Bushcraft Magazine May Day Meet

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 May 2010 16:13 Written by Scotty Wednesday, 05 May 2010 20:23

This past weekend I spent a fantastic few days down at Egerton, Kent at the second annual Bushcraft Magazine May Day Meet. This is an annual gathering of like-minded people brought together to share skills, talk craft and swap stories. Over the weekend, which begins on the friday evening and lasts through until monday, a whole host of taster courses, mini workshops and demonstrations are laid on and everyone has a chance to participate and learn something new, or to just sit back and chill out amongst like-minded company. The May Day Meet is structured in a similar vein to the Wilderness Gathering but on a smaller, more informal scale. The event also reflects the 'back to nature' ethos of the magazine. Readers will know that The Bushcraft Magazine focuses on the traditional woodsman skills that are swifly being forgotten by an aging population, on the flora and fauna that abounds in our fields and forests and, rather than fixate on shiny kit and gear reviews, presents a naturalist's philosophy of nurturing the relationship we have with our environment and developing it into something sustainable and appreciative. Their mantra of 'reconnecting to the landscape' is one that certainly ran true for me throughout the weekend. Traditional pole-lathe demos, forging workshops, ferreting, medicinal plant talks, green wood working and foraging walks is just a taster of what was on offer throughout the weekend, all in line with the traditional, natural theme. The weekend also had a very clear emphasis on families. There were plenty of activites for the children, not to mention a large open farm to play in, and I never once saw one complaining or misbehaving, despite some pretty horrendous weather on the sunday!

Phil Brown of Badger Bushcraft ran a firelighting demo for the kids on the saturday morning that went down very well.

This was followed later in the day by a knife safety workshop and carving demo led by our very own JP that was as much for the parents as it was the children themselves!

Jason's bowdrill session was very successful, with everyone who wanted a go managing to achieve an ember, often on the first attempt!

Sunday morning was greeted with heavy showers that continued unabated right up until the early evening so plans had to be re-arranged at short notice and Steve, Huw and Paul did a fantastic behind-the-scenes job of ensuring the day was a success despite the inclement weather.

The wild cooking corner saw a flurry of activity throughout the weekend, as the visitors flocked to taste some of the culinary delights knocked up by Steve and the very knowledgeable lady who's name I did not catch with fare foraged from the surrounding area. There were hogweed flans, ramson garlic breads, nettle potato scones, fermented hogweed soups (a polish recipe I believe) and a plethora of other delicious wild appetisers being demonstrated and tasted.






Another popular attraction on the sunday was JP's game prep demo. A rabbit, a pheasant and a wood pigeon were all expertly prepped and jointed and JP went into quite extensive detail on how to best achieve this, discussing a number of methods and the merits of each.

And if that wasn't enough! Other attractions throughout the weekend were an archery and atlatl range, a fully stocked bison bushcraft kit stand, spoon and bowl carving workshops, all things fishing with John, a lifeboatman who leads the shrimping course, charcoal making and a knife sharpening surgery. Attendees were kept well-fed and watered throughout the weekend courtesy of Vince and Tracey's bushcraft BBQ, the homemade burgers were particuarly delicious!

All in all the weekend was a very enjoyable, laid back affair where you could do as much or as little as you wished, with ample opportunity to see most if not all of the taster courses and workshops at some point as all were repeated over the weekend. The downpour on the sunday didn't dampen our spirits and it turned out to be pretty inconsequential anyway. I would heartily recommend this event to all those who can make it, get it in your diaries soon as it's only going to get bigger, better and busier next year!