Sean Mulhall: All right, Sean from Silver Fox Bushcraft and it’s another day in Scotland and we've come to Caledonian pine forest. What we’ve got behind me is a double A frame lean-to shelter with raised beds and spruce bow mattresses in the center forest each on both sides of the bed. We haven’t attached the two bunks because we have run out of thumbs. This is our top to keep the shelter out that keeps the wind out.

But it was really warm, really effective and what we’ll do is we’re going to make a model of it and see if you can actually see the construction and see if we can make it from the model then try to construct the whole shelter.

Today, you can see this spruce bow mattress and see I'm doing that for you. Those are spruce bows. You really want the fine tips really. You don’t want the thick branches in it and you need quite a good base lay on to that. It does cross down as the night goes on. What we found was the heat actually rose. I mean underneath the beds and with that through the night. And then you can see we've got some logs underneath the bed so through the night if you need to keep the fire going you can just lean out, pull a log out and chuck it on the fire.

Now with me is Chris Grant and he's a friend of mine. He's my knife maker. He actually made the shelter.

Chris Grant: With help, with one of the help.

Sean Mulhall: With help?

Chris Grant: Yeah, two of us.

Sean Mulhall: And what we’re going to do is we’re going to make the model now and show you how we built it. So first what we do is a full upright stick which represents the four trees we've made the shelter from.

Chris Grant: Just the four standards with partition which is done in brooms and this is more or less a perfect square that we build it and we find in the gauzes and it’s great to us that we could find. That is pretty much flat just about and so we start.

So the first step is two sticks here which we can start over then. That is maybe not the most important but probably one of the first steps in obtaining a really level surface and I was explaining to Sean is right here this can be quite risky because of the roots and that gives you the opportunity to start leveling an erosion.

So you see this part is higher. All I need to do is throw this so a lot of the off slope it becomes level likewise here. And although it doesn’t look massive but tidy it’s very easy to obtain a level surface so you see for the sake of demonstration that this root here is the tree root. Now I have to move it back to make it more level and to me the back can really be more level. So we’ve leveled that. I just like to see with level and catching up or something like that.

And the next step is your cross bar and another I think is probably you need to see the stage before a bunch of string that hold this together.

Now of lower bunks or anything here was in avoidance and let's all help together with pressure. So we've done a layer here, a layer there and then the next we have at memory serves is another one and the function this serves again to raise it but also this begins to hold it down in structure there to come really strong. I'm not an engineer or anything. This is just a common sense and this is just how we got to do it. This was not copied from anything. It was just a matter of speed, enthusiastic about premiers is to mean two and in fact there were two. There was and it felt with level of two when and how to fire the bunks here. And it made much more sense to make it stagger also.

So that’s three layers since put. Not many sticks just alternate layers. And yeah after this, this is what makes up the bunks and if memory says what we did after that was can we start the A-frame and this is where pretty much the only latches are the shelter at these points and this is not just for the root but this is also for the bunks. And what actually show the root it should be no problems and once this is done it kind of easy a demonstrate, that’s about remember we do one fine right indeed the edge of it and you can get a good close we get that.

So that’s all the beams and that’s just like building a house or building anything really. That’s all the beams, that’s all the supporter and then we do the floor in this case the bunks. And it took maybe a couple of hours for them to settle and it’s as simple as that. We got really lucky. We didn’t have to cut any of them if I remember right because there had been a lot of storms in this forest. And may Sean can prove that, maybe you can time range and show you some point. There are trees falling everywhere.

So you know the materials for this we've got really lucky. And it is good to kind of—it’s not good to tidy over of enough place. It is kind of good to remove it. The good thing about the shelters you know you could just spiral it or we just start again. Just got in this semi-parameter aspect and had it run over a few step.

And now probably we do the two cross bunks in the top. Yeah, that’s it will remain it here and that’s better. I try and balance probably should apply this a little there but I'll try and get it to balance for this. Two more logs and that’s it.

Sean Mulhall: When they are actually uprights to the trees whether the little branch is hanging out. I've actually kept them fairly long and also I mean letting show you. So actually get your branches of the trees or actually hold in all, pull it off it together. And also means you got load of pegs for hanging. We have key up and if you know that which is excellent you got put hangers. Everything is made.

All right, so that’s pretty much the construction to there of the camp in model form.

Chris Grant: You can do this one that a lot off here.

Sean Mulhall: Yeah.

Chris Grant: This one Sean said before and see this is your fire place in here. The best thing I mean link to a shell are always great you know, you always end up really coarse etcetera but this bunkhouse has appeal to me and for the factor the fire which you know, heat up but this hot air raises. This will all come up and heat you. And we found that with the combination of a back with that thing, it wouldn’t have been great to attach it but just the start with the combination of this hot air is fantastic. And it was Rainier who said this is accordant and I'm pretty sure and side beating or any place thwart the conditions you can sleep over one of this place leading with the main is 50 and because among fire and it keep rises.

