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In Search Of Truth
08-09-2011, 11:40 AM
Firstly i'd like to thank natural bushcraft for all your time and effort, this site and your youtube vid's are top notch couldn't be better.
You love what you do and thats rare it show's in your vids aswell, there enjoyable, informative and crystal clear so thanks natural bushcraft and well done.:happy-clapping:

I have a question, do you guy's think its possible to survive healthily solely on wild food's?

JEEP
08-09-2011, 02:00 PM
Indeed, our ancestors did so - with enough succes for us to be here today :)

With the correct knowledge and skills it is definitely possible to live healthily from the wild land - but it will probably take a modern person years to obtain said knowledge and skills.

Another issue is the fact that gathering food and hunting is regulated by various laws. You would need a hunting license and access to a piece of privately owned land, large and varied enough to source the different foods and materials necessary for us to live healthily.

comanighttrain
08-09-2011, 02:43 PM
If one decided to leave society one could easily survive year round outside...tramps do it...and a sober person could probably do it better. As for food, I doubt you'd be able to live off the land as easily... a coastal region would certainly improve chances though

Martin
08-09-2011, 03:12 PM
I'd disagree that it could be done 'easily' but I'm sure it can be done. Not sure I want to find out though. :(

Martin

Realearner
08-09-2011, 03:35 PM
I think anything can be done, it depends on how much you like the trappings of our modern society.
If I had to I would, and most likely end up enjoying the struggle, but to chose to do it is a different matter unless there are some rewards at the end, T.V. Show sponsorship etc etc.

Matt
08-09-2011, 05:00 PM
I certainly do think it's possible but as Martin rightly said, not easy. It's a very good question and quite uncanny as I've only yesterday ordered a book that Ashley is currently reading http://www.theomnivore.co.uk/Book/Classification/Non_fiction/Genre/Food_Drink/3551-The_Wild_Life_A_Year_of_Living_on_Wild_Food/Default.aspx I would imagine a lot of your time, if not most of it would have to be dedicated to this task.

Regards,

Matt.

LandRoverMatt
08-09-2011, 08:48 PM
of course like jeep said really but may not hve the skills now to do it as well

In Search Of Truth
08-09-2011, 09:36 PM
@JEEP- I was thinking the same, Although products are not as good as they could be (thanks to the cost production basis) we surely have better equipment than our ancestors.
Unfortunatly i am a modern man, im 22 and most of my meal's have come from the fridge etc but ive spent the last year training, researching and learning about the skill's and knowledge needed to survive in the wild.
The laws are not yet to restricting well for forageing atleast.

@Martin- I doubt there's many who would, Society today is very status oriented as 'Realearner' demonstrates perfectly, people seem incapable of doing anything without reward, praise or attention from others.
I was the same, the box i put my mind in consisted of how i look, what people thought of me, quantity of material possession's etc.
Then the box started to feel small so i sought to escape it and when i did i realised that i didn't want to sell my life at an hourly rate in order to live in a box drive a box, watch box's, converse with other box user's about there box's through various different box's.
I would imagine it's quite a terrifying prospect for the average joe lol.

@Matt- i might have to give that i read aswell looks quite interesting. Im not looking for easy infact i believe difficulty and struggle are a necessary to life, how else would we know what easy was without difficult to compare to, i think our lives would be how we see the live's of cow's just emotionless drab lol.
Im going to try it next aprilish, untill then constant research the more i know the less i have to carry.
i just wish i'd found this site earlier, i had started making a food diary organised by month researching each individual plant, then i find natural bushcraft and you guy's have done it all for me lol absolute treasure chest of knowledge here, i watched all the vids in 1 day aswell.

P.S. That was a bit longer than intended i do apologise.

Tony1948
08-09-2011, 11:22 PM
I think you could,I did in my uoof I walked from St ives back to Essex took me 2 mouths living off the land the only thing I stoll I think where eggs did'ant tuch the jorcks unless i ad matches or lighter to light a fire.Iwas given some food by peaple I mete along the rout and a bite of road kill when i ad the meens to lite a fire.All i ad was a sleeping bag and an amy poncho.Eat a lot of un cooked veg more ofston,but made it,the only time i got pulled by the old bill was about a mile from my home and the b*"stard still did'ant give me a liffst home,mind you my mum would'ant let me in the house till next morning she made me sleep in the shed then get the garden hose out strip and wosh befor i could go back into the famley home.So i think you could make it.I think it was when I was about 17,and I did'ant get eaten by the bears...............TONY.

