Beowulf Bushcraft

Bushcraft teaching in the woods of Somerset

Beowulf Bushcraft is a small-group bushcraft provider operating at woodland locations in Somerset, England. Its programme is built around fire-lighting, shelter-building, animal tracking, navigation and knife work, taught alongside the folklore and traditional knowledge associated with those skills. Sessions are offered for children, teenagers and adults, and the instructors describe their approach as practical instruction rather than supervised outdoor play.

Who teaches the sessions

The company is run by Helen and Mike, described as parents of three. Mike is presented as a qualified bushcraft instructor with an ex-military background in field craft and outdoor skills, and the site states that he holds an NCEF Level 3 accredited qualification in bushcraft, with practical experience in navigation and traditional skills. Helen comes from early years education, having worked closely with young children. The pairing of field craft and child-led teaching is presented as the basis of the programme.

Session formats

• Family Bushcraft: sessions for children aged 3–10 covering fire, shelters, animal tracking and nature knowledge, with folklore and tradition woven in. The site listed a price from £10 per family.
• Woodland Wolves: a programme for 10–16 year olds working on fire-starting, foraging, knotwork, knife work and reading the land. The site listed a price of £10 per person.
• Adult courses: a rotating set of practical skills, including wilderness navigation, outdoor cooking, bushcraft fundamentals and traditional crafts such as basket weaving. Each course differs from the previous ones.
• Corporate and team building: bespoke bushcraft experiences for corporate teams, arranged according to the client's requirements.
• Birthday parties: sessions for up to 15 children with fire-lighting, shelter-building and nature knowledge, led by the qualified instructors. Parties can take place at one of the company's locations or at a venue chosen by the client, with optional bushcraft party bags for guests. The site listed a price from £150.

Family sessions and Woodland Wolves meetings are described as running fortnightly at the company's two Somerset locations.

Skills and content taught

The curriculum centres on transferable outdoor skills: lighting a fire in wet conditions, building a shelter that keeps out the weather, navigating with natural clues, and handling a knife. The instructors also teach foraging and knotwork for older participants. Folklore is treated as part of the programme rather than an add-on, with stories tied to trees, seasons and the natural world presented alongside the practical work. The site gives the example of reading tree growth rings, which are usually wider on the south side, as a way of using a stump like a compass.

Safeguarding and privacy

The company states that attendee names and ages are recorded for every session and that a strict no-photography policy applies to other people's children. Safeguarding is described as a core part of how sessions are run rather than a formality.

Woodland Trust contribution

Beowulf Bushcraft states that 5% of every session run in Greyfield Woods is donated to the Woodland Trust. The company makes clear that it is not endorsed by the Woodland Trust and that the contribution reflects support for the organisation's work.

Feedback from participants

The site reproduces comments from families and adult course participants. Reviewers describe children returning to sessions, a home-education bushcraft group, a family session valued for new skills and socialising, and a birthday surprise. One adult course participant describes a walk that passed the highest point on the Mendips and continued through Rowberrow Woods, with stops to discuss navigation clues. The comments are attributed to named individuals and are presented as their own accounts.