And ideally it’s the best craft done in this spot and in addition to attaching the back piece. In fact, you’re going to say also and then it feels hot. I have shown them. You have a look them in the next few minutes there be a nice spruce mattress on the top. And this spruce mattress like show and said if you cut there the very tops and do many branches it makes a fabulous mattress and also makes a little bit of insulation. So hopefully you might be able to gather something is hopefully it’s relatively clear on how it’s constructed and it’s that simple.

It just crisscross layers and bunks and I can see if I remember correctly after all these have settled the only bindings up here to hold this and I don’t want to go on and on but I believe that you know, last night we were talking about four hangers and which Sean said it’s always fabulous, it hooks on the say to hang up stuff and it would be so easy to suspend the law and have a four hanger for the fire. So go on and have a look in, zoom in on some parts and show the fire with that we can store under the bunks and this spruce mattress etcetera.

Sean Mulhall: And the other thing with have been of any of this top of shelter is when you look around in the spruce forest pretty much everything below so are head tight. There are very few branches on them and what the race I'm not really sure and so dead branch. You know, I should do any damage to the tree and so.

Chris Grant: Yeah, actually it will do the tree. It’s good to move the dead branch.

Sean Mulhall: Yes, talking about parasites and rotten wood.

Chris Grant: And apart from that I mean because it’s full and dry you know you’ve got fabulous tender. And another great thing about to say is endless warmth in there, firewood fantastic result.

Sean Mulhall: Yeah.

Chris Grant: And the river I hate to say this but you probably may.

Sean Mulhall: We can actually go to the river later on the way through it from the river. Right, we go on the construction a bit more in detail for you. So Chris is flattening the ends we've got which is really calm here. It’s very wind so we just got some dead bows on the end here just to cut the wind out.

Chris Grant: Which you should have seen probably be attached.

Sean Mulhall: It should be attached properly but it has done its purpose with last night and you can see the branch. We’ve done this neat in the map but that already is pretty much dead. Look above is you can see so we have shortly us but not doing any harm to the tree. But on this it thought out to be excellent that four hangers. You can hang your rock sides up. I mean just look through in here I mean I go my wrap in a jacket so you look I got my jacket my rock set hang up.

Go about over there. We strung it between the two trees. We’ve got a lantern if we need it for the night time. So again, you can see this spruce bows as my set of Super sleeping bag in them on with the baby.

Chris Grant: And that I'll say that these are all firewood.

Sean Mulhall: Yup.

Chris Grant: I didn’t take it all. It looks a bit scrappy and this is the original bunk bed here and all this is just stored firewood for later on or for the next day or whatever so that’s why it looks a bit scrappy.

Sean Mulhall: Yeah. There you go, it has been a little clearer. So this branch you get hands on that top layer which is a regular, actual bunk sleeping on. This is a support bar and it always cut stuff that this bit is moving and this bit and you can see some more bed of firewood which is just drawing out. I mean as we said in the night we’re going to put more logs on the fire. We could just put your hand at your bag grab a log and chuck it on so that it doesn’t too far.

Chris Grant: It’s the ultimate for at least she's got.

Sean Mulhall: And it was really, really effective. It was really warm. Another thing as well, people are always concerned about this lean-to shelter was on how stiff you have to have them and as you can see they could have—I couldn’t recognize what angle that is but put it at 30 degrees or something, 20 degrees.

Chris Grant: I would say it even 15.

Sean Mulhall: 15 degrees?

Chris Grant: Yeah.

Sean Mulhall: That mean not on straight but what it does is it reflects the heat backing in your self anywhere or it does come down on the straight up here. But in this spruce forest when you look up here it’s not really very clear but it’s so dense of at varying line as you come through those. And actually on this camera it’s noticeably large but actually when you're in here it’s very little, it’s quite as dark in here.

Chris Grant: And if I can just jump in that and if you focus in on the end what we've got here if you want to comeback through this we as we got wind panel, so unless you know the window is swollen just, you know pretty much the wind just blew straight through the center of shelter which is not windy but I need to get it smooth though.

Sean Mulhall: Yeah. Pretty that way but if you look at this way. You see all densities so we look around this, it just dense. It’s sheltered. It is nothing but no wind is coming through apart from one direction. And then to show you just how dense this is forest are that little green path you can see is where a tree is going down in daylight in that part and grass starts to grow but everywhere else you know, just path around and shaggy is no green like so. It’s just dead because the canopy is so thickly covered.

Chris Grant: You want to give it the 360.

Sean Mulhall: Yeah. It will come right out. The more I talk this ones are very neat but we will still setting these tops up definitely about I think it’s all past 11 at night.