Proventurer
09-09-2011, 06:48 AM
Well if the ancient Mayans were even half right with their predictions, then come 21/12/2012 you might just find out!

Raven
10-09-2011, 12:05 PM
its a very interesting question, one that most of us have thought about more than once i'm sure, i think that it is possible, difficult and lonely, but possible, our modern world will hinder the free spirited just because thats how large societies work, they are trying to box us, as thats the best way to control us, and in societies you need control of your population, the alternative would be anarchy.

i work with animals, specifically dogs, and a good way to look at it is this, would you take your little pet and throw him out in the wild alone and expect him to live as a wild animal? survive maybe but live? some breeds would have more luck than other as some more resourceful humans would, but we have been domesticated just like out pets so most would just survive and not really live.

in the uk tho do we sill have the space and the clean enviroment that could sustain a healthy life? it would depend on weather you can find that enviroment in the uk i think. not an easy task.

but i wish you all the luck in the world.

paul

In Search Of Truth
12-09-2011, 12:47 PM
@Tony1948- Sound's like fun, quite brave aswell being only 17! its not bears im worried about, staple carbohydrates is my main concern.

@Proventurer- Kind of hard to believe although einstein said that if the bee's disappear man would have four years to live, bee numbers started dropping in 2008 i think lol.

@Raven- Thats a good way of looking at it, we adapt to our enviroment quite quickly hypertrophy or muscle growth is a good example.
Clean enviroment's will be tricky as i plan to travel, luckily a quick google search show's there's stiill quite alot of fresh springs around the country.

Proventurer
12-09-2011, 01:28 PM
As an afterthought, why don't you try contacting, Hugh fearnley-Whittingstall on this subject, he is something akin to a boffin on the topic.

Realearner
12-09-2011, 05:44 PM
As much as I love Hugh fernley-whitingstall and the way the man has brought some education to the general public, not sure I would want him in a live/survive situation, but give me Ray Mears, Les Stroud and the like any day.
Actually, if I really think about it if it all goes pear shaped do you think we on this site should have a grand plan and meeting spot. What a great way to survive with like minded people. All the skills and knowledge available.
So Ashley let's get a grand plan together !!!!

jus_young
12-09-2011, 09:35 PM
Got my place sorted and knowone is sharing :guns: :p

In Search Of Truth
16-09-2011, 10:47 AM
Has anyone tried the karrimor sf sabre 80-130 or the lowe alpine saracen?

Proventurer
22-09-2011, 01:15 PM
Ok,
Now I'm confused, the Mayans were even half - what?????????????????????????

Martin
22-09-2011, 01:22 PM
Ok,
Now I'm confused, the Mayans were even half - what?????????????????????????

Don't be confused mate, it was a dirty filthy spammer, using this great forum to advertise their rubbish. All gone now and banned for life. :)

Martin

Proventurer
22-09-2011, 01:55 PM
Yeah,
Thanks for that Martin, I keep forgetting about nonsense like that, Spam to me was something that came out of a tin and went on bread, it became even more famous once the "Monty Python" team did their sketch, pity these modern day spammers don't have a sense of humour and what is right and wrong!

comanighttrain
22-09-2011, 02:08 PM
They actually destroyed a forum I had for programming students... hadn't been on it for a few month and the spambots had got past CAPTCHA and just had a field day... nightmare.... 10 gigabytes of textual data....

Proventurer
22-09-2011, 02:29 PM
Ouch!
Much like the cretins who took it upon themselves to hack in to my website and left an opening page full of political and filthy language!
Had to have everything rebuilt from the ground up, do you think a couple of weeks in the bush might intstill some character in them?

comanighttrain
22-09-2011, 02:40 PM
might instill some maggots in them.....and i'm ok with that.

In Search Of Truth
23-09-2011, 11:16 PM
Now im confused, who's spamming?

andy202wr
24-09-2011, 02:56 PM
I should think that with the knowledge we gain from this site and the od books that we aquire we should be able to servive. I would hope that if the day came we would all stick together. Wont we!!!

