Church Farm, Ardeley Camp #2

Having camped solo at Church Farm for the first time last year I was rather surprised to find that my youngest son wanted to tag along for my second visit recently.

As before I booked the site and a bag of fire wood with kindling, matches and starters but instead of Squitmore Wood where I had my visit I asked on my booking form to pitch up in Lowany End Wood which is still a young wood but is older than the other one I was in.

Once I'd booked in I headed off to find the wood. The start of the route is similar to the one detailed in my previous blog but for Lowany End Wood we turned left by the cow shed...

 

...And across a large field to the wood which is accessed through a central gate. Note that as I type this the wood doesn't have a name on said gate. I meant to pack some atlatl darts in case there was room and forgot, I could have chucked them in this field leading to the woods to my heart's desire.

 

The wood has a central access for vehicles and conveniently has several areas clear to park vehicles in so you are well away from things but equally you can unload your gear quickly, efficiently and get going in quick order. There are also two water taps along the access but they are slow thinkers which I guess is the price you pay for being away from things and certainly not a deal breaker. 

There was a noticeable Southwesterly blowing so we elected to set up on the left hand side to maximise the shelter offered by both the right hand side and a decent Hawthorn hedge  along the bit we'd chosen.

I'd offered my son a choice of two one pole lightweight tents, a regular or closed tarp tent  or a regular tent and he chose the latter. Well if he thought I was going to do it he was mistaken! There was plenty of animated chat going on with this inanimate object with my favourite being 'You are just a tent, you will do my bidding!' as I set about sorting the rest of our camp.

 

As with my first camp I decided to remove the top of my chosen fire site, even though there is no onus on me to do so. It was rather problematic this time as the top soil was dry and rather crumbly but eventually I got a win.

The firewood supply consisted of a large piece firewood bag, a fairly small amount of kindling, some eco firelighters and two packs of matches. 

 

 Whilst the top soil was dry, the stuff below was damper and therefore I used some kindling as a platform the ground was damp I did a base and effectively used nearly all the supplied kindling in one go. I left my son lighting it the kindling  blitzed a couple of pieces of the supplied firewood with my trusty Justin Burke tomahawk to make some more kindling for the next morning and to produce a few smaller sized firewood pieces to get us going.

 

For my lodgings I'd gone for my usual tarp and hammock set up and used my 3 m x 3 m one as an admin area which I don't usually use when alone. All in all quite a tidy camp for entertaining a youth and also a chance to use my Frontier Stove which hadn't seen the light of day recently, I initially used it to get a quick brew in whilst the fire got going. The admin tarp was aligned South West to North East which meant the smoke drifted harmlessly past our seats although my son argued that the smoke had it in for him  wherever he was.

I had my tarp angled slightly diagonally to the admin one because a) It is longer and therefore needs the diagonal space between the fairly uniformly spaced trees and b) It meant I could pop a chisel closure at one end to defeat the small breeze still reaching us.

As this was a slightly different camp I'd brought a packed lunch to save on time but I was going to some Dutch oven chips to go with it. I carved two pieces of bamboo that I'd brought back from holiday to make some simple tongs but we decided to hold them off 'til tea as we had enough to eat. Curry and chips for tea it is.

I'd also made  a bread dough using Khorasan and Spelt flour (both ancient wheats) after dinner to make a loaf for  breakfast the next day.

The bread rose well, so well that the dough ended up being annoyingly a shade too developed for the Petromax FT1 that I'd used. I attempted to carefully lift into the slightly larger FT3.

It was actually tasty but I took my eye off the ball and it got a rather burnt posterior which I had to surgically remove. The burnt base did however double up as a camp frisbee as the small video above demonstrates. Well it would be boring if everything turned out perfectly, even Ray Mears has his moments...like this one.

Once the bread was dealt with and stashed I positioned my reflector oven a little way back from the fire to help because my previously prepared curry needed a little help to be fully defrosted.

My son isn't a bushcraft skills type of person so we used part of the afternoon to look over a large Badger sett on the narrow road up to the top field, which I spectacularly missed last time, amongst other things and then made our way slowly back to get on with tea. The curry  being previously made left me fairly free to focus on making the  chips with junior. Here he is pressed into chipped potato production.

I used the Petromax FT3 Dutch oven that I'd made the bread in and half filled it with Sunflower oil, I then piled embers about a third of the way round it. The oil is then tested with a previously cut runty chip to see if it bubbles and when it does cook the chipped potatoes in small batches (to stop the oil cooling off) for about five minutes and then remove onto kitchen roll.

The embers are then piled up to around half way around the Dutch oven and the potato pieces cooked for around ten minutes to colour and crisp them. Perfect with salt and homemade Hawthorn Ketchup.

We didn't use all the potato so I re-invigorated the Frontier stove and par boiled the pieces so that they could be pan fried in my trusty Primus pan as in the morning for an extra for  breakfast. I had a pudding lined up but again we held it over to dinner the next day as we were stuffed.