Chris Grant: Yeah, but too late.

Sean Mulhall: That’s why we got here.

Chris Grant: But it so very nice place in the world are just too nice not to come through.

Sean Mulhall: Which is part the world we can make the effort attaching it last night but—

Chris Grant: It was a good treadle.

Sean Mulhall: They made enough to get the spruce bows for that mattress made.

Chris Grant: And then jump and also and see that just look a bit sloppy you know, my top isn’t the biggest of tops and this looks like, you know, on and on there is going to be wind coming in here and I was a bit concerned about it. I really want to make an effort that you try and pull this over so for that green like that I would think but I found one. I don’t really need a perfect bow the river is slipping like so. When I was in my bevy bag because of the proper ease of the material that bevy bag need from. I didn’t catch any cold or any wind. It just came up a thin part of the body absorb. For any concern put down take some people right there.

Sean Mulhall: That lot as we said you knows the wind is coming through on one direction only. You know I think that was it if the prevailing wind was coming in this way a bit differentiates because it is where it’s coming from up there.

Chris Grant: Of course yeah. I plan that you see.

Sean Mulhall: I thought about
it.

Chris Grant: Okay, one last short air.

Sean Mulhall: So there you go last the two man automatically lean-to.

Chris Grant: With raise bunks.

Sean Mulhall: With raise bunk and spruce bows. I can't take credit for it because I didn’t build it there. I say Chris builds it with a couple of his friends and it’s been standing for two years. It had been standing for two years?

Chris Grant: Yeah, two years and two months has been standing there.

Sean Mulhall: They’ve got two years and two months and all they have to do is just keep the place in the spruce bow beds. On occasion they are such at the back of bed if this just one allows them.

Chris Grant: And the old mattress makes fantastic tender as one when you need to up hoist it.

Sean Mulhall: But that’s true. I mean last week we got only one to top and weight to increase insulation.

Chris Grant: The larger ones you know wind and the fire it’s like a machine, doesn’t it?

Sean Mulhall: And in fact you can store the old woods you’ve chopped up you store under the bunks and keep and dry for the next times when you do come out. You know you got dry tender on your bunks. You’ve got dry logs underneath and pretty much ready to go. And so you can do turn up, you know, last night half eleven at night is no hassle you just wipe the tops up. You got your tender. You got your firewood around you and you get your fire going.

Chris Grant: And as you should probably see, the reason for building this wasn’t to prove a point that we could build at one at the builder so we don’t have to spend. I think far from the way I'm building it. You want the permanent shelter are really cozy one because where we are is just too good to explore and we didn’t want that to come back here and have to fetch count everything we can just threw up the tarps spend to ten minutes sort of the beds I can just go so that’s what—

Sean Mulhall: That all ranging come really lies as well?

Chris Grant: Yeah, exactly.

Sean Mulhall: And so I mean in our whole blanket would have perfect in here.

Chris Grant: Yes, I completely agree like I said bevy bags are not essentials. Sleep bag is essential and main is trustee and all the rest of that. All you need is either part of your top and like you see a wool blanket.

Sean Mulhall: Actually it funny. It was so warm here last night we can actually put the top up. If it was attached you can sleep without anything.

Chris Grant: I think so.

Sean Mulhall: That was warming up you can of course you're wearing putting at more enough.

Chris Grant: The pair of us had, I mean I could sleep through and we actually slept past six o’clock.

Sean Mulhall: And even this know you can same with this clothes because again it’s spruce forest you don’t get rain that come in an angle because it’s so sheltered, the idea of a fall vertically. So of course the bow is above and if your watch you'll need side of that reach line the greatest come on you anyway because it can be a full basically down. So it is not on stuff like that.

Chris Grant: So feel as successful, isn’t it?

Sean Mulhall: Yeah, that’s very successful. I'm been impress by it so—

Chris Grant: Maybe next time I'll beat that over.

Sean Mulhall: Maybe.

Chris Grant: At that said use English glad we forest them.

Sean Mulhall: But again this is one of the views to Scotland. It such a large place and they have the right to come, they have the right to wrote and the range that you know about the shelter and they’re quite happy with it because it can no damage to any local threes. They can see it’s pretty to make from blowing down trees you know, so they’re quite happy. They do not intend this to pull it down. They have to leave standing there always in limitation where there you keep yourselves so it’s not going to be abuse by the people. But where we are to be honest with you, but we were at the woods because last night, which already come back to a lot room instead of mountain with any people here, so we got an entire forest at the mountain side.

Chris Grant: Yeah, the only people in the mountain.

Sean Mulhall: The only people in mountain, yeah. So one of the few is Scotland, I must say I'll show you some other videos since some my other video is in Scotland to show you how stunning is. Thanks a lot, catch you later.

Chris Grant: Thanks for me.