Tony1948
24-09-2011, 04:27 PM
I'v just read Realeaners post on this thread,and yes it makes me think that us as a bunch of like minded guys we need a meet up point if the stuff hits the fan,(then martin can teetch me to spell)For us,partners,and offspring and any one els how wonts to live the life.Perhapes martin can go walkabout and find some wear for us.Sounds like a right good idea after 6 cans of cider.LoL

Martin
24-09-2011, 04:31 PM
I'v just read Realeaners post on this thread,and yes it makes me think that us as a bunch of like minded guys we need a meet up point if the stuff hits the fan,(then martin can teetch me to spell)For us,partners,and offspring and any one els how wonts to live the life.Perhapes martin can go walkabout and find some wear for us.Sounds like a right good idea after 6 cans of cider.LoL

If it hits the fan Tony, spelling will be the least of your worries. ;)

Martin

Realearner
28-09-2011, 09:05 AM
Thing is if the s#%* does hit, all communication will be of no use, so maybe we need to learn about smoke signals, or the use of signal beacons etc.
But maybe at some future meets a plan could be a topic of discussion around the camp fire.

BushcraftCambsUk
04-10-2011, 04:48 PM
I'd disagree that it could be done 'easily' but I'm sure it can be done. Not sure I want to find out though. :(

Martin

I agree with what you are saying Martin after all when our ancestors where hunter gatherers and lived off the land, pretty much all of England was a forest. Complete with bears and other wild animals that you just dont see anymore. To survive now for any length of time you would probably be fighting a very tough uphill battle. Bleak yes but true. As for smoke signals that would be an intensly bad idea because there would be plenty of people who have no idea how to live off the land so stealing from someone else would be a viable option. Smoke signals would just advertise where you are. Happy Happy Happy!

still water
20-10-2011, 10:46 AM
imo, living off the land would be a hard life in our world today, the people of the past had more wild animals to pray on, large areas of untamed land full of wild food that most people now call weeds. our ancestors would have had a mental map of were to forage and hunt and also the skills to do so past down to then by there ancestors. We have lost contact with the skills needed to live this way though some of us are trying to learn them again. simple things like only taking what is needed instead of taking all you can find so that next time there will still be something to take. were to find fresh water with all the crap that get into our water ways today. its a hard one this yes you could live from the bounty of the land but i feel as our ancestors did you would have to be nomadic and follow the bounty through the seasons. i feel to just stay in one place and live off wots around you would be very hard.

Martin
21-10-2011, 09:37 AM
Two posts deleted. Play nicely or please don't play at all!!!

Martin

happybonzo
21-10-2011, 01:08 PM
As an individual your chances would be pretty slim. As a group of people with one person being unquestioned, and there's the difficult bit, as a leader than probably "yes".
I believe that there have been similar posts on other forums about this very subject and the conclusion was that a well motivated group would survive. The individual would perish because there were not enough hours in the day to gather food, fuel, water etc

Realearner
21-10-2011, 05:12 PM
Yes smoke signals would give away your position, but it was tongue in cheek.
But yes there are cretins out there that think they are owed a living now, so same type would assume that if you had it it must be ok for them to take.
Again with the skills and knowledge I don't think they would last long or find US.
As for our ancestors having bears etc to hunt, what do you think would happen to all the exotic animals in parks?
We could end up with more choice :)

Edwin
21-10-2011, 05:33 PM
During the siege of Paris large,and small, zoo animals were eaten. But, take note, the best cuts went to the expensive restaurants. The rich were well aware, as usual, of the fact "that we are all in it together"

Urban Ninja
14-11-2011, 11:45 PM
As much as I love Hugh fernley-whitingstall and the way the man has brought some education to the general public, not sure I would want him in a live/survive situation, but give me Ray Mears, Les Stroud and the like any day.

I think I'd stick with Ray.
More meat on the bones...

Ashley Cawley
15-11-2011, 09:35 AM
Firstly i'd like to thank natural bushcraft for all your time and effort, this site and your youtube vid's are top notch couldn't be better.
You love what you do and thats rare it show's in your vids aswell, there enjoyable, informative and crystal clear so thanks natural bushcraft and well done.:happy-clapping:

I have a question, do you guy's think its possible to survive healthily solely on wild food's?

Glad you found our site and enjoy our videos! - You must have really liked them to watch them all in one day! :)

I think, Martin, Jakob, Raven & still water touched on a lot of my views nicely on this one.

