This month in the woods
November Bushcraft Calendar: Skills, Foraging, Wildlife & Outdoor Tasks
Prepare for winter with November's bushcraft skills, from fire-lighting and woodland identification to shelter building, seasonal wildlife and cold-weather kit preparation.
The year at a glance
Every month has at least one main skill, one thing to look for and one hazard to watch for.
| Month | Focus skill | Look for | Main hazard | Daylight (London) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Winter tree identification by bark and buds | Hazel catkins, snowdrops, tracks in frost | Ice, cold, short days | 8h 19m |
| February | Tracking in mud and snow | First wild garlic leaves in the south, alder catkins, frogspawn | Flooding, cold water, mud | 9h 57m |
| March | Birch sap and plant identification basics | Birch sap rising, nettle tops, wild garlic, primroses | Nesting season begins, wet ground | 11h 46m |
| April | Cooking with spring greens, shelter in showers | Wild garlic, young hawthorn leaves, bluebells (look, never pick or dig) | Ticks start, nesting birds | 13h 48m |
| May | Tarp and hammock shelters | Hawthorn blossom, wild garlic flowers, early elderflower in the south | Ticks, adders, giant hogweed sap | 15h 34m |
| June | Fire safety, cooking and first overnights | Elderflower, lime blossom, wild strawberries | Heat, ticks, midges in Scotland, wildfire risk begins | 16h 36m |
| July | Finding and purifying water | Wild raspberries, upland bilberries, lime blossom | Heat, dehydration, adders, fire bans | 16h 13m |
| August | Fruit foraging and long-evening navigation | Blackberries starting, bilberries, early elderberries | Wasps, heathland fires, sun | 14h 41m |
| September | Harvest foraging, preserving, cordage from nettle stems | Blackberries, elderberries, hazelnuts, first sloes, first fungi | Fungi misidentification, first autumn gales | 12h 44m |
| October | Nuts, acorn processing, a guided fungi foray | Acorns, sweet chestnuts, rosehips, fungi at their peak | Game shooting season, early dark, deer rut | 10h 47m |
| November | Fire in damp weather, tarp shelters, night navigation | Sloes, rosehips, haws, crab apples, golden larches | Hypothermia, early darkness, game shoots | 8h 56m |
| December | Fire for warmth, staying warm, winter stars | Tracks in mud and frost, holly berries, Geminid meteors | Ice, carbon monoxide, hypothermia | 7h 53m |
Daylight is for London on the 15th of each month, calculated for 2026 and within a couple of minutes in other years. Edinburgh has about 50 minutes less in midwinter and almost an hour more in midsummer.
Choose a month
JanuaryStart the year by building your outdoor skills. January explores winter tree identification, animal tracks, fire preparation, shelter planning and seasonal foraging, with practical challenges, navigation exercises and essential safety advice. NovemberPrepare for winter with November's bushcraft skills, from fire-lighting and woodland identification to shelter building, seasonal wildlife and cold-weather kit preparation.DecemberMaster winter bushcraft with December's guides to staying warm, safe firecraft, winter navigation, tree identification and stargazing.