Sunday after Boxing Day and what could be nicer than taking your daughter to the woods to share the day and and practice a bit of bushcraft? She’s one of those practical girls that likes to get involved but hasn’t had many opportunities to visit in the past. It was going to be a special occasion for us both and turned out to be a lovely and memorable day. The weather was cold but fine. We put some bird food out and watched the little birds flocking in to feed, then onto the first exercise. Show her how to make a fire, gathering and processing materials then get an ember going from a flint and steel set. It only took a couple of strikes and she was away, blowing it into flame then building a fire for a brew.

We had a bit of a walkabout, then my surprise plan was to find a suitable straight but forked hazel rod to make a walking staff for her. I let her choose, then cut one and we practiced some simple carving on scraps. She can take it home and carve some designs on it later. It was soon time for lunch – veggie sausage and egg sarnies.

I collected some logs to take home and left her to have a wander and take some photos. These are all ones she took on her phone. I found her later staggering back to the car with a huge log she had found from my last visit’s felling session. She had no idea what she was going to do with it, she just liked it and wanted to take it home. We had a walk over to a neighbour’s plot to see his fantastic cabin and workshop and before we knew it, it was time to pack up again and head home. A nice relaxed and fun day out and a bit of dad and daughter bonding. What could be better? Here are a few more of her photos.