Another Axcellent Adventure

In mid October, after a weekend spent teaching indoors, we found ourselves back in the woods setting up for our third annual Axcellent Adventure. One of our favourite workshops to teach, the Axcellent Adventure is two full days of wild camping, camp fire cooking and a thorough introduction to the art of axing thus encapsulating everything we enjoy doing in the woods. The axe is central to most of what we do here and is an essential tool for daily life and outdoor explorations further afield, so it’s a real joy to be able to pass on the knowledge we’ve accumulated to help aspiring adventurers get the most out of this incredibly versatile tool in a safe and responsible way.

This year, we welcomed a group of four friends who had booked the course together. Having known each other since they were seven, they came equipped with a great sense of camaraderie right from the start. An unusually mild and sunny October weekend meant our only concern was that perhaps we'd be too warm, we kept the campfire going anyway, fire having an uncanny ability to boost moral even on a warm day.

At the end of day one, each of our students had successfully felled their first tree having cheered each other on during the process. Proud and a little achy we left them in the woods to enjoy a pot of vegetable chilli and a few beers around the campfire.

We returned the next morning armed with ingredients for campfire breakfast burritos. Refulled with food and cowboy coffee we headed back to our felled trees and began the process of bucking. Bucking was followed by splitting and finally, carving. After a morning of physical exertion, the slow pace of woodcarving was a welcome one and a chance to reflect on the weekends events.

After carving a spatula using wood from the tree they had felled themselves, our students were finished and the weekend came to an end. Sorry to leave, but no doubt looking forward to a warm shower and a good nights sleep, we waved goodbye to them and began packing up our gear. The remaining wood from the felling would be taken up to the Lake District the following week and used by our next bunch of woodcarving students at the Millican Travel Collective event.

Thank you to Vinnie, Henry, David and Steve for making it such a fun weekend and for being such axcellent students.