Sleeping in the woods: bushcraft weekend in the Netherlands

Yalou and I get to join a bushcraft weekend organised by Unplugged Outdoor, a company that organises all kinds of outdoor weekends. For instance, you can go along on a bushcraft weekend, an outdoor cooking weekend and even a parent-child weekend that Honeyguides Eliane and Ngoc got to experience a few weeks back. Read Eliane's stories about the special quality time with her daughter during this weekend here.

Until now, the weekends have all taken place in the Netherlands, but soon Unplugged Outdoor will also be held abroad. Beautiful places in France, Belgium and even Albania are in the pipeline for the somewhat longer outdoor experiences. Jimmy and Gerty take care of Unplugged Outdoor's trips all by themselves. Jimmy is a certified Hike & Survival instructor and Hiking & Backpacking Guide. So he will teach you all about the survival and bushcraft part on weekends like these. Gerty's expertise lies in outdoor cooking, or cooking outside on a campfire. With an extensive repertoire of special recipes, she cooks the stars during all weekends. No canned tomato soup at Unplugged Outdoor, just great (vegan) meals.

Together, Jimmy and Gerty form a unique duo, giving the trips with Unplugged Outdoor that extra touch of magic. Talk about couple goals...

I must confess that before this, I did not have a very clear idea of the term 'bushcraft'. A quick Google search a few days before departure taught me that bushcraft encompasses survival of, with and in nature. It revolves around various survival techniques that will come in handy in the wild. Something tells me that this will be a bit more serious than our somewhat primitive camping trips of the past. But I am excited: I could use some quality time with nature in the noise of busy daily life. Well, who doesn't, really.

Speaking of, encouraging people to turn off their phones is also something Unplugged Outdoor does extremely well if you ask me. Pressing the off button on the device I have such a love-hate relationship with turns out to be quite a task. An insight that irritates me immensely, but is probably very recognisable to most.

We arrive on Friday at the nature campsite in Gilze where the weekend will take place. The programme really starts on Saturday but on Friday you are already welcome to join the campfire. We won't let you say that twice. Actually, I had thought of turning off my phone only on Saturday but as soon as we get into nature, my mindset changes: the off button beckons.

On Friday night, we still sleep in Yalou's camper, but for the second night we plan to sleep in the shelter we will build today. Before we start the programme, we settle back at the campfire, where Gerty is already busy preparing breakfast. On the menu this morning: vegan pancakes with fruit and maple syrup. A very good start to the day, I can tell you. The birds in the trees above us sing exuberantly and even a ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds.

Around nine o'clock the last participants arrive and we can start the programme. There are nine of us, a nice little group for this weekend. Jimmy takes us into the surrounding forest, where he will explain how to build the now much-discussed shelter in which we will spend the night. A few hundred metres into the forest, he has built two miniature models of what a properly functioning shelter should roughly look like. Attentively, everyone listens to the explanation, the rainy weather forecast for tonight in mind.

When building a shelter, it is important to start with a solid beam that you rest in the v-shape of two branches of a tree. The distance from the tree to where this beam touches the ground should ideally be as long as you are, this to avoid losing heat unnecessarily. You then line this beam with branches on both sides, obviously taking an entrance into account. Tip: check the direction of the wind beforehand, so you don't get the full brunt of it should it rain. Pieces of bark then serve as roof tiles and, finally, a layer of moss and leaves will keep you warm at night. This is because they have perfect insulating properties.

Take care! If you want to go into the woods to build a shelter, make sure you do not pick living moss, branches or leaves. The rule in bushcraft is 'leave no trace', so clear away all your rubbish and don't harm nature. And trust me, there is plenty on the ground in the forest to build an award-winning emergency shelter.

By turns, everyone is called together in small groups for a lesson in lumbering and fire-making.

Focused on the block of wood in front of me, I keep the axe in my hand under control. Jimmy has explained the whole process from log to fire to us in detail and I can't wait to put it into practice. Splitting the wood is going surprisingly well for me. What a kick! I then use a knife to make small curls of the pieces of wood over a metal tray. Combined with a bit of lint from a bulrush, a fine fire should start in no time. After some explanation from Jimmy, I bravely grab my firesteel - a magnesium rod that you spark with a scraper - and start lighting my fire.

The weather forecast was right: in the evening we all huddle close to the campfire while the rain pelts the tarp. The weather may not be great, but the atmosphere certainly is. We roast marshmallows over the fire and all sorts of stories are told. How different would this be if everyone had been sitting with their phones in their hands?

When the rain eased off, Jimmy dove into the forest for a quick inspection of all the shelters. Almost all are still as good as dry, only I receive the tragic news that the rain has found its way into mine. And not by much. Just when I - as a proud owner - would have loved to spend the night in my shelter, I have to decide to stick with the camper. Fortunately, Yalou's shelter did stay dry; you can read how her night was in her blog on We are the Earth.

On Sunday morning, a surprising number of people crawl out of their shelter. Amazing how you can build such a solid hut using only materials from the forest. And that you can then sit down again in the morning to a delicious breakfast from the campfire is a bonus, of course. The fried egg makes a good base for the hike we are about to take.

After breakfast, Jimmy set out all kinds of edible plants on the table, such as nettle, ground elder and garlic without garlic. We get a detailed explanation on how to use these. Interesting! After this, we get to set off with a map for a scenic route through the surrounding forest. Our goal? To collect materials for making fire - yes, attempt number two today - and to find ground elder for the pesto Gerty will make this afternoon. After a few hours of hiking, we return to camp and the ritual around fire-making begins again.

One last time, we enjoy Gerty's cooking skills before preparing to return to normal life at the end of the afternoon.

During an Unplugged Outdoor bushcraft weekend, you step out of your comfort zone in a pleasant way and then surrender to an outdoor experience that is truly amazing. With their weekends, Jimmy and Gerty provide an important piece of education about going offline, living with nature and that you can create a lot of meaning with relatively few resources.