I had a brilliant experience on the Bushcraft Fundamentals course. Great instructors (Wayne, Josh, and Luke) and an immersive experience that builds as the week progresses. Looking forward to the Journeyman course hopefully in the near future. Be sure to pack leather gloves for when those blisters arrive!

I attended the bushcraft fundamentals - it was a great course, I learned so much and had a great time with everyone. It was the perfect balance of learning and practice and I'm so glad I went. I'm looking forward to the journeyman course!

Such an amazing nature, location(s), program, instructors & great group of people! What an experience & memories! Hard to put into words; seeing is believing

Fantastic course with great leadership. Although the course is tough and very fast paced, we learnt so many new skills to practice and use in the future. Amazing seeing clear water in our Gypsy well. Lots of practice now for the Journeyman. Many thanks to the whole Woodlore team

I''ve just completed my Fundamental Bushcraft course with Woodlore. It was a very well structured, planned, and carried out training. Wayne, Dee and James were excellent instructors. They were always patient, clear, enthusiastic and encouraging. The whole week was very practical and intense. Everyday I had many opportunities to learn and apply new skills. Ray Mears visited us twice and shared his knowledge and experience which made the course even better : ) I now have much more confidence in doing multi-day expeditions in nature. I recommend it to all nature lovers who are ready to leave their comfort zones, and explore their potential. One of the best courses I have ever attended (and I have attended many!) Thank you dear Wayne, James, Dee and Ray.

I have just returned from the August Fundamental Bushcraft training 2023 and I feel like a changed person for the better. It''s like the course has imbedded a stronger sense of self-worth and confidence. I''d like to thank the wonderful team of Instructors, Wayne, Dee and James. Their enthusiasm and wealth of knowledge of Bushcraft was and is inspiring me to learn more after the course, helping me to practice my new skills and build on them, making them a part of my life and way of thinking. I am also looking into further courses for next year. Thank you to all three of you.

An amazing, intense, course that I can�t recommend enough. Learning new skills outside while getting to know some lovely people over a campfire is a week fantastically spent. I learnt so much about bushcraft that I see forests totally differently now and am excited—and confident in myself—to go on some solo camping trips. I would like maybe some more foraging on the course, but it would be hard to make the time with all the other things we learn. The Woodlore team are wonderful and help you to push yourself in a very patient and kind way, as well as being passionate and knowledgeable in the subject. I can�t wait to do the journeyman course next year. Thanks a lot Brian, Callum, and Dee, who all made my week. And thanks to Ray for teaching us to cook salmon over a fire and letting me play with his dog.

Knowledgeable instructors, nice location, full on schedule, a good course for a complete beginner. However, I felt the attitude from the instructors was “it''s Ray�s way or no way”. Generally I have found Woodlore and its staff to be pretentious.

Very enjoyable and well planned course. Steve, Brian and James passed on some valuable skills to spend multiple days out in the woods in comfort. The attention to detail is everything and without the guidance of an experienced eye correcting as you learn you may not even notice your errors. Highly recommend whether you spend lots of time outdoors or not.

A great week. Demanding and with very little free time but jam packed full of instruction. The three instructors were clearly incredibly experienced and able to demonstrate skills we were trying to learn in sufficient detail and with a level of humour or pace that maintained our attention. I was impressed too with the level of organisation between the instructors. Perhaps a little more time to practice some of the skills would be the only slight criticism but this would have to be at the sacrifice of another activity. Overall an intense and very rewarding week which I�d certainly recommend.

This was a great experience. I learned a lot: we covered a lot. However this did mean that it was a bit intense for me. We normally started at 8:30 and didn�t finish until 7pm or even later (after which you often need to cook, wash etc). If you are really into this kind of thing (surviving in the wild, bushcraft, expeditions) and want to learn as much as possible then I think you might really appreciate it though.
The location was beautiful, the staff were generally good and some were great, and they really want you to learn what they�re teaching you.

A great experience, and some day the things I learnt might come in handy, or even save my life. I certainly feel more confident about going into the wild now.

Thanks everyone.

Fantastic experience well worth it. Granted it was a bit harder than I expected and a bit more demanding but awesome. The team was smashing and very helpful and I learned a lot of things. Now every time I walk through the woods/forest I look and see things differently. I loved it that much I''ve booked up the Journeyman course so if you are into this sort of thing give it a go. You can''t go wrong.

A really good course covering a wide variety of topics in depth, on our course we did everything from carving our own spoon to making a snare. Thanks to our instructors Steve, Callum, and James who proved endlessly knowledgeable.

Absolutely fantastic, highly recommend.

Fantastic course. A jam packed agenda full of interesting and challenging activities that really do lay the foundations for wilderness survival. Excellent teachers. Exceptionally well organised with a constant eye on covid-safety. Would highly recommend it.

We''ve just got back from the fundamental bushcraft course and apart from the fact that it had to end :-( the course was absolutely fantastic. All too often instructors are underskilled and/or jaded but Dave, Nick and Wayne were just amazing. We both really appreciated their approach to teaching which was really thoughtful, well structured, enthusiastic and non-patronising. We were very impressed by the pace and progression that was built into the course which allowed a lot of content to be covered with just enough time to practice whilst never feeling rushed.
We''ve done a fair bit of "outdoor stuff" over the years including cycling to China from the UK, climbing, hiking, sailing etc and we came on this course because we have become increasingly obsessed with just how utterly disabled/disconnected from reality modern life" has made most of us. I''ve come away from the course with a feeling that I''ve got even more to learn than when I started...which is inspiring. It was also just fantastic (if rather nerve wracking) to have a camp inspection by Ray!"

Many thanks to the Woodlore Team for the Fundamental Bushcraft course my son Pierre attended last week.
Pierre was delighted by the course. He said that the instructors not only obviously love what they do, but also obviously love teaching their skills ... and I agree, having attended courses in the past years!
Thanks again

Dear Woodlore Team,
what a fantastic week I''ve had on the course. I feel like I''ve learned so much in a week of graft and good humour.
Dave, Wayne and Nick were total professionals throughout and created a real atmosphere for learning. They clearly knew their stuff and were approachable and patient with everyone.
Rays visits and wisdom were the cherry on the cake.
I would definitely recommend Woodlore to anyone interested in learning these skills.
Thanks again

I attended a Fundamental Bushcraft Course last week and just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the team for their guidance, support and enthusiasm. A real credit to Woodlore and themselves!!
Can you please pass on mine and my brother''s thanks especially to Nick, who I know helped Matt out a great deal when he was having a bit of a difficult time. Unfortunately we didn''t get the chance to say thank you & goodbye to him in person on Saturday.
It''s a bit weird being back at work in the real world today, but we''ve got some great new skills and memories to take forward with us.
Thanks again

Held in a beautiful private estate with a well run main camp, the course was well set up to engender the feel of an expedition. All the activities were achievable with the requisite determination and help of the teaching staff who were always friendly and approachable. The food was excellent and varied and the course is a definite step up from trying to glean info from books, my only regret is not taking more notes and photos!

I attended the June 2017 Fundamental Bushcraft Course. I had intended to do this review after the course, when all was fresh in my mind, but just got too busy. I am now preparing to attend another course with Ray Mears Bushcraft, so I feel I should offer some insight to folks possibly considering attending a Woodlore Course. Since I am a military service member, I will do this in a simple AAR (after action review) Sustain and Improve format.

5W�s (Who, What, Where, When, Why):
Who - Myself
What - Attend Ray Mears Fundamental Bushcraft Course
Where - SE England, near Tunbridge Wells, UK
When - June, 2017
Why - To improve my outdoor skills and learn from professionals in the Bushcraft field

SUSTAIN:
1. Quality of instruction- I cannot tell you how pleased I was with the instructors. Humble, knowledgeable and extremely patient. They were parents, guides, teachers, nurses, saviors and Chefs all in one. Tom, Sarah and Wayne are all supremely qualified in their own ways, but all with the working knowledge as Fundamental Bushcraft instructors (which I now know to be a difficult and time intensive process with R.M.). I have met many instructors in my military career and even rated many of those, but I would put them in the top 10% of all I have dealt with. As an instructor myself, I spent some time with each of them in the evening discussing the art of instruction, and due to a couple of issues with students, how to deal with these issues. Professionals to the core, to me they are the best part of a Woodlore Course. They rotate instruction of various classes, but are all there to assist the students once you move into the hands on phase of each class.

