title Walk Like a Shadow: A Day With Ray Mears, Ashdown Forest, East Sussex - 29th December 2005 intro Ray Mears - bushcraft expert and TV legend - runs several courses throughout the year, via his company Woodlore, which range from introductory walks through to complete two-week treks through the jungles of Belize. The trick is getting on one, as the demand is so great that eternal vigilance and luck is required when monitoring the e-mail list for a cancellation spot or a new course appearing. And so it was when an e-mail arrived for a day course entitled "A Christmas Walk in the Woods" in the inbox: about 60 seconds later a place was booked. The course itself is held in Ashdown Forest, and starts from the nearby scouts' centre at Broadstone Warren. 20 people arrive in the carpark for 9.45am, and shortly afterwards Ray himself arrives. The group then heads off to build 3D models of the local terrain out of heaps of leaves, learn about tracking, learn how to navigate by using trees, do a spot of archery under the tutelage of expert bowyer Chris Boyton and generally get a chance to listen to someone with a passionate and genuine affinity for the landscape and the rapidly-diminishing skills of native bushcraft. Ray Mears is as affable in real life as on telly, and tells some great stories in an engaging way whilst we hike around the woods of East Sussex - the day is thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening. imgp6047 The first task is to build 3D models of the area imgp6052 Ray Mears inspects our "models" imgp6054 The group hikes off into the forest imgp6056 Ray Mears spots some grasses covered in Ergot imgp6059 Ray finds something interesting in a tree imgp6061 Chris Boyton introduces his bows imgp6062 There's an introduction to archery imgp6063 Ray Mears with a stick imgp6067 The tracks of a fox are pointed out imgp6068 Fox tracks imgp6070 Ray explains the differences between deer droppings imgp6072 Chats in the woods imgp6078 Ray lights beech bark with a spark imgp6083 Ray gets a fire going imgp6090 We are encouraged to get in touch with trees imgp6099 We get a lesson in fire lighting imgp6102 The Woodlore team's fire is going imgp6105 Nosher's group's firelighting efforts imgp6107 Campfires in the woods imgp6114 The low winter sun shines through the trees imgp6120 Our camp looks almost neolithic imgp6128 Our camp fire gets going as Annette inspects imgp6132 Ray and his group's camp ellie-compressed2 Nosher's group clear away all traces of our camp fire imgp6136 Ray warms his longbow up over embers imgp6141 Some archery occurs imgp6145 Ray and Chris do a bit of "roving archery" imgp6147 Chris Boyton lets an arrow off imgp6150 Ray has to dig one of his arrows out of a tree imgp6153 Ray uses a quick-fire bushman hunting technique ellie-compressed1 Nosher takes aim under the eye of Chris Boyton imgp6163 An iron-ore-tinged red stream imgp6169 The uses of sphagnum moss are explained imgp6177b A huge beech tree, pollarded 600 years ago imgp6185 Ray carves pawprint track in a piece of fungus imgp6189 Back at the car park imgp6193 Ray does book signing on his Land Rover imgp6197 Ray signs an axe imgp6201 More signatures imgp6202 Members of the group have photos taken imgp6204 A photo with Ray Mears imgp6206 Hanging around the Land Rover imgp6208 The group disbands