I would certainly recommend the book (http://www.theomnivore.co.uk/Book/Classification/Non_fiction/Genre/Food_Drink/3551-The_Wild_Life_A_Year_of_Living_on_Wild_Food/Default.aspx) I'm going coming to the end of, he lives of wild food for a year, although he lives on a small farm he doesn't allow himself to cultivate or use agriculture, just hunting and foraging. It's a great account of what it's like to live from the land showing the ups and the downs.

Ben Casey
15-11-2011, 12:09 PM
Hi from me and I think it would be possible :)

Jack Russell
18-11-2011, 09:26 PM
Hmmm seems to me the original question was just about food but we quickly got onto living in the wild -

Accepting 2 things from Martin - his very first statement at comment number 4 and his statement that posts have been deleted and I'm to play nicely........ OK

I have 1 "qualified" view, cloud cuckoo land - why?
lets run a poll of the entire membership of this site with one question:
what is the longest consecutive run of time we have spent living outdoors supporting ourselves alone? I'm happy to answer this one, I lived homeless for three months -impressed I hear you thinking but the longest consecutive run I managed alone and in the Welsh wilderness was 17 days with a 80 litre pack and as many trappings as I could carry. It's pretty difficult to exist even on the edge of society once you start to look like a tramp and smell like an armpit. It's pretty difficult to keep "having a brew" when you have to weigh up teabags against warm clothing. It's pretty difficult to keep dipping in your rucksack for more socks because you're wearing them out with all the foraging you're doing. It's pretty difficult to make a new pair of boots because the ones you have are falling apart with all the work you're doing. It's pretty difficult to forage in 3 straight days of rain especially if you've given yourself a dose of the aztec twostep because you didn't watch the mussels/prawn/rabbit/fungus/fish/wild edibles you were cooking over your fire last night as you were exhausted from just "surviving" and reaching in your rucksack for medication does have it's limitations. It's pretty difficult when there's no methylated spirit or gas cans and so on and so forth. "Tramps" live by their wits in towns and cities - I know I've shared body heat with them and they are not generally found out in the woodland and along the coastline where people who choose to be homeless exist (again on the edge of society.
I can keep going on all night - I wish you the best of British if you choose to attempt living like a nomadic ancient in a modern world but I strongly urge you to consider that gleaning your entire knowledge from websites with memberships (and I include myself in this statement) that consist of people who have an enthusiastic interest in learning the skills which form their occasional weekend and vacation time "hobby" is perhaps not the sum total of the research you need to carry out before placing your future in the hands of one emergency service or another to get you out of the very dark place you'll quickly find yourself in.
regards Jack

Martin
18-11-2011, 10:19 PM
Totally agree with everything Jack says. Why would you want to give up the comforts of home if you don't have to?

Martin

Ben Casey
19-11-2011, 11:43 AM
Oh who needs comforts give me a hammock and I'm happy unless it rains :)

Realearner
19-11-2011, 04:07 PM
Never having been out that long I have to hand it to Jack Russell for a very open point of view. I would love to try but as usual work and family life are ever present.
I love honing my limited skills and still try and increase my knowledge and skills, just nice to do it from the warmth of my house :D
One day I may have no choice, then all my time honing skills hopefully will pay benefits.

cuppa joe
19-11-2011, 06:49 PM
well said
Hmmm seems to me the original question was just about food but we quickly got onto living in the wild -

Accepting 2 things from Martin - his very first statement at comment number 4 and his statement that posts have been deleted and I'm to play nicely........ OK

