DINING OUT IN STYLE
“If I haven’t lit a fire in a place, I don’t feel I’ve properly
a rich understanding of the natural world is simple, cyclical and beautiful.
“You get the inspiration, you learn the skills you need, you have the real-world experience, it changes you, you pass it on. That’s how it should work.”
Helping people into that process is what drives him. It lay behind his original foundation of bushcraft experience brand Woodlore in 1983 (now Ray Mears Bushcraft) and his lifelong quest to help people understand the natural world.
And there’s no one whose reactions to nature he enjoys watching more than those of his wife, Ruth.
“She is wonderful,” he says with a grin. “She has boundless enthusiasm and she derives great excitement from nature. It means she shouts ‘LOOK, THERE IT IS!’ when she sees something, which sort of flies in the face of the principles of tracking, but I am always overjoyed to see her happiness.”
Another reaction he loves – even if he isn’t very good at it himself – is poetry.
“I love it when people are moved to poetry by what they have seen in the outdoors,” he says.
“Poetry isn’t in my skills set, but as a reaction it fascinates me. A lot of astronauts end up writing poetry about their experiences in space. I think we should short-cut that process and send a poet into space. I would love to read what they had to say.”
Despite enjoying the recent confinement, Ray’s need to travel remains undimmed – even though, as he admits, the restriction of air travel has had a positive effect on air quality around the world. visited it,” says Ray.
“Travel is my life and I believe it’s important,” he says.
“We need to travel to understand the world and experience other cultures. If we don’t, the world will be in a very bad way. I think air travel will reduce anyway, as coronavirus has shown us we can do more business remotely. And long-term we have to find alternative forms of transport. But I’m not one to say we just shouldn’t travel.”
But ask Ray where he’d like to go for a walk if no obstacle blocked his way, and the answer is surprising.
“What I’d really like is to have a walk through London, then sit in a small café somewhere and have a really good cappuccino,” he says.
Just as lockdown began, Ray had been announced as the new Bushcraft Ambassador of outdoor clothing brand Fjällräven. Circumstances haven’t yet allowed him to do much in his new role yet, but he is eager to get started.
“I’m careful with endorsements. I have to believe genuinely in the brand, which I do,” he says.
“I’ve used a lot of their kit, and I knew the founder [the late Swedish outdoorsman Åke Nordin] quite well. I admire their ethics, their commitment to sustainability, and the desire for the fabrics they use to return harmlessly to the natural environment at the end of their life.
“I also like their colour schemes. They use earthy, natural colours that are actually useful for getting you close to nature without disturbing it.
“So my role isn’t to say ‘everything they make is brilliant’. It’s to help people access the outdoors and share those values. I’m looking forward to it.” fjallraven.co.uk
“Break, break, break on thy cold grey stones, O Sea!” – Tennyson
When Queen Victoria asked writer Thomas Carlyle where the most beautiful scenery was to be found in Scotland, he answered: “The road from Gatehouse to Creetown.” And the second most beautiful scenery, she asked, hoping for a mention of her own favourite, Deeside? “The road from Creetown to Gatehouse.”
The reported site of Cantre’r Gwaelod, a lowland flooded when the gatekeeper got drunk and forgot to close the protective sea gates (The Mabinogion).
Mwnt Beach, looking out to Cardigan Bay. Is Cantre’r Gwaelod out there somewhere?
don’t forget you can find CW’s very own neck tubes at walk1000miles. co.uk
Finally, our favourite sandals this summer: the Keen Clearwater CNX. Available in leather (£85) or non-leather (£80), they’re the perfect hybrid of comfort and toughness, ideal for woodland walks, waterside strolls and paddling. keenfoot wear.com