Fun day Sat 22st September

Saturday 21^st September at Regland near Exeter

The South West Area Network would like to invite you all to this years fun day and bivvy. Activities will start on Saturday at 11am and continue till 4pm, there is also the option to bivvy out till Sunday morning.

£5 per person for the funday only, £7 for the fun day and bivvy

Under 3s are free

What will be your favorite

• Games
• Crafts
• Bushcraft Area
• Campfire
• Picnic
• Cafe
  
  
  The highlight of this years fun day is the afternoon wide game. Set in the woodland can Robin Hood's band help the peasants to success or will the Sheriff and his workers rule the day. Build your hide out in the woods, barter with the traveling traders and try your hand at the tasks of the day to earn your daily bread.
  
  
  If one day is just not enough then there is the option to bivvy out in the woodland. The bivvy is open to all ages, as with the fun day itself groups will need to ensure they have sufficient adults. Please note all adults staying for the bivvy must be registered adult members
  
  Booking for the bivvy is essential, please email info@southwestwoodcraft.org.uk to book your place, we'll need your name, group and membership number (adults only). Bookings must be made by Monday 16^th September at the latest.
  
  
  
  How do I get there?
  SWAN and the Bristol District are planning a coach to run from Bristol for fun day. Please watch the district emails for further details.
  If you are making your own way take the A30 and follow the signs to Escot Park. Continue past the park entrance and carry on to the cross roads at the top of the hill. At the crossroads turn left and continue up this road to a farm track on the right. Follow this track until you reach New Barn Farm, parking is in the farm yard.
  
  What do I need to bring?
  We suggest you bring along a packed lunch, picnic mat of some sort and of course your waterproofs. There is a short walk up to RegLand from the nearest parking so we recommend packing a rucksack with everything you will need for the event.
  
  Want to stay overnight?
  Booking for the bivvy is essential, please email info@southwestwoodcraft.org.uk to book your place, we'll need your name, group and membership number (adults only)
  Please note all adults staying for the bivvy must be registered adult members
  
  What will I need to bivvy
  We'll have a sheltered campfire with a grid and kettle for cooking. You'll need to bring your own shelter, food and cooking equipment. The site has plenty of tree suitable for hanging hammocks and clearings for tarp shelters.
  
  You'll need your sleeping bag and mat and a ground sheet and, to build your shelter, a tarp, some paracord or rope and a few tent pegs. It will get cold so hats, gloves and thermals would be good to have. You'll also want a torch as it will get dark early under the trees.
  There will be plenty of people who've bivvied before and can give you a hand if needed, if you have any questions about what to expect or what you'll need to bring please let us know. info@southwestwoodcraft.org.uk
  
  
  
  Anything Else I need to know?
  Please note although SWAN are organising this event we are unable to take responsibility for children at any point in the day. All groups will need to ensure they provide the correct ratio of adults and children at all times.
  
  

Woodies Weekend, 1st - 3rd March

SWAN Woodies Weekend

Friday 1^st – Sunday 3^rd March 2013

Come along and join us for the 2013 Woodies Weekend, a whole weekend of woodcraft style songs, training sessions, campfires and chance to share ideas with others from around the South West.

Where is it?  This year we've booked the Springhead Centre, near Shaftsbury. http://www.springheadtrust.co.uk/index.php As you can see from the website the centre has wonderful facilities both indoors and outdoors so we'll have plenty of options for activities.

What will be on offer? Along with the more formal workshops there will be plenty of time to relax and chat with other woodcrafters from around the SWAN area. Workshops this year will include Safeguarding – with all the recent headlines we'll be making sure we are all aware of the best safeguarding practice in our groups. “Hands in” Geo caching – we'll have someone along to talk about making the most of this years national Hands in project. SWAN AGM – keep in touch with what has been happening in SWAN and the plans for 2013 The great outdoors – the centre is set in beautiful grounds so we'll get out and explore, sharing some outdoor ideas for you to take back to your groups. Is there something else you would like to see, a song you are desperate to learn or an issue in your group you are not sure how to handle? Let us know and we'll see if we can fit something in to our remaining workshop slots.

Sounds fun! How do I book?
We are asking for a £10 deposit per person to reserve your place. This will be refunded on your attendance. Please complete the booking form below.

In order to make sure our volounteers have the information they need to organise the catering, creche and other aspects of the weekend please don't delay, book now!

To download your booking form please visit
http://woodcraft.org.uk/swan-agm-and-training-weekend
 
 

Can I bring the children?
The majority of the workshops are aimed at adults, D.F.s and older venturers.

There will be a creche for younger children, please let us know when booking if you will need creche places.

Anything else you need to know? please email info@southwestwoodcraft.org.uk and ask away.

2012 Family Funday and Bivvy

Saturday 22nd September at Escot

The South West Area Network would like to invite you all to this years fun day and bivvy. Activities will start on Saturday at 11am and continue till 4pm, there is also the option to bivvy out till Sunday morning.

£5 per person for the funday only, £7 for the fun day and bivvy

Under 3s are free

Watch the otters being fed or the birds of prey fly

Try your hand at whittling.

Enjoy songs and stories around the campfire

Weave your way through the maze or head up through the woods for the drop slide.   

Take on the famous Escot swamp walk



It's sure to be a fun packed day with something for everyone.
       

