures.
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