Ray Mears
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Ray Mears
OR:
Ray Mears on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Raymond Paul Mears (born 7 February 1964) is a British woodsman, instructor, businessman, author and TV presenter. His TV appearances cover
bushcraft Bushcraft is the use and practice of skills, thereby acquiring and developing knowledge and understanding, in order to survive and thrive in a natural environment. Bushcraft skills provide for the basic physiological necessities for human li ...
and survival techniques. He is best known for the TV series '' Ray Mears' Bushcraft'', '' Ray Mears' World of Survival'', '' Extreme Survival'', '' Survival with Ray Mears'', '' Wild Britain with Ray Mears'' and '' Ray Mears Goes Walkabout''.


Life and work


Early life

Mears grew up on the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...
, in Southern England. He attended Downside Preparatory School in Purley and then
Reigate Grammar School Reigate Grammar School is a 2–18 mixed independent day school in Reigate, Surrey, England. It was established in 1675 by Henry Smith. History The school was founded as a free school for poor boys in 1675 by Alderman Henry Smith with Jon Will ...
, where he was a member of the Royal Navy section of the Combined Cadet Force. Mears' ambition was to join the Royal Marines, but he could not meet the eyesight requirements for entry. After taking
A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...
, Mears briefly worked in an office in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
.


Career

In 1983, Mears founded Woodlore, a company that offers bushcraft-related courses and paraphernalia. It became so successful that it soon led to the trademarking of the name "Ray Mears". Mears first appeared on television in 1994 presenting the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series ''Tracks'' and then, in 1997, '' Ray Mears' World of Survival''. In 2003, he presented the BBC documentary ''Ray Mears' Real Heroes of Telemark'' about the
Norwegian heavy water sabotage The Norwegian heavy water sabotage ( nb, Tungtvannsaksjonen; nn, Tungtvassaksjonen) was a series of Allied-led efforts to halt German heavy water production via hydroelectric plants in Nazi Germany-occupied Norway during World War II, involvi ...
mission during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. In 2003 Mears won The Ness Award. While filming a documentary in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...
, US in 2005, Mears was involved in a serious accident. The
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
in which he and his camera crew were travelling hit the ground during a steep low level turn, and broke apart, rolling to a stop. The fuel tank was ruptured in the accident and escaping fuel covered Mears and the crew. No fire occurred, and Mears was able to escape the wreckage uninjured and assist in the rescue and administer first aid to one of the crew who was badly hurt. On 29 May 2008, Mears appeared on ''
The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...
'' where he attempted unsuccessfully to light a fire using a
bow drill A bow drill is a simple hand-operated type of tool, consisting of a rod (the ''spindle'' or ''drill shaft'') that is set in rapid rotary motion by means of a cord wrapped around it, kept taut by a bow which is pushed back and forth with one han ...
. Unbeknownst to Mears, the entire set had been sprayed with fire-retardant. In 2009, Mears was approached by ITV to present a planned revival of the nature documentary series ''
Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
''. The resulting three-part series was rebranded '' Survival with Ray Mears'' and broadcast on
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
in 2010. Each episode followed Mears as he used his tracking skills to locate bears, wolves and leopards. In a '' Radio Times'' interview to promote the series, Mears complained of being typecast by the BBC with the result that he was not offered the opportunity to present wildlife programmes. Mears was a guest on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...
'' in January 2014. His choices were "
Jumpin' Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was perceived by some as t ...
" by
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
, "English Rose" by
the Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...
, "
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnersh ...
" by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
, "
Annie's Song "Annie's Song" (also known as "Annie's Song (You Fill Up My Senses)") is a song in time written and recorded by American singer-songwriter John Denver. The song was released as the lead single from his eighth studio album '' Back Home Again'' ...
" by John Denver, "
Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
" by Blondie, " Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall, "
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was released on the 1972 album ''Honky Château''. The lyrics conveyed Taupin's take on New York City after h ...
" by Elton John and " Feeling Good" by
Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...
. In 2009 he was awarded the prestigious Mungo Park Medal. In July 2010, Mears was asked by
Northumbria Police Northumbria Police is a territorial police force in England. It is responsible for policing the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and the City of Sunderland, as well as the ceremonial c ...
to help them track fugitive killer
Raoul Moat The 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt was a major police operation conducted across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland with the objective of apprehending fugitive Raoul Moat. After killing one person and wounding two others in a two-day shooting s ...
, after he fled his temporary tent-based shelter in the village of
Rothbury Rothbury is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet. It is northwest of Morpeth and of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 2,107. Rothbury emerged as an important town be ...
. Between 2010 and 2013 he presented three series of Wild Britain on ITV. The first series consisted of six 45 minute episodes, while series two and three had ten episodes of programmes lasting half an hour. Each programme would see Mears visit a different habitat in a different part of the country. The programme was a rating success, regularly featuring in the top 30 watched programmes of the week. 2013 also saw Mears write My Outdoor Life, which was a Sunday Times' Bestseller. In 2014 he presented Wilderness Walks, where he visited six areas of natural beauty across the United Kingdