The Bushcraft Show 2024

The Bushcraft Show 2024

I first heard about Bushcraft Magazine's 'Bushcraft Show' from the Wodesman Podcast (shout-out to Tom and Liam!) last year, and although I couldn't go in 2023 due to other plans, I found myself watching lots of YouTube videos many of the people who did go, and I made a mental note that I had to go next year. Fast forward to January 2024, and I was on their website, buying tickets, and already mentally planning the trip. I chose the weekend ticket that included camping, as I really wanted to take my hammock and camp in the woodland on site after seeing so many people doing this on YouTube. At first I wasn't sure if I'd be going on my own, as I didn't know if anyone that I'd usually camp with would fancy going to the show, but I extended the invite to my dad, and being a camping nut himself, he was only too happy to join me for three nights of woodland hammock camping (I think the show was just an added bonus for him).

Eventually the 23rd of May rolled around, and I was packing my rucksack after work, following the checklist on my phone that I'd been putting together for the last week. I was planning on using my DD superlight jungle hammock, but I also packed my recently purchased OEX Bush Pro Bivvi, in the hope that the show would provide the perfect opportunity to test out some new gear (this unfortunately didn't happen). Unlike backpack wild camping, I didn't really need to worry about the bag weight too much, as I wouldn't be carrying it too far from the car, and by the time my bag was packed, it looked like the backpack of Samwise Gamgee, with smaller bags and even a frying pan clipped on to the outside. Packing light, I was not.

Friday - Bags, beer, and meat-filled cool box loaded into the car, we left for Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, and arrived on site after a reasonably quiet hour and a half drive. If it wasn't for the bright orange show signs, the entrance would've looked like any other farm track into a field. Hi-vis clad show staff guided us to the queue which would take us to the woodland camping car park, and I couldn't wait to jump out of the car, grab my bag, and head off into the woods to find that perfect spot. Although we had arrived at the gates only five minutes after the Friday opening time, the line of cars was already sizeable, and we slowly crawled over the uneven grassy track, until we finally came to the edge of the woodland. We grabbed only what was needed immediately, and headed off into the trees. I was surprised by how many people were already there - every spot we came to was already occupied, forcing us to go deeper into the woods, until eventually the camps became sparser and we found a flat spot, that wasn't too muddy, and most importantly, had four hammock-supporting trees.

We set to work tying ridgelines, draping tarps and hanging hammocks, until we had the framework for what would be our home for the next three nights. So far, May had been a pretty poor affair weather wise, and the ground was starting to show this, as every footprint we made left the ground a little more muddy and slippery. I tried to make a very rough kind of flooring by spreading out thin branches underneath my hammock, which unfortunately was ineffective, whilst my hammock neighbour/father simply unrolled and pegged down his DD magic carpet - I could not hide my envy. 

Being the Bushcraft show, it would've been wrong if we hadn't bush-crafted at least some of the components of our camp, and so we started with something the muddy floor had made essential, and that we hadn't brought with us - seating! We pulled a dead log over to our camp, about a handspan in diameter, and sat it on a smaller, perpendicular log at each end, raising the seat up to a more reasonable height. Then, we carved out two flat (ish) surfaces out of the top of the log with my axe, and to finish it all off, we slid it back towards a tree, keeping the whole assembly fixed from moving backwards once sat upon. Initially we were really pleased with our craft, but as time went on, I found the hard wooden surface uncomfortable and ended up sat on the cool box mostly. Next time I find myself without a seat, I would like to try a paracord camp chair, after seeing some at the show.

When we had arrived, we had been told that the show arena opened later that evening, not with all the trade stands, but the food stands would be open, as well as the bars and a few talks would be taking place on the main stage. So after setting up, we walked down though the woods, and across the fields to get our first look at 2024s Bushcraft Show. Although the arena is modestly sized, it still sports a great selection of food and bar vendors, and many of the trade stands were starting to setup, so we could get a good look at what we could peruse tomorrow at the show. It was really nice to be in a place with so many like minded people - everyone was wearing at least one piece of olive green or camo clothing, and many were sporting axes, saws, and knives. But like minded definitely didn't mean the same in this case; the show had attracted people from all walks of life, ranging from clean cut ex-forces types, bro-halla Vikings with long hair, beards and tattoos, and hippies in bright clothing with epic dreadlocks. All the faces were smiling, and it was clear that everyone felt this was a place to relax and enjoy. I've sometimes felt that this kind of camping and Bushcraft was almost an obscure hobby to have, but here, it couldn't have felt more normal.  

After a good mooch around, mentally planning where to prioritise visiting the next day, we headed back to camp for dinner - BBQ chicken thighs in a piri rub, with buttery potatoes - who says camping always has to be roughing it? We didn't end up going back into the arena on the first night, instead deciding to spend the evening at our camp, enjoying beers around a fire, whilst hearing the far off music from the live entertainment. Although I had gotten a pretty good hang on my hammock, I unfortunately didn't sleep too well that night, as some of our neighbours played loud music and sang along loudly until the early hours of the morning. I seriously hoped that they didn't plan on doing this every night!

The next morning, feeling far from well rested, I set about making a cup of coffee. I had brought my little gas stove with me, and had I used this I could've been enjoying a hot brew within mere minutes - but this was the Bushcraft show, so naturally, I lit a fire in the BBQ carved a wooden pot stand, and brewed it cowboy style. The coffee was followed by a hearty cooked breakfast, after which we headed out for the first official day of the show.

Once in the show, I felt like a child on Christmas morning - there was almost too much choice! From knife shops to military surplus, camping equipment and clothing, there was a seemingly endless supply items that I NEEDED! If one came to the show with a big enough budget, you could leave with a whole car full of excellent gear. So many of the vendors supply hand crafted tools and gear, much of it made in the UK, it was really impressive to behold. We walked around, dipping into nearly every stand for at least a look, and sometimes we'd be lucky enough to observe an ongoing workshop, including knife sharpening, fire lighting, butchery and forging. We'd gotten lucky with the weather too, and it was a warm, sunny day.

I always find it interesting how so many different interests can cross-over within bushcraft, and the event showcased this really well, having elements of history, prehistory, 4x4 overlanding, music and various different cultures that all seem to tie together within the bushcraft community.

I visited the DD stand and purchased their Magic Carpet XL, which made a great addition to my tarp and hammock setup, especially later in the weekend when the weather wasn't so dry, and it kept myself and my gear off of the floor, away from the mud (and many slugs). One stand that immediately grabbed my attention was a mead seller, whose marketing consisted of an Anglo-Saxon helmet, viking-esque drinking horns, and a huge Amon-Amarth banner. I tried some mead, which was beautiful, as mead usually is, and unfortunately I never got to go back to buy a bottle, although this did help me to save some money, as it was not a cheap beverage choice!

There was a timetable of scheduled talks on both the main stage as well as a smaller secondary stage that spanned the whole weekend, and I'm not even sure if it would have been possible to try and see every talk listed as well as take in everything else that the show had to offer, so I looked at the list to take note of some of the talks that I would definitely like to see, and the one that I was most excited for was Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen, a Norwegian author and YouTuber, who was on the smaller stage. I have followed Bjorn's various channels for at least four years now, and getting to see him stood in front of me was fantastic, I was embarrassingly a little star struck. He had a very calm demeanor, which he managed to maintain even whilst discussing serious and tedious topics on stage. I wanted to say hello to him at various points of the show, as he was camped fairly close to us, but I also felt that I didn't want to disturb him, so I never got the chance - always next year!

On both the Saturday and the Sunday evening of the show we went back into the arena after our dinner to sit in front of the main stage and watch the live music. There was a different band on both nights, as well as a solo singer, and although I can't remember either of the band names, nor that of the singer, they were all impressive, and played crowd rousing songs that the audience loved. It felt like being at a small, very relaxed festival.

After retracing our steps in the main arena on Sunday morning, to see if we had left any stone unturned over the last few days, we made our way to the main stage, which was gradually getting busier and busier as people prepared to see what was probably considered the main event of the weekend by many - Ray Mears' talk. For so many of us in the UK, Ray Mears was our first introduction to bushcraft, via his popular BBC TV shows. I still remember watching him with my dad when I was young, crafting everything from baskets to canoes from little more than humble birch bark. We found an empty bench with a good view of the stage and settled in for the talk. It seemed to go by fast, and Ray covered a range of different topics, gave some commentary on the uncertainty of current times, and answered questions from the audience. 

We enjoyed one more night in our woodland camp, with the essential beers and barbeque, and then just like that, my first Bushcraft show was drawing to a close. The following morning entailed breaking camp, packing our bags, and then carrying all of our gear through the now extremely muddy woodland foot paths. There was a few close calls, but I managed to escape the woods without falling flat on my arse in the mud, and more or less unscathed! In addition to this, we also managed to get off the site before the exits became even more churned up by spinning wheels - something we were both grateful for, as pushing a two tonne SUV was the last thing we wanted that morning!

We had a great time at 2024s Bushcraft show, it was unlike anything that I have ever experienced before. So many like minded individuals gathered in one place created a great atmosphere, and I can't wait to do it all again next year. Thank you for reading this post, if you would like to find out more about the show please follow the link below:

https://thebushcraftshow.co.uk/