A Six-Month Woodland Immersion for Families. The Family Bushcraft Immersion is a long-form, carefully paced woodland programme created for families who value time, depth, and shared experience. Delivered across six extended weekends over six months, it offers the rare opportunity to step away from modern distraction and settle, gradually and confidently, into life in the woods—together.
This is not a children’s activity programme, nor a survival course adapted for families. It is a genuine immersion, shaped with care to suit mixed ages and abilities, where adults and children learn side by side. Skills are introduced thoughtfully, revisited often, and allowed to mature through use rather than instruction alone.
Drawing on the ethos and depth of our long-established Woodland Wayer programme, this immersion has been reimagined specifically for families who want continuity, progression, and meaningful time outdoors. Over the months, the woodland becomes familiar, routines develop, and confidence grows naturally.
The course takes place within our 250-acre Oxfordshire woodland, offering diverse habitats, seasonal change, and space for families to establish their own camps. As the programme unfolds, families experience the land not as visitors, but as temporary residents—learning how to live well within it.
OPTION 1:
Buy this course as a gift voucher for someone else. Valid for 18 months.
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(Minimum 2 places for family courses)
OPTION 2:
Choose the number of places, pay a deposit now and the balance 8 weeks before the course starts or pay in full now.
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(Minimum 2 places for family courses)
A Six-Month Woodland Immersion for Families. The Family Bushcraft Immersion is a long-form, carefully paced woodland programme created for families who value time, depth, and shared experience. Delivered across six extended weekends over six months, it offers the rare opportunity to step away from modern distraction and settle, gradually and confidently, into life in the woods—together.
This is not a children’s activity programme, nor a survival course adapted for families. It is a genuine immersion, shaped with care to suit mixed ages and abilities, where adults and children learn side by side. Skills are introduced thoughtfully, revisited often, and allowed to mature through use rather than instruction alone.
Drawing on the ethos and depth of our long-established Woodland Wayer programme, this immersion has been reimagined specifically for families who want continuity, progression, and meaningful time outdoors. Over the months, the woodland becomes familiar, routines develop, and confidence grows naturally.
The course takes place within our 250-acre Oxfordshire woodland, offering diverse habitats, seasonal change, and space for families to establish their own camps. As the programme unfolds, families experience the land not as visitors, but as temporary residents—learning how to live well within it.
Family Bushcraft Immersion
Woodland immersion and wilderness living skills for the whole family.
6 month duration comprising of 6 weekends.
Ethos: Time Well Spent
At the heart of the Family Bushcraft Immersion is the belief that time—unhurried, shared, and purposeful—is the greatest luxury a family can give itself.
Each weekend follows a gentle rhythm of arrival, settlement, learning, practice, and reflection. Skills are introduced in ways that respect both physical ability and emotional readiness, particularly where food preparation and wildlife are concerned. Participation is always by choice, and families are supported to engage at a level that feels appropriate for them.
As confidence grows, instructor involvement becomes lighter, allowing families increasing independence while remaining within a supportive, well-managed environment.
Structure with Flexibility
While the immersion follows a clear progression, it is never rigid. Every family arrives with different needs, interests, and expectations, and instructors work closely with each group to shape the experience accordingly.
The outline below reflects the typical journey, but activities may shift in response to weather, seasonal opportunity, and group dynamic. The emphasis is always on quality of experience rather than completion of a schedule.
First Weekend – Arrival, Orientation, and EstablishingCamp
The opening weekend focuses on transition—from everyday pace to woodland rhythm. Families meet their instructors and walk together into the woodland, beginning the process of leaving routine behind.
Time is taken to explore the area, identify useful resources, and discuss camp placement before families choose a location for their long-term base. Shelter styles are demonstrated, and families begin building a camp that will be returned to throughout the programme. For those who prefer a gentler start, temporary shelters are available for the first night.
The concept of wild food is introduced carefully and respectfully. Pigeon is prepared using knife-free methods, allowing participants to understand anatomy and food origins in a calm, age-appropriate way. The evening concludes with a shared meal, quiet awareness games, and time around the fire.
Sunday introduces safe tool use through a first carving project, followed by fire-lighting in its many forms—spark, friction, chemical, and electrical—explored through guided experimentation rather than formal instruction.
Second Weekend – Fire, Food, and Water
With camp established, attention turns to comfort and function. Families build their own fire pits and craft a cooking crane system, which becomes a central feature of their camp.
Food preparation expands to include birds and mammals, approached with sensitivity and choice. An excursion to the River Thames introduces trapping theory and crayfish trapping, offering insight into invasive species management.
Sunday begins quietly, with a morning sit spot, before traps are checked and any catch incorporated into a communal meal. The woodland is explored through foraging games that reveal plants and trees as useful, living resources.
Third Weekend – Comfort, Craft, and Cordage
This weekend is devoted to refinement. Families improve sleeping arrangements by building natural beds and begin relying less on modern camping equipment.
Cordage making introduces the transformation of plant fibres into usable materials, reinforcing patience and teamwork. Water sourcing, filtration, and purification are explored, completing the foundations of self-reliant woodland living.
Fourth Weekend – Navigation and Safety
Movement through the landscape becomes the focus. Families learn compass work, natural navigation, and pacing before undertaking a guided journey through the woodland.
Sunday introduces preparedness skills—first aid, emergency signalling, and search-and-rescue concepts—delivered through practical, engaging scenarios rather than classroom instruction.
Fifth Weekend – Tracking, Tools, and the Night Sky
Participants learn to read the woodland through track and sign, carving their own tracking sticks and applying them in the field.
As darkness falls, attention turns upward. Celestial navigation is explored alongside folklore and storytelling, strengthening connection to both landscape and tradition.
The weekend also includes safe introduction to primitive weapons and personal project time.
Sixth Weekend – Consolidation and Celebration
The final weekend draws all learning together. Families reduce reliance on artificial light by creating clay pot candles before preparing a whole deer and building a ground oven for a shared celebratory feast.
The programme concludes with a final navigation and water challenge, followed by a closing meal and time for reflection. Camps are packed down carefully, and families leave the woodland with a strong sense of completion.
In Summary
The Family Bushcraft Immersion is defined by continuity, care, and shared endeavour. Over six months, families build not only skills, but confidence, resilience, and connection—both with each other and with the natural world.
For families seeking a unique, long-form woodland experience, delivered with professionalism, sensitivity, and depth, this immersion offers something increasingly rare: the chance to slow down, learn together, and create a shared story rooted in time well spent outdoors.