 We also had a visit from the site's owner called Emma who had seen our set up and asked if she could take some pictures for publicity, three of which appeared on their Facebook page on August 5th. We had a good chat and she is definitely keen to get hobbyist bushcrafters to visit more and told me of a wood to go and investigate that doesn't often get used for camping.

After clearing up (yes, both of us) we had a quick drink and headed out to place my Bushnell trail camera near the previously reconnoitred badger sett near three entrances/ exits, baited the area with peanut and mealworms and decided to park ourselves on the opposite bank diagonally down from the camera to take our scent away.

We sat and sat and decided due to a bad case of numb bum that we would move about ten metres further down on a more comfortable looking ledge. After nearly two hours we decided to call it a day and placed our faith in my trail cam. I was more disappointed for my youngest as he really wanted to see one.

He did however capture this shot of some geese during the evening which he asked me to add to this blog.

Checking the fire over in the morning it was obvious that it had all but burnt out with not so much as a fire dog left. I grabbed one of the supplied eco fire lighter and some seasoned Birch that I had brought along and left the firelighter in the ashes to see if it took. It soon started smouldering and a gentle blow got the show started.

Once established I put some big pieces on as we had a cooked breakfast, dinner and held over pudding to do. I also slowly started introducing some briquettes because I sensed that my son was starting to have WiFi withdrawal and finishing off with them means that there is little in the way of solid material to deal with.

After breakfast I quickly went to grab the trail cam and investigate the wood mentioned by Emma last night. I reported back that pretty much all the peanuts and mealworms had disappeared and whilst looking out for them I smacked my head on a low branch but the trail camera didn't pick it up, just as well with the ensuing expletive! As for the wood I think I may have looked around the wrong half as it was a mature wood to die for but was nettle heavy. I'm back next month so I'll revisit. 

The one thing I noted was that there was recent evidence of badger, deer, pheasant and fox in a mud trap. Note the Vivobarefoot footwear for scale. I will be blogging about this newish purchase soon.

 

Upon my return I had a request to get dinner underway...The call of WiFi at home was kicking in. We had a simple to do Cajun chicken with onions, cherry tomatoes and peppers in some wraps. The held over pudding was to be an attempt at a recipe from issue 71 of Bushcraft and Survival Skills magazine which was apple doughnuts.

They were blissfully easy to make with a couple also having peanut butter in and despite it not being something I'd usually choose to eat they were soft and tasty with a bit of cream and golden syrup.

With the car being close I'd started to slowly pack away bits and bobs away and the charcoal briquettes had reduced to nearly dust so I left the fire til last to allow the odd bits of wood to burn down too. I left my son striking his tent with more teenager-v-tent commentary.

I'd originally planned this as a solo trip but but I changed the itinerary to suit having someone along, so more poshcraft than bushcraft with not much in the way of a time slot to start any craft projects but it was still an enjoyable break and whilst the trees in the wood are only around twenty years or so old they are still serviceable for hammocking and the right to pick a spot for a fire pit is a definite plus. This is the leave no trace campsite as we were about to hit the road.

Oh, and I got a footage of a field mouse and rabbit eating the peanuts and mealworms...Absolutely no Badger action.

 

Natural Pathways Summer Forage

I visited Hannah Nicholls and Carol Hunt several times during my 2016 work sabbatical taking in an Autumn Forage a Kentish 1-2-1 and a Nature Awareness Day and when my wife said that she'd come on a forage I couldn't re-book quickly enough.

Hannah was running a family course so we went a little further on with Carol and got ourselves set up. Like the previous time it was noted that Carol does bring a lot of resources with her and there was definite foraging evidence around us from the wildlife.

Once we'd got a tea or coffee Carol kicked off with some general points about foraging and some plant information with a Buzzard occasionally gracing us with it's majestic presence. The course was running on a day that was due to get in excess of thirty degrees so Carol suggested a forage walk which was mostly under the tree canopy.

And she was off with copious information, alternative and Latin  names and information on plants that were edible, non-edible or useful in a non-food way.

Of the many plants and trees growing on the first part oft he walk the Yellow Pimpernel (Lysimachia nemorum) and Common Figwort (Schropularia nodosa).

The first collectable edible soon hoved in view, Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), and in good quantities. Here Carol is making it abundantly clear which plant she is referring to.

 

Folk pitched in after a quick nibble and collected a good quantity of it. The sorrel wasn't due to be used but Carol decided to add an impromptu extra sauce to the menu.

I often use my camera case to collect stuff I find on walks so I offered it up as a Wood sorrel receptacle for folk to put their handfuls in.

I noted in the Autumn forage blog that we didn't move very far in the opening part of the forage walk and again it proved to be so with plenty of notables within viewing distance of our base. Some folk might have thought we should have wandered further in the time but what's the point of sauntering past plants that are worth talking about?

