The Bushcraft Show

Last year I visited the Bushcraft Show at Elverston Castle in Derbyshire and to be honest it was not as good as I thought it would be and as is the way, the heavens opened to make it all in all a little bit miserable and it had the feeling of being presented with a pint of flat warm beer.
What a difference a year makes.
This year I had to go because I had agreed to promote the new range of knives that my friends Mykel and Ruth Hawke were introducing into the UK the outdoor and bushcraft suppliers, Heinnie Haynes

I'm not quite sure how well known Myke and Ruth are in the UK but I know that their survival programme Man, Woman, Wild does have a big following in the USA. As it turned out it seems they have a big following here in the UK judging by all the people who attended their presentation on Sunday and then congregated around the stand for a picture, an autograph or just to pass some time with the easy going couple who had, it is fair to say, a nightmare of a journey from New Orleans just to make the day session, taking three days to get here.

There were so many highlights that it is difficult to pick one or two without missing something amazing. So take my word that it was all good with so much to see and do and if you have the time, participate, because through taking part you will become absorbed. Now I am not one to give something a thumbs up if it doesn't deserve it, but I had a great time and overarching the whole event was the atmosphere, I have rarely been among such a large group and been so impressed by the willingness and desire of all who were there to share their knowledge among like minded people and go out of their way. But this is my selected highlight;

I met a young girl of 14 and her mother. She used to be fit and healthy and just like any normal kid, then she had an accident and broke her leg, the leg healed but she was left in a wheelchair with a condition that leaves her in pain nearly 100 percent of the time. Rather than lounge back and feel sorry for herself she had bullied her mother into bringing her to the show. I met her as she was considering which knife to purchase. We spent some time talking and I realised that through the medium of bushcraft this young girl was taking charge, and by using bushcraft skills that she was learning for herself she was helping herself to manage the pain of this awful condition by keeping herself occupied. Never in my whole life have I come into contact with disabled people other than in passing. In the past I have been one of those people who have indeed stopped and stared or found myself looking intently at someone who was disabled. I have often found myself looking at someone with a disability simply because I was curious and often felt a little ashamed afterwards. Most people just don't know what to do, say or how to act and I don't feel that is our fault but I do think that we can sometimes make an effort, and in some ways this was my effort. I ended up spending quite a bit of time with her and even more surprisingly loving every minute of listening to this young ladies passion, watching her courage and admiring her grit and determination. I had to go and give a presentation in the main arena and was pushed for time and more and more thinking that I would have to let her go and started to worry about how this conversation which had progressed to taking mum and her through to the back of the tent so that she could whittle some wood carving when I thought I might be able to do just a bit more.

One stand over from us was a group of young bushcraft instructors with Frontier Bushcraft, I was to later meet Paul Kirtley, founder of this very professional bunch and thank him and his team because they agreed to host this young lady and from then on it seemed every time I looked over in that direction for 2 days, there she was being hosted by one or the other of the guys. And this is what bushcraft is all about, it can be a highly personal experience but it is also an experience to share and a community. Yes its expensive to get in, and yes there may have been some problems here and there, but for me the show just brought out the best in people and the organisers Simon and Olivia provided a programme that was simply awesome.

Trust me when I tell you that if you like nature, the countryside, bushcraft or just want to do something completely different from the normal, then come next year, you just will not be disapointed.