I have 1 "qualified" view, cloud cuckoo land - why?
lets run a poll of the entire membership of this site with one question:
what is the longest consecutive run of time we have spent living outdoors supporting ourselves alone? I'm happy to answer this one, I lived homeless for three months -impressed I hear you thinking but the longest consecutive run I managed alone and in the Welsh wilderness was 17 days with a 80 litre pack and as many trappings as I could carry. It's pretty difficult to exist even on the edge of society once you start to look like a tramp and smell like an armpit. It's pretty difficult to keep "having a brew" when you have to weigh up teabags against warm clothing. It's pretty difficult to keep dipping in your rucksack for more socks because you're wearing them out with all the foraging you're doing. It's pretty difficult to make a new pair of boots because the ones you have are falling apart with all the work you're doing. It's pretty difficult to forage in 3 straight days of rain especially if you've given yourself a dose of the aztec twostep because you didn't watch the mussels/prawn/rabbit/fungus/fish/wild edibles you were cooking over your fire last night as you were exhausted from just "surviving" and reaching in your rucksack for medication does have it's limitations. It's pretty difficult when there's no methylated spirit or gas cans and so on and so forth. "Tramps" live by their wits in towns and cities - I know I've shared body heat with them and they are not generally found out in the woodland and along the coastline where people who choose to be homeless exist (again on the edge of society.
I can keep going on all night - I wish you the best of British if you choose to attempt living like a nomadic ancient in a modern world but I strongly urge you to consider that gleaning your entire knowledge from websites with memberships (and I include myself in this statement) that consist of people who have an enthusiastic interest in learning the skills which form their occasional weekend and vacation time "hobby" is perhaps not the sum total of the research you need to carry out before placing your future in the hands of one emergency service or another to get you out of the very dark place you'll quickly find yourself in.
regards Jack

bushcraftboy
20-11-2011, 07:11 PM
I'd love to be able to survive a few weeks with just a knife, that would be very hard though.

Jack Russell
20-11-2011, 07:56 PM
Tell me more bushcraftboy do you mean just a knife? nothing to shelter in? no way of keeping warm? No water? Nothing to eat? totally naked, what not even a pair of pants? I'm kidding ... of course you'd have pants on.
First things first - tell me how you're going to get around the rule of 3's -
You're in South Wales, I'm in the North so we're not a million miles apart. A month from now we'll get horizontal rain and icy temperatures - once you're cold and very damp you'll have roughly 3 hours before a world of pain begins your decent into hyperthermia and you'll fall asleep. If you don't find reliable potable water within 3 days a world of pain. and in 3 weeks if you haven't found nourishment a world of pain. So with your knife and your pants what's your plan????
(and by the way congratulations for bringing a dead thread back to life - for that I'll start with a knife and my boxers that's worse than anything I've ever had to face and I'll even do it with you as a team. Over to you mate

Jack Russell
20-11-2011, 08:03 PM
A pimped firesteel for the most igenius solution to all of my team's problems as a prize from me as a gift. Well bushcraftboy it's you and I against the whole of Natural Bushcraft.
No breaking the law, and leave no trace mwhaaahaaa

Jack Russell
20-11-2011, 08:33 PM
It's too cold sat here in my pants waiting for you lot! On the seafront there are about 12 bins lined with bin liners I'm going to "borrow" 3 (emptying the contents into other bins, I'll have the bin liners back in the morning before they are missed - without a complaint, no crime has been committed). One over my head as a poncho and one wrapped around each foot I'm off up the beach. even at nine o'clock on Sunday night out of season it'll take me 40 minutes in the pitch dark to find a few scraps of clothing - messy beggars tourists they always leave trace. The best pub in the village shuts in a couple of hours, there's an outside tap and a heat exchanger for the air con in both the pub and the accomodation there'll be hot air blowing. the pub has a restaurant with a big wheelie bin outside so I might get lucky and find a couple of tin cans. There's more rubbish bags so I'm up and running. People always leave newspapers in pubs, they end up in the bins - ok a bit stinky now they've been chucked out but I've got some insulation. I need to stow some water in a piece of bin bag and knot it tight and try for a few hours head down once all goes quiet.
Now I need to think about enough rags and something on my feet to walk into town in the morning - I'm off BEGGING........... let's show 'em how tramps get by!!!!!!!! come on you slow coaches me my team mate are ahead already!!!!!

studies of survivors have shown many things - amongst them:
a sense of immediacy survivors tend to address the situation they find themselves in to overcome the initial emergency very well
positivity survivors often face their situation with a certainty that they remain in control of the circumstances they find themselves in
making light many survivors play games with themselves and those around them as a motivational aid
planning strategies survivors display the ability to make short term plans which will lead them in stages to ultimate goals; in this instance bushcraftboy wants to survive in "the bush", I don't believe we have what we yet need in order to do so therefore we need a strategy which will get us equipped and prepared to do the things bushcraftboy had in mind in the first instance. Sorry bushcraftboy you did start us off with a knife and a pair of pants mate

