Bushcraft | Nature | Adventure

Category: Uncategorized (Page 7 of 14)

Storing Fuel & Kindling

By Sean Fagan
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Hazel wood fire (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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Storing Fuel & Kindling at a Woodland Camp-Site

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If I'm planning to occasionally revisit a campsite - I usually make the effort to stash away some kindling & fuel (and occasionally some tinder) for future visits.

It's always a good idea to give yourself every advantage as regards improving your fire-lighting success where dampness is an issue  - especially in a damp-climate country.

Which is why I always stash fuel, kindling and often tinder for my next visit.

This point nails home an essential truth - fire-lighting success is often about planning ahead as it is about technical proficiency in fire skills.

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The Luxury of a Kneeling Pad…

By Sean Fagan
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Taking a short break while trekking through a woodland. It was a damp, drizzly day and the kneeling pad provided a much-appreciated, comfortable & warm seating area (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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Cost of Kneeling Pad: 2-5 Euros

Outdoor Applications: many!

A garden kneeling pad is a great, cheap, robust and versatile piece of outdoor kit.

Learn what I use my kneeling pad for...some will surprise you.

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Swimming & Bathing Outdoors

By Sean Fagan
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Opps, forgot to take off my shades when posing for this photo (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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Swimming & Bathing Outdoors

Hygiene & Morale

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I've been jumping into, splashing about and swimming in rivers, lakes and the sea for years.

I consider outdoor swimming and bathing to be a very important part of my outdoor living regime.

Learn why I still swim outdoors.

Learn also how to bathe outdoors, the more common hazards of outdoor swimming and why being able to swim is a viable survival skill.

Read more....

Children & The Outdoors

By Sean Fagan
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Let the adventure begin - on a boat to Ireland's Eye. From left - my brother, my nephew and my brother's partner (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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Some thoughts on an outdoor trip with my 7 year old nephew

10 tips on making the outdoors more enjoyable for children

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When practical, I’m a big fan of bringing children into wild areas.

Of course, when it comes to bringing children outdoors - safety and common sense is a top priority.

Nevertheless, children are generally far more resilient and capable of tackling outdoor challenges than is often perceived.

Recently, my brother, his partner and myself – brought my 7 year old nephew on a boat trip to Ireland’s eye (a small, uninhabited island off the coast of county Dublin, Ireland).

As soon as the boat was docked – we set off exploring the island despite strong sunshine and very warm temperatures.

Learn more about our island adventure...

and 10 tips on making the outdoors more enjoyable for children.

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Life is Fragile, Enjoy it…

By Sean Fagan
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The flames of a fire can offer comfort when needed (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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*This post contains information that some readers may find upsetting.

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Rest in Peace...

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Last week, I went to the woods to light a fire for my twenty-two year old niece who recently died in a tragic accident.

I wanted to make a small, symbolic gesture to honour her memory.

Her untimely death nailed home some important lessons for myself - one of which is that life is fragile and unpredictable.

In the context of this website - it's important that we get out there and have bushcraft and outdoor adventures with the people that are dear to us.

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Shelter Maintenance…

By Sean Fagan
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Improvised tarp shelter made from discarded sheet of plastic. Note stash of dry firewood under tarp - always good to plan ahead (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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TARP SHELTER TIPS

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There would seem to be a trend among some bushcrafters to leave permanent shelters in the woods for repeated visits.

Each to their own.

With bushcraft becoming ever more popular - it's becoming increasingly more common to come across various natural and man-made outdoor shelters scattered throughout many, often remote wild places.

Learn why I think this practice is generally bad for wild places - and also bad for shelters (such as tarps)...

...and why shelter maintenance is an important, often underrated, outdoor living skill...

How to make a Walking Staff

By Sean Fagan
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Measuring up...about to cut a willow branch to the correct length for a walking staff (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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I've used walking staffs for years and rate them very highly.

I consider a walking staff to be a surprisingly versatile outdoor aid for bushcrafters, hikers and pretty much anybody that likes walking in nature.

With experience, a good staff can be easily and quickly made from any suitable tree branch in as little as 5-10 minutes.

Learn why a walking staff is useful for the outdoors - and how to make a great walking staff in 3 easy steps...

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Grounded in Nature…

By Sean Fagan.
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A feeding, male COMMON BLUE butterfly (Polyommatus icarus), (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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An Encounter with Nature...

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A few days ago, before the date of this post, something special occurred.

While walking late at night on a quiet city road, I came across a mother red fox with her three cubs.

Learn more about my personal encounter with nature and what fox cubs and prehistoric cave art have in common...

and why being grounded in nature is important.

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Tree of the Druids…

By Sean Fagan
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On the foothills of the McGillicuddy Reeks, Southwest Ireland - the beautiful, creamy-white blossom of ROWAN, Sorbus aucuparia (Photo: Sean Fagan). 

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TREE OF THE DRUIDS

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The rowan was held in high esteem in the past as indicated by one of its Irish names, Fid na nDruad - Tree of the Druids.

Of all the native trees in Ireland, it's the diminutive rowan that has attained some of the greatest corpus of lore associated with any native tree.

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Urban Wild Plants

By Sean Fagan
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Waste ground at dusk, Dublin, Ireland (Photo: Sean Fagan).

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A while back I visited some urban waste ground near the centre of Ireland's capital city, Dublin - with the aim of photographing some wild urban plants.

I really enjoyed my time there and compiled a small, photographic sample of the wild plants I came across.

Some of the plants I photographed are native - some are not. Some are edible, some even have medicinal qualities (*I don't recommend the consumption of urban wild plants).

Whether you're a bushcrafter, keen botanist, naturalist or a wanderer of nature - there is a deep well of floral riches in some of the most desolate of natural settings - such as cities.

This nails home an essential truth - bushcraft is not just confined to the rolling hills and verdant forests from near or faraway lands.

Urban plants persist pretty much everywhere - and can provide us with a wonderful source of nature-inspiration in urban areas.

Just as importantly  - for the bushcrafter living in a town or city (with limited free time to visit wild places) - urban plants can provide us with a convenient means to sharpen our plant identification skills.

Why? Because most the wild plants that inhabit urban areas also dwell in rural and wild areas.

Hope you enjoy my photos...

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