Sunday 4th June 2006

Off to Lowt’s woods today with a very warm sun on my back. At last the weather has broken and there is clear sky with a mid morning temperature of 22 degrees. I travelled light today with just a day sack containing packed lunch, water and hammock. My ever present shoulder “possibles” bag contained the normal tools of saw, crook knife and Frost’s clipper, as well as the inevitable camera and binoculars. When I’m in more public woods, I tend to keep my knife in my rucksack or at least well hidden. People tend to view knives very suspiciously. At the moment there is a UK knife amnesty where people can hand in knives without the fear of prosecution. After this, the police will clamp down on anyone carrying a knife in a public place.

It’s a shame that the UK has got to this state of affairs, however there is too much violence everywhere (not just in the cities) where a knife has been used as a weapon. One can argue that anything can be used as a weapon, but there does seem to be a growing knife “culture”. I won’t argue with the law, but I will strongly defend my legal defence of “reasonable excuse” to carry my knife when using it for bushcraft. I won’t tempt fate by overtly wearing it on a belt or in a neck sheath when I’m more likely to bump into other members of the public.

Lowt’s wood is more used (but not extensively) by the public than my normal bushcraft haunts. The recent rain had caused the stream to fill and I couldn’t resist trying some of the cool clear water. I chose a spot where the shingle had filtered out any mud. I examined the water and it was clear. I certainly would have risked drinking it in an emergency situation, and I would have certainly used it for a brew. On this occasion, a sip was good enough.

I reached my planned spot which was where only recently there was a carpet of bluebells. The glade now provided an ideal spot for a bit of bushcraft. The sun was streaming through the trees, but filtering enough out to make the spot cool. I slung the hammock and considered the knots I was using. Last week on my 24 hour excursion, I tried out a new knot. I was very skeptical when someone suggested tying a normal bow (like the one you tie your shoelaces with). I had attempted to learn a few new knots, but I do find learning them quite difficult. have previously just relied on Risk’s improved hammock knot. Today again, I tried out the simple bow. I took the two pieces of tape from the end of the hammock and “hugged” the tree passing the tapes around the tree and bringing it to the front. The trick is to tie the bow under the tape.

Again, it seemed to work with not an inch slippage despite a relatively smooth tree. I am convinced. Nice and simple. The tarp is another matter, and I’ll explain that another day.

The rest of my time in “bluebell glade” was spent fashioning another small spoon. I becoming a bit of a spoon freak. This one is much smaller and more of a scoop. I’ll post a picture when it’s finished. I saw little in the way of wildlife on this trip. Maybe it was just too hot. There was an abundance of Red Campion about. Coming out of the woods, I took stock of a typical view of the East Anglian English countryside.