But back to the forage. Just over the other side of the glade was a decent stand of nettles (Urtica dioica). They had flowered so the leaves aren't in an edible condition but the seeds are there for the taking. As I undrstood it the seeds were packed with energy but interestingly it's more the case that they are adrenal stimulaters which gives you a sort of flight or fight rush.

Often a season can throw up oddities, indeed I've read reports of several Autumn fungi appearing now in the UK and within the woods there were some Redcurrants starting to ripen.

We went down a narrow track and found some Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) and Cleavers (Galium aparine). The former was useful lesson as initially Carol pulled the sample in the left picture from nowhere, but she got folk to look closely and it was everywhere once you got your eye in.

I've tried Cleavers before and personally think that it is one of the more palatable countryside greens (see this spring tonic blog) but the fact that they are related to coffee and the seeds can make a basic drink has left me thinking that I must get round to trying it.

A little further down the track Carol spotted some Corn Mint (Mentha arvensis). It was useful seeing it as it is quite a light green colour and is downy and I'm sure I've seen it before  however seeing, touching, and smelling is invaluable with ID.

 

The forage had been a bespoke affair to this point but for the final observation we were led to a  Cherry tree that had fallen but was still alive. It was explained that every year it offers up Chicken-of-the-Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) and whilst they were past their best it had at least three separate examples for us to see. Personally I can't abide mushrooms apart from mushroom confectionery prepped with booze and chocolate.

 

And at this point we turned back to our cooking circle, it was our turn to do some work. Carol had explained that we were doing four different dishes (plus her extra Sorrel sauce) and that there would be a Middle Eastern theme to them. We divided up into groups and once sorted we chose which dish to do by it's complexity. I was with my wife  in the 'more complex' chicken dish group.

I'd been asked if I could be the fire monitor as Carol knew that I was knowledgeable enough to be trusted which was nice. Always happy to be in charge of fire.

And so we got our recipe sheets, or rather directions with ingredients listed because Carol was keen for us to feel our way through the dishes, judging by eye rather than a preset amount or weight.

She sat overseeing us and occasionally popped up with some information on ingredients, the above shot shows a talk about Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) which like the Corn Mint earlier I think I've seen out and about but never been able to nail the ID.

I then set my camera up on time lapse mode to get ahem, a flavour of what the preparation was like. This is the team my wife and I were in having a confabulation about the forthcoming chicken dish whilst I sorted the fire out...

This is the heavy Dutch oven that they asked me to get on the fire as it being done was key to the dish progression. Even though we'd positioned cooking shelves over the fire I elected to chuck it in the embers for a while to give it a boost.

 

And that set the tone for the period of time we were cooking. I really can't be more specific time wise than that to be honest because as we were beavering away in a woodland setting cooking over fire you just became absorbed in the moment. It also helped that the attendees were a decent bunch too. Note how good the fire looks in the right hand side picture! 

 

The fire became and stayed as a predictably busy focus for the activities with pots coming and going and the fire continually being maintained by yours truly. Slowly but surely the dishes came together. Here I'm starting to cook the seasoned chicken which will go with the cooked rice and the  Molokhia. 

Vegetable components came together too.

The falafels with Nettle seeds (that we gathered) Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea), Thistle (Cirsium sp.) and mint are ready to be cooked.

 

The nettle mushroom and chorizo crostini starters were ready to devour, well pick over for me because of the mushrooms. Once the offending articles were flicked out I still managed to condense two crostinis into one satisfying morsel. Hannah timed a visit over to us just right and enjoyed one too.

Then the falafels were ready and presented by the group that made them  for us all to get stuck into next.

With the chicken and the rice now cooked we added Tree mallow ((Malva arborea) seed pods ('cheeses') and cut Burdock stems to the rice.

 

This flavoured rice was for the stuffed Tree Mallow leaves with Ground Ivy, Wild Majoram and dried Hogweed seeds (Heracleum sphondylium).

 

The Mallow leaf Molokhia was cooked and served up in a bowl with the chicken and rice alongside it. Personally I think this was the best presented dish but of course I'm biased...But correct.

And finally onto the delicious Rose petal Panacotta with fresh red fruit coulis which included  Rose petals, Raspberries, Strawberries and Rose petal Honey. Interestingly due to a dietary need the diary element was replaced with Coconut milk and didn't suffer for the change, in fact it may make it a bit more achievable on a bushcraft camp as coconut milk doesn't need chilling.

Just before we hit the starters my wife gave me a nudge and reminded me that I had a camera bag full of Wood Sorrel. I handed it to Carol who beavered away to blend leaf and sugar in a mortar and pestle. The bespoke extra was rather pesto like in appearance but the contrasting flavours made it a real sweet and sour treat. 

Carol finished up taking some folk through some of her books. My wife and I had to make a move so we did a bit of a final wash up and I bid Carol and Hannah farewell. Carol had a slightly bigger crowd than last time but marshalled us all with a quiet confidence, another course for beginner and not so newbie to take something away from.