How do I get there?

SWAN are planning a coach down from Bristol, and elsewhere if there is enough interest. If you are interested in coach places please email us via info@southwestwoodcraft.org.uk stating how many people would like transport, and where you are coming from. You'll also need to let us know if you'll be returning on the Saturday or Sunday.

We need to know levels of interest for this by the end of July

If you are making your own way the address is Escot Estate, Ottery St Mary,Devon, EX11 1LU. https://maps.google.co.uk/?q=EX11+1LU

Please enter Escot through the Escot Education Entrance to avoid being charged twice.

What do I need to bring?

We suggest you bring along a packed lunch, picnic mat of some sort and of course your waterproofs. Please note anyone using the drop slide should have arms and legs covered in a non nylon fabric. If you choose to do the swamp walk you will need a complete change of clothes and a towel for afterwards. We'd also recommend you bring old clothes to go round in.

Want to stay overnight?

If one day is just not enough then there is the option to bivvy in the woods. After the closing circle we'll be walking up to the woods to set up camp for the night.

You'll need to bring your own shelter, food and cooking equipment and be able to carry it up to the woods. If this is your first time or you have any questions about what you need to bring please let us know.

Please note all adults staying for the bivvy must be registered adult members

Booking for the bivvy is essential, please email info@southwestwoodcraft.org.uk to book your place, we'll need your name, group and membership number (adults only)

Anything Else I need to know?

Please note although SWAN are organising this event we are unable to take responsibility for children at any point in the day. All groups will need to ensure they provide the correct ratio of adults and children at all times. Also be aware that some activities may have a limited number of spaces available.

Spring into Bushcraft

or the Wild Garlic Weekend.

Last weekend saw a small group of Woodcrafters heading out into the woods for the spring session of the Bushcraft Training sessions.

There are 2 groups following the same programme, the first group had a brilliantly sunny weekend at the start of the Easter holidays, those of us heading out on Friday had made sure our waterproofs we handy as rain was forecast for most of the time. The weather held out while we got our shelters built and fire lit but there was heavy rain overnight.

Saturday morning was spent in the woods identifying trees, and there various uses and collecting some of the abundant wild garlic growing in the area. This was added to several of the dishes cooked over the weekend including wild garlic bread and a wild garlic soup.

We covered plenty of activities which could be run on group nights, such as thinking about what you would need in a survival tin and learning useful knots as well as practical skills like sharpening our tools.

On Sunday we tested out out new knots and rigged a group hammock from some scrap store webbing. While I'm not sure I would want to sleep in a hammock build for 10 it was quite comfortable, until you wanted to get out!

We all looking forward to the summer session in a few weeks time.

Review from the Golant Training weekend

See Helston Woodcraft's report of the Golant Training weekend back in March, sounds like I missed a fun weekend.

http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/news/report-really-fun-training-weekend

This was our final weekend as part of the 2011 Awards for All grant. Plans are forming for 2012's training sessions so if there is something you would like to see please do let us know.

Review of the AGM

This weekend saw a small group of people meeting at the Barton Camp centre for the SWAN AGM and training weekend

The centre is set in beautiful countryside and the view from the dinning room was spectacular. The weather held long enough for people to enjoy a walk on Saturday afternoon.There was plenty of indoor space to for our morning workshops and the AGM itself. Sunday was wet but the sports hall was great for the games workshop.

We were joined at the AGM session by several people from the Coop, who were very positive about what we have achieved in the last year.  Looking forward to the year ahead we already have a training weekend booked in Golant YHA in March, and the Bushcraft groups who started with the autumn session last year have got 3 more weekends to look forward to.

Debs Mccahon, came to join is and let us know of the positive developments at the Wilderness Centre in the Forest of Dean. While not technically in the SWAN area it is a centre we have used several times for events and we were very sad to hear of it's closure. A group of people, including Woodcraft have been working hard to try and buy the centre and run it as an outdoor centre once again. It's sound like things are going well,  you can keep up with the latest developments on the Firends of the Wilderness Centres website.

There are also positive signs of group development, with a group opening in Weymouth and another couple of clusters of people working on starting new groups in the area.

After our elections there are some changes to the SWAN committee, we say Goodbye to Amy, our outgoing chair, and Mike who has been our treasurer since the committee formed. Both have worked hard for SWAN for several years now. We also welcome Eric who is joining this year, Jenny will become the new chair. We still have a couple of places on the committee to fill, so if you think you would like to be involved please let us know.

Hopefully 2012 will be a great year for SWAN.

 

Come one, come all to the annual SWAN General Meeting. Help us hold our AGM, network, attend some enjoyable and useful training, and enjoy yourself in the company of Woodies from around the South West.

The weekend promises a mix of family workshops and training sessions, with crèche provision for the younger family members and of course plenty of time to spend with friends old a new from around the area.

The programme will include training on safeguarding and behaviour management, a walk, camp-fire, games exchange with Dan Thompson and quilt-making. Yes, I said quilt-making!

Plus the chance to hear about what's been happening in the region, and maybe even join the SWAN committee. 

Sound interesting?, contact training@southwestwoodcraft.org.uk for more details and to book your place
As usual we are asking for a deposit of £10 per person which will be refunded to you on your arrival at the weekend.