Our History

It all started when…

The BushMoots started back in 2004 with over forty like-minded people from the Bushcraft UK forums. It was a physical gathering of like-minded people who had only met online and were eager to get together as a community to share experiences and skills in a real-world setting. So, over the course of a weekend in August, we made it happen and had the first of many, many, Moots at Merthyr Mawr in South Wales.

Originally the aim of the Moots was quite humble, a place for the members of Bushcraft UK to get together, but it quickly grew organically and got bigger than just forum members, other family members came, friends were invited and soon word got out, and people unconnected to the community were coming along and this, in turn, created a ‘BushMoot’ community of its own, part of, but separate from the BushCraft UK forums.

The Summer BushMoots were the first events, originally spanning eight days, and then, due to logistical issues with the site, we changed to a two-week event over a decade ago. We introduced the WinterMoots, our Festival of Outdoor Cookery, back in February 2019, and they’ve become a regular feature for the more hardy types! Again it’s all about sharing the skills and a sense of community. We also introduced the MindMoots in 2023 and we’re looking forward to more of them in the future.

We’ve also had events at Braziers nr Wallingford, Cranham, Gloucestershire, and currently, we’re hosting all our events at Rough Close, Coventry.