Nature Based Bushcrafting

Over the last few months I have not done much in the way of bushcraft so there has been a slight lack of How To …. tutorials coming out. I plan to change that after the Moot (where I will be looking for inspiration) however I have been getting out on little trips recently to photograph nature.

This post is just to record some of the moments I have had over the last few months. Starting with an accidental shot of a very wet and bedraggled willow catkin. It was a damp day and I was trying to get a close up of a bug but after looking at the picture found the catkin to be of more interest.

Pussy Willow

Not long after ripping a muscle in my calf I hobbled out into my garden and applied the 20 metre rule. That is stand still, kneel down, sit down and lie down but continually look around you for approx 20 metres and you should see something worth shooting. When I eventually laid down I came up close and personal to these beautiful little Forget-me-nots

Forget-me-nots

There was a re-wilding theme on the BCUK website a couple of months ago and I was stuck for ideas. Not long after the closing date I remembered this place outside our village. Proper re-wilding you could say 🙂

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Re-wilding

Back in April I went out for a walk with my kids in Morgaston woods and the bluebells were just coming through. I spotted this slightly thicker patch and after getting the kids to lie down (it was a job with all the pricklies) I got this rather nice shot. The angle of the shot made the bluebell patch seem much thicker than it actually was.

Peek a boo

Another one from my garden during my hobbling period. I was particularly taken with the water droplets on the primroses.

Spring days

My son has been undertaking some nature observations for his naturalists badge at cubs. we have been getting out and about as much as we can identifying trees and flowers such as these lovely Ramsons.

Naturalist badge – IDing the Ramsons

Spring would not be the same without a picture or two of some fluffy creatures. I thought this Greylag geese family looked particularly impressive at The Vyne National Trust property.

The Greylag family

This was a ‘face off’. I spotted this deer in the shadow of the woods while out looking at the bluebells. I had to change the lens on my camera as she was a fair distance away. Normally they run off by the time I change lenses but this one kept me square in her sights the whole time.

Staring contest

We moved on from just identifying plants for Finlay’s naturalist badge to tasting them as well. We tried out a whole range of leaves including the likes of these Jack by the hedge plants.

Naturalist badge – IDing the other garlic – Jack by the hedge

Some of the best finds were literary stumbled on like this complete fox skeleton in the New Forest. It was found by some of my Junior Sea Cadets and we laid it all out onto this log to get a real good look at it. Many of these kids have never been out of the city before so this was quite a find for them.

A Foxy find

I spotted this little butterfly sitting on a Herb Robert flower while visiting my friend Fraser from Coastal Survival a couple of weeks ago. Normally these little devils are away before you can get near them but this one just seemed to be soaking up the sun.

Delicate beauty

One of my favourite pictures was taken last weekend at The Vyne National Trust property. I heard a splash by the side of the lake and turned to see this Coot with a large Signal Crayfish in its beak.

The joy was not to last for the Coot though as another Coot came along and stole the crayfish away – such is nature sometimes I suppose.

A top spot

So although I have not been out doing practical bushcrafting much I have been getting out and observing nature with a keen eye – so you could say it was the more nature based side of bushcrafting.

Cheers

George

Tylney Adventures

While watching my son Finlay play football this morning my friend Katie mentioned that Tylney Hall Hotel had an open day today as part of the National Gardens Scheme (who raise money for multiple charities).

My friend Paul is the head gardener there and I had said before to him that I wanted to come and explore the grounds of this beautiful hotel. Thankfully I had the afternoon free and Finlay was keen to go so I packed some snacks and my camera before heading out.

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Tylney Hall Hotel and Gardens

After meeting Paul and getting a map of the grounds Finlay and myself set off to explore the gardens and surrounding woodland. The beautiful landscaped gardens surrounding Tylney Hall were designed by the 19th-century garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and maintained now by Paul and his team.

My aim was to find as many wild flowers as I could and to keep an eye out for beautiful and unusual  spots to photograph. Finlay’s aim was to have a full on adventure by crawling, stalking and climbing his way around the gardens (and to learn about some trees and flowers for one of his Cubs badges).

We headed off first down to Boathouse Lake by rolling our way down the immaculate lawn. We found lovely brown carp in the lake and old buildings nearby to explore.

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Views, slopes and nooks

Working our way around the Hall we explored the rabbit burrows, climbed on what Finlay called the Fairy Castle and enjoyed the lovely view from the Long Vista – well Finlay generally mucked about here 🙂

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Play areas

Soon we came across the Woodland garden and were confronted with a riot of colours and smells. This garden has such a wide variety of plants growing that I could have stayed there for hours. It was great to spot the Ramsons and the Snakes Head Fritillary.

There is a paper birch in the centre of the garden with strips of outer bark hanging off making it a very striking tree (we did not take any strips of bark from the tree but just explored its colours and textures).

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Stunning nature

The woodland garden has a stream, ponds and waterfalls through the middle of it with paths following it and criss-crossing it with stepping stones and bridges – a perfect kids’ playground.

Running alongside the stream we spotted a most unusual tree trunk (possibly cedar) in the shape of an arch and a thicket of bamboo with a little stone creature hidden away in it.

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Adventure

Before leaving Finlay asked to go back to a specific tree he had spotted on the way in so as to climb onto it. It was just situated above the Boathouse Lake and offered stunning views across it.

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Stylish sit spot

We only had an hour and a half to explore the gardens today so when they are opened to the public once again I will be making more time to visit this beautiful place.

Paul and his team have created a beautiful setting for folk of all ages and abilities. Currently I am recovering from a torn calf muscle and the paths were perfectly maintained so I did not feel taxed at any time. Finlay did not want to leave and I want to come back again soon – thankfully Tylney run the open day for the National Gardens Scheme three times a year.

Cheers

George