A walk in the woods

A walk in the woods with Ray Mears naturally involves setting fire to a small part of it. He worked his magic in a number of different ways - hand drill (seen here), marcasite and flint striking, and a modern ferrocerium steel striker. Of course, what takes Ray a few minutes with a bit of wood, takes us 30 minutes with a modern flint striker (preparation is the key - needing plenty of fine dry fluff and tinder).

Of course, an essential part of the exercise was cleaning up afterwards and ensuring that we left no trace.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day out with the master of woodlore. He is an entertaining and hugely knowledgeable host.