This is a gallery page for pictures that don’t seem to fit in elsewhere. I hope you enjoy them here. A weekend spent with members from Bushcraft UK in woods near a friend’s house. Andrew Easby shot a few rabbits and I used a portable smoker to hot smoke the haunches over a camp fire. Another BCUK meet, this time in un-wooded terrain, gave us an opportunity to see how well we were equipped for the cold. Some of the members took the comforts of a large bell tent complete with wood fired stove while others stuck to much lighter weight solutions. I set out to put together a very small, inconspicuous camp with a couple of sticks and a poncho, typical of the kind of camp I use on photographic trips when I’m hoofing it overland. We had a dusting of snow that night and I was amazed to see that although it had blown around much of the site, there was very little snow under the shelter of the poncho in the morning. Of course with an open sided shelter like this a bivi bag is a very wise addition to your kit. A decent sunset and bit of light from paraffin lanterns and candles resulted in this lovely shot of the bell tent. No prizes for spotting the inspiration behind this shot of my own Tarp tent on a recent photographic trip to Cornwall then. These shots were taken at a BCUK meet up at Middlewood camp site. Quite a few members of all levels of experience getting together to swap ideas, skills and just generally blether on about whatever we like. Andy sorting out some seating around the fire with his new auger. Up too early as usual. I dragged a few members along to Danelaw Viking Village, a living history education project I work with from time to time for a different kind of meet up. As you can see we had a bit of snow, it was February and the first night was very cold. Luckily all the houses have a central hearth and with a small fire going they soon warm up. We moved into the longhouse in the evening for a little more space. Good company, good food and an idea that we will definitely be repeating. The group shot. Another BCUK Meet in the Midlands. I like simple ideas and this is about as simple as it gets. Old metal Jerry cans can be found all over the world and a quick modification and an old door mat makes a great grill. Some people always look totally at home in the woods. There tend to be some very good cutting tools to be found at the average meet up. This was no exception. Sometimes you cannot beat a simple camp fire on the beach. Choose your site carefully. Below the high tide mark is the best so that the sea can wash away the ashes. Avoid using stones around the fire, not only are they unnecessary but if waterlogged they can burst suddenly in the heat shooting hot fragments out of the fire with great force. Another BcUK Meet in the Midlands, Jonathan brought a Sloworm that he had rescued after being attacked by a cat. This gave us a great opportunity to handle this beautiful and gentle creature before it was released into the wild a couple of days later. With Autumn upon us, it’s time for that special annual harvest. The important thing to remember is to never over crop mushrooms. I leave at least 80% of what I find so that they can spore, helping to provide an even better crop next year. Another BcUK Meet near Manchester. Good company and good food as usual. Quite a crafty feel to this meet which is always good. Ravenlore is a site promoting Bushcraft and Wilderness skills as a way of working, living and enjoying the wilderness with minimal impact on it’s resources. Bushcraft should be practised in a responsible manner with consideration for the environment and other people who seek to enjoy the outdoors. Bushcraft skills complement many outdoor living pursuits such as walking, mountaineering, canoeing, hunting, fishing and in my case at least landscape photography. In fact I find the equipment suited to bushcraft often far exceeds the specification and usefulness of other high tech outdoor equipment. Bushcraft and wilderness skills should always be practised with respect for the environment and other users of the outdoors. Leave No Trace. All text, images and artwork on this site are the property of Gary Waidson and protected by copyright. All rights reserved.