There is something rather special about spending several days living beneath the woodland canopy. The pace slows, camp begins to feel like home and the distractions of modern life are gradually replaced by birdsong, campfire conversation and shared experiences.
Our Family Bushcraft Adventure has been created for families who want to immerse themselves in woodland living over an extended summer weekend. Running from 10:00am on Friday until 12:00 noon on Monday over the August Bank Holiday, this four-day experience provides the perfect balance of adventure, practical learning and time to simply enjoy being together outdoors.
Unlike a shorter course, four days allows families to settle into camp, develop confidence at a comfortable pace and experience the rhythm of woodland life. Each day naturally builds upon the last as new skills are introduced, practised and woven into everyday camp life.
Whether this is your family’s very first bushcraft experience, you already enjoy camping together or you’re looking for the next step before considering our Family Immersion programme, this course provides an unforgettable introduction to living comfortably in the natural world.
Something changes after the second night in the woods. Children stop asking what time it is, confidence replaces uncertainty and families naturally settle into a rhythm dictated by daylight, the campfire and the woodland around them. Four days provides enough time not only to learn bushcraft skills but to genuinely experience woodland living.
This is not a course about hardship or endurance. It is about becoming comfortable outdoors, understanding the natural environment and discovering just how rewarding life in the woods can be.
Like all Woodland Ways courses, the exact programme remains flexible. We adapt our teaching to the weather, the season, the woodland itself and, most importantly, the families attending. The outline below gives a flavour of a typical adventure.
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(Minimum 2 places for family courses)
There is something rather special about spending several days living beneath the woodland canopy. The pace slows, camp begins to feel like home and the distractions of modern life are gradually replaced by birdsong, campfire conversation and shared experiences.
Our Family Bushcraft Adventure has been created for families who want to immerse themselves in woodland living over an extended summer weekend. Running from 10:00am on Friday until 12:00 noon on Monday over the August Bank Holiday, this four-day experience provides the perfect balance of adventure, practical learning and time to simply enjoy being together outdoors.
Unlike a shorter course, four days allows families to settle into camp, develop confidence at a comfortable pace and experience the rhythm of woodland life. Each day naturally builds upon the last as new skills are introduced, practised and woven into everyday camp life.
Whether this is your family’s very first bushcraft experience, you already enjoy camping together or you’re looking for the next step before considering our Family Immersion programme, this course provides an unforgettable introduction to living comfortably in the natural world.
Something changes after the second night in the woods. Children stop asking what time it is, confidence replaces uncertainty and families naturally settle into a rhythm dictated by daylight, the campfire and the woodland around them. Four days provides enough time not only to learn bushcraft skills but to genuinely experience woodland living.
This is not a course about hardship or endurance. It is about becoming comfortable outdoors, understanding the natural environment and discovering just how rewarding life in the woods can be.
Like all Woodland Ways courses, the exact programme remains flexible. We adapt our teaching to the weather, the season, the woodland itself and, most importantly, the families attending. The outline below gives a flavour of a typical adventure.
Family Bushcraft Adventure
Experience four days of family bushcraft in Derbyshire, building shelters, lighting fires, carving, navigating, foraging and living together in the woods.
Friday – Arriving in the woodland
Your adventure begins at 10:00am as everyone arrives and settles into camp. Following introductions and a tour of the woodland camp, we’ll discuss how the next four days will unfold before introducing the principles of shelter design. Together we’ll look at what makes an effective shelter, how to work with the woodland around us and what you’ll need to create a comfortable home for the weekend.
After enjoying a sausages in a bun for lunch, it’s time to put that knowledge into practice as each family builds its own woodland shelter. Working together, you’ll select materials, create strong structures and gradually transform your shelter into somewhere you’ll happily spend the coming nights.
Later in the afternoon we’ll begin preparing game meat for the evening meal before gathering around the communal campfire to enjoy dinner together.
As the sun begins to set we’ll head off for one of our favourite family activities, our woodland tracking game, before returning to camp for hot chocolate, toasted marshmallows and your first night sleeping beneath your own woodland shelter.
