Paul loves nature and grew up to become an expert on surviving in the great outdoors.
Now the public will have a chance to walk with him on the wild side as the local man takes part in the Taste Mid Ulster festival in Moy tomorrow.
The father-of-three, who runs Wild Walk Bushcraft will be hosting foraging walks through Pomeroy Forest as part of the daylong celebration of food, produce and crafts in Mid Ulster.
Growing up in the countryside near Ballymena, Paul (52) spent every spare hour as a child living outdoors, making dens to sleep in, catching fish with his bare hands and foraging for food.
He managed to turn his love of nature into a business and is now living his dream as the only full-time survival tutor in Northern Ireland.
He has taught wilderness skills to thousands of adults and kids, passing on a variety of basic survival techniques from how to trap, skin and gut animals to making knives from scratch, building rainproof shelters, how to source and purify water, build fires for cooking and much more.
Lauren Shimmon The Tailor’s House, Paul Moore Wild Walk Bushcraft and Bethany Boyd Betty’s Ice-cream
For those who want a real Bear Grylls experience, he runs an advanced survivalist course which only four people have managed to pass since 2010.
“People go to jungle for adventure, but I wanted to learn what is available at my own back door, “he says.
“I realised what Ray Mears (bushcraft expert and TV personality) does is what I have been doing since I was a boy so I started with offering some bushcraft courses and it developed into a full time business, with different levels of courses teaching skills for survival in the wild.
Paul Moore Wild Walk Bushcraft, Catherine Finnegan Fluffy Meringue Bethany Boyd Betty’s Ice-cream and Lauren Shimmon The Tailor’s House
“I teach how to make traps, forage for food, gut rabbits and squirrels, or skin a deer and how to make a shelter from what they find in the woods. It has become very popular with families as parents and kids are both learning things they didn’t know.
“For the serious survivalist, I have a course which only four people have passed in years.
“For me, it is about having the knowledge and passing that on.
“What you have in your head is more important than what is in your pockets so people can go in with nothing and learn to make their own tools, track and find their own food, learn how to cook it and source and purify water.
“I know I am living the dream and sharing my knowledge and I feel lucky every day to be doing it.”
Paul Moore Wild Walk Bushcraft, Catherine Finnegan Fluffy Meringue and Bethany Boyd Betty’s Ice-cream.
Paul has a special interest in Irish prehistory, especially Mesolithic ancestors in Ireland. He teaches prehistoric skills such as flint knapping, fish skin tanning and primitive crafts, demonstrating and talking about these skills and our ancestors at public events.
He grew up exploring the fields and forests, tracking and observing wildlife, hand fishing for trout and building shelters to sleep in.
He says: “The relationship we have with the outdoors is gradually getting worse.
“When I was growing up there was the odd computer, but most people couldn’t afford one and the most important piece of equipment for me as a boy was a pocket knife — it and the library van that came round our village every Tuesday.
“I was always the first person waiting to get books on nature, when you start to study it, you see the link between everything.
“My first fishing rod was a willow stick with a piece of string attached by two safety pins which my granny made. I also learned to catch fish with my bare hands.
“There was no money in those days so me and my mates were out all the time over the fields, building our own shelters and sleeping outside. We had no cameras or binoculars, so we learnt to be quiet and sit still to observe the wildlife.”
Now as part of the Taste Mid Ulster Market this Saturday, Paul will be hosting foraging tours in Pomeroy Forest, showing people how to identify and cook such delights as nettles, dandelions, wood avens (a yellow woodland flower) and many more wild plants.
The daylong celebration of local food and crafts in Mid-Ulster will be held in Pomeroy Forest which has just opened a state-of-the-art building and new forest trails.
Organised by Mid Ulster District Council, it aims to showcase the very best food, produce and crafts from across the district, including exclusive foodie experiences and chef demonstrations.
Among the cooks rustling up dishes with produce from the area will be Suzie Lee Arbuthnot, winner of the BBC Best Home Cooks, Mid Ulster cook and food ambassador Norah Brown MBE and chef Lauren Shimmon from The Tailor’s House, Ballygawley.
There will also be over 25 stalls of local food, produce and crafts, kids entertainment, plus music from a number of local artists, including singer/songwriter Andrea Begley, winner of the BBC’s The Voice.
The event is open from 11am – 6pm and for more information go to www.visitmidulster.com and for more details on Paul’s bushcraft experience good to www.wild-walk.co.uk.