Jack Russell
21-11-2011, 07:09 AM
Hmmmmm 07:45 Monday morning nobody has come to rescue us or offer us assistance. It's been a cold night with drizzle, no real sleep just catnaps for a few minutes at a time. spent most of the night shivering - this is a good sign. Shivering is the body's natural mechanism of generating heat (but it does burn calories and can be quite draining physically and mentally) I don't fancy having to do that again tonight.
OK we have a knife a few binbags a small amount of water and I've found an empty chopped tomato can in the restaurant bin. we need a way to have the knife with me but not on display. Now we need a plan. Plans should always be S.M.A.R.T.
Specific they should break down steps into manageable bites
Measureable we need to know when we have achieved each step or we have reached an outcome
Achievable we're not going to be swinging from a hammock in woodland by tonight but at the same time don't set goals that will see you done with your feet up by mid morning, there's too much at stake
Results oriented wanting a pair of shoes, some trousers, a top and a cigarette lighter would be pretty good progress from where we are right now
Time based we'll have everything in our expected results list by 11:00 am this morning then we'll be able to plan our next move

Don't spend all morning planning how we're going to get to the woods with a rucksack full of bushcraft toys and do some interesting stuff just have an ultimate goal you are working logically toward. This is time for more action than planning and daydreaming about how nice it's all gonna in 3 weeks time.

rossbird
21-11-2011, 09:59 AM
Great reality check there Jack.
Hope the SAR find you both soon. For goodness sake hang on to the trousers!!!

rossbird
21-11-2011, 10:01 AM
And another thing......what did you have against Pigeons for all those years:confused2:

Jack Russell
22-11-2011, 07:04 AM
Thanks for stopping by rossbird if you've been reading up on all the posts in this thread, bushcraftboy and I could really use any help and advice that the natural bushcrafters have to offer because we've found ourselves in a bit of a mess. We've got a plan and we know where we'd like to end up but we don't know nearly enough to get by on our own so if you have any knowledge or experience of these kind of situations we'd be very grateful for your input. Please understand we're not asking you to join with us but we don't think we're gonna get by on our own.

As for pigeons, it's totally off topic, and we are a bit tied up right now but suffice to say that Rolls-Royce plc now only use oven ready chickens and dunlopillow feathers for all of their bird strike testing so pigeon fanciers need not chain themselves to the railings on sinfin in Derby any more.

Do me a favour rossbird, put the word out in the community, I know there are some bright and resourceful folks on the website - We're in big trouble here and thinking on our feet. Thanks in advance. Jack

By the way we have a plan to get some internet access today so if there are any posts on the forums that you think might help us we'd appreciate it if you'd link them in here. Every step of our adventure we're trying to get the most knowledge and experience we can so ask the guys not to run ahead please so we can soak up all the ideas and input and maybe discuss a little - but hey keep in mind bushcraftboy and I are bleddy cold, hungry and motivated so we ain't hanging around on any platforms we've got hammock swinging in the bush to do!!!!!

Jack Russell
22-11-2011, 07:43 AM
Ok on the way into town there is a charity shop that's my first port of call even though it doesn't open for another 2 hours. making the journey I get lucky (because I'm a lucky kind of chap) I find 3 of those lovely red elastic bands that postie drops in the street (don't you just love people who leave a trace) and 8 half smoked cigarette butts (I am a smoker but these are not for smoking, these are tools, I have a hunch).
Girls give things to charity shops, but sometimes while they are "having a clear out" they discard stuff we'd really like to play with (what do you mean - you threw the quality street tin away woman, I wanted that????)

A university studying luck and good fortune surveyed 1000 golfers beginning with the question "would you say you are a lucky person"
When further analysed it showed that generally pessimistic golfers who thrash the stupid white ignorant pill (yes I'm a golfer in 100% remission thanks to my shrink and strong drugs) into long grass have a mindset that they believe the ball is lost, find their belief becoming the reality more often than not. However, generally optimistic players with a lucky mindset who believe they are going to walk right up there and play on for par tend to find their ball.
The conclusion was that a positive and optimistic mindset causes more alertness and a heightening of the senses when searching for things.

Martin
22-11-2011, 07:53 AM
To the moderators: lots of things are going to happen - I'd like a pm before you take any action please, thanks in advance.

To Jack Russell: If you aren't respectful to the community here, you will be able to take your bin liners and your knife and contemplate what you are going to do with them whilst enjoying your imposed exile from Natural Bushcraft.

You won't need a PM, as I've said before, if you think your post may be unwelcome then it almost certainly is.