As confidence grows, instructor involvement becomes lighter, allowing families increasing independence while remaining within a supportive, well-managed environment.
Saturday – Developing woodland skills
After a breakfast of porridge around the fire to fuel you for the day ahead, the morning begins with one of the most important bushcraft subjects—safe tool use.
Adults and children will learn how to handle edged tools responsibly before producing their own simple carving project, usually a butter spreader that can be used throughout the weekend and taken home afterwards.
There is plenty of opportunity to improve your shelter, add those little comforts that make woodland living enjoyable or simply relax and enjoy the surroundings before stopping for a catered ploughman’s lunch.
During the afternoon attention turns to one of bushcraft’s most rewarding skills—fire. You’ll learn a variety of fire-lighting techniques, understand the principles behind successful fires and develop the confidence to safely light, maintain and work around a traditional woodland campfire.
As evening approaches we’ll once again prepare and cook game meat before sharing another delicious meal around the fire. Afterwards there is time simply to relax, enjoy the woodland atmosphere and appreciate the slower pace that naturally develops after a full day outdoors.
Sunday – Exploring further
Sunday begins by baking your own individual damper bread over the fire before venturing further into the wider
area.
Navigation forms the focus of the morning as we explore both traditional techniques and natural methods of finding our way through the landscape, gaining a greater appreciation of the wider woodland environment.
Following another relaxed ploughman’s lunch, the afternoon allows families to pursue their own interests. Some choose to continue carving, others improve their shelters, practise fire lighting, explore the woodland or simply relax whilst instructors remain on hand to offer guidance, introduce additional skills and make the most of opportunities presented by the woodland itself.
The evening once again brings everyone back together to prepare and cook another shared meal before enjoying one final relaxed evening around the campfire and sleeping beneath your woodland shelter.
Monday – A final morning in the woods
After a hearty cooked breakfast we’ll enjoy one last opportunity to explore the woodland together before breaking camp.
A gentle forage walk introduces some of the useful plants and natural materials that can be found around us, discussing responsible harvesting, sustainable collecting and how these resources have traditionally been used by those living close to nature.
Returning to camp, you’ll learn the fascinating skill of creating natural cordage, transforming plant fibres into surprisingly strong string using simple techniques that have been relied upon for thousands of years.
Finally, it’s time to return the woodland to exactly as we found it. Shelters are dismantled, camp is packed away and we discuss the importance of leaving no trace before saying our goodbyes and departing at approximately 12:00 noon, taking home not only new skills but memories that will last for many years.
Although every course follows this general structure, no two Family Bushcraft Adventures are ever quite the same. Our instructors continually adapt activities to suit the weather, the season, the woodland and the interests of the families attending. If opportunities arise to identify wildlife, discover seasonal plants or answer those wonderfully curious questions that children ask, we’ll happily follow them.
More Than Bushcraft
Bushcraft is often thought of as learning how to light fires or build shelters, but families frequently tell us they take home something much more valuable. Children discover confidence through solving real problems, parents enjoy uninterrupted time together with their children and everyone experiences the satisfaction that comes from creating, cooking and living together outdoors.
Long after the carving projects have found a place in the kitchen drawer and the smell of the campfire has faded from clothing, it is these shared experiences and memories that families remember most.
In Summary
The Family Bushcraft Adventure offers the perfect opportunity to step away from the pace of everyday life and immerse yourselves in four unforgettable days of woodland living.
Over the course of the adventure you’ll build and sleep beneath your own shelter, cook over open fires, learn to use tools safely, carve your own woodland keepsake, navigate through the landscape, forage responsibly, create natural cordage and share delicious meals around the campfire. More importantly, you’ll experience the simple pleasures of living together outdoors, surrounded by nature.
Whether this is your family’s first bushcraft experience or simply the next chapter in your outdoor journey, we hope these four days inspire a lifelong confidence in the natural world and leave you with memories you’ll still be talking about years from now.