2. Location - The location is amazing. You would never know you are in busy SE England. Only the occasional sound of a car or plane (a wonderful flyover of a Spitfire!) was even heard during the week, and mostly when we were on the periphery of the property. You will experience so many micro climates (that may not be the right term) you will not believe possible in just a few hundred acres. The terrain is diverse, hilly, and challenging. You will be amazed. You will see lots of wildlife and probably have them visit you in the night (had a Badger wonder up to me to say hello).

Steve, Dave and Tom delivered such a massive amount of information in a brilliantly delivered fashion, easy to understand, challenging, but rewarding as well. To come and do this course was one of the best decisions I''ve made in years, it gives you a better perspective of the world around you, and how much there still is to learn along the bushcraft path. Doing this has given me drive to want to learn more, and develop the skills I was taught so well on the course.
Everything provided in terms of equipment was in perfect condition, the camp was well managed, the food available was great, (I felt better for it at the end of the week!) and the rest of the crowd on the course where good fun to share the experience with, all from different walks of life, with a genuine desire to be a part of what we were all experiencing.
The estate is beautiful, with the wildlife that can be seen, and such a diverse range of trees and plants for us to learn about. All of the sites we bivvied at were great, and I had some of the most peaceful nights'' sleep in a long time out in those woods.
Thank you to Steve, Dave, Tom, the rest of the Woodlore team, and Ray for making such a great experience available to all, and inspiring me to begin my journey along the bushcraft path.

I attended the Bushcraft course last week and just wanted to thank you all for one of the most fantastic weeks that I have spent with other people.

I have blisters on my "knife hand", a swollen knee, smoky clothes and a song in my heart! Almost every moment of the week was full of information and opportunities to practically learn sustainable skills. The instructors were not only knowledgeable and passionate about their subject, but also skilled in group dynamics and guided us to form a supportive team that allowed us to learn and have a great deal of fun. Their style promoted hard work but was tinged with good humour and they were always prepared to explain again and again and to help whenever it was needed.

My D of E colleagues have teased me for years about having Ray Mears as a hero and yet being the only one among us who has not had the opportunity to meet him. They decided that the epitaph on my gravestone would be "the only person not to have met Ray Mears"! I was so chuffed to put that right on an incredibly wet and windy dark end to day one of our "expedition". It was pure magic and I won''t forget that evening! It was amazing that Mr Mears would put himself out to visit us in such wet conditions and I would like to thank him very much.

If it is possible, please thank Keith, Dave and Nick for their generosity in sharing their philosophy and love for the environment through which we journeyed together. I hoped so much to be able to light a fire with a bow drill, having tried for years from reading books, and I really appreciated their delight in my success. Please tell Keith that my spoon is now complete and that I love it!

Thank you again for all your help to enable this to happen.

Just a short note to thank all of your team for an excellent Fundamental Bushcraft Course which was run from the 30th July until the 5th August.

My son, Matthew, and I attended the above course and it proved to be all that was promised in the literature and much, much more. The leaders of the course Keith, Dave and Nick were excellent in presenting material and encouraging everyone to get involved in an experiential way — they showed us what to do and how to do and then let us ‘do it for ourselves�. The way the course was run, the content of the course and the friendliness of your staff made this an experience we will not forget and I�m sure we will be ‘out in the woods� again in the near future. I know I speak for Matthew and myself in saying that the ‘test� of knowledge gained during the course on the Saturday morning was an excellent way to reinforce what we had learned.

All in all it was a great experience which Keith, Dave and Nick led in an excellent manner — can you please pass on our thanks to them. We will be back for more Woodlore in the near future.

A life changing experience for me. I learned so much, not only from the friendly expert instructors, but also from the other course participants. I felt supported and encouraged even though I struggled and was often one of the slowest to complete tasks. I loved every minute of it, and I took away so much more besides the obvious practical skills learned. Highly recommended for anyone with even the slightest curiosity about bushcraft!

This was a fantastic course that I would highly recommend going on. Tom, Sarah and Wayne were really supportive and put a huge amount of effort into teaching us, this really showed in the good organisation of the course and the number of activities we did. Having known very little about bushcraft on arrival at the course I feel I have strong foundations to continue learning with and I can''t wait to get back outdoors! Thanks!