Martin

Jack Russell
22-11-2011, 08:23 AM
Thanks for the clarification Martin: we all know to play nicely. Now as Sherlock would say, "the games afoot"
(in my defence Martin, I was rather thinking of other people but hey, I have been warned thanks)

Martin
22-11-2011, 10:29 AM
Thanks for the clarification Martin: we all know to play nicely. Now as Sherlock would say, "the games afoot"
(in my defence Martin, I was rather thinking of other people but hey, I have been warned thanks)

Thanks Jack. As long as everyone plays nicely everything is fine. ;)

Martin

Ed101
10-01-2012, 10:58 AM
@comanightrain- Tramps don't leave society, they linger on it's outskirts. They still benefit from it. Their lives are no comparison to living in the wild. In my opinion it would be possible to live solely off wild food, however I feel you would spend so much time trying to feed yourself I doubt there would be time for anything else. It would be just as you said, surviving. It definately wouldn't be a picnic!

Fletching
11-01-2012, 01:28 AM
Whatever the situation, just make sure that you're prepared in your own mind. Confidence:

In dentibus anticis frustrum magnum spiniciae habes

;)

jus_young
11-01-2012, 04:54 PM
Nuf said :)

Edwin
11-01-2012, 05:26 PM
People have been surviving in the wild for at least 10,000 years in britain and probably many many years longer than that. There is no doubt it would be possible today IF the range one could cover and the prey available to one made it feasible. But then doesn't a commercial fisherman earn his living out in the wild by hunting? Sure he swaps the product of his catch for other things but then nobody said that our theoretical "wild" person couldn't trade.

Moderator- while making this post my AVG security reported a virus- "crosswind" something which it has been dealt with. Not been anywhere else this session.

Gaudette
15-02-2012, 08:00 PM
Found this a couple of days ago whilst surfing wilderness living. Its an interesting read.

http://www.eco-action.org/dt/wildup.html

udamiano
16-02-2012, 10:14 PM
It would be extremely difficult to say the least. You need about 1500 Calories a day just to maintain the status quo. If you add the additional work load..... and that just for summer.

In winter your calorie count will need to be much, much higher. and this is at a time when most traditional foods and plats are not available. Recently a very knowledgable and expert forager in her own right. Spent a week AT HOME living off only what she could source, and Im sure she would be the first to agree this was not an easy week, and folks the lady is an expert, and teaches foraging skills.
i've also spent weeks living off the land, and intend to also do a week in a Uk woodland, documenting the week, as the lady did the above, but in a forest. Previously all the times I've done this, the availability of enough food EACH AND EVERY DAY to provide the minimum amount of usable calories was not there. and during all the time I've done this I have also suffered from vitamin deficiency and salt deficiency, to a degree that noticeable physical and mental impairment was documented.
Both vitamins and salt which the body uses as an electrolyte are very hard to find ALL YEAR, although Vit C was the easiest to find the rest were remarkably difficult.
All to often I read about some poor person who thinks they can be like RM or BG and live of the land like they did in the Gud OL Days! Being either found dead in a Bovy in some remote moor, or being rescued by a SAR team in such a miserable state, that its took them months to recover.

I would strongly recommend that ANYONE thinking of taking on such an undertaking should spend months if not years planning it! Seek expert (I don't mean your mate down the road who's spent a week doing a Woodlore course, The poor sod on the moor had been on several courses) Advice from a person local to the area your thinking about doing this. Have an escape plan, and the means of putting this plan into action at short notice, a system of communications...etc

Please don't think that you can tough it out, and please think very hard about it before you do it!!!
and please do not take this as a criticism of anybody's skill or knowledge.

Enough said

A link to the above lady's week

http://www.bushcraftliving.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12297

Al21
17-02-2012, 12:22 PM
A good post Damian!

I agree whole-heartedly that too many folks these days seem to think that having a Ray Grylls Kochanski knife, a bergen full of wire saws and lummi sticks and a couple of courses under their belt are enough to see them right in some extreme places.

I fully recommend reading the thread by Xylaria that Damian has linked to.

Al

alvino78
17-02-2012, 07:05 PM
An interesting read and a real coversation topic, alas some rantings and some raving lol but a definate hotbed of opinions.
If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it.
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician.

The next best thing to knowing something is knowing where to find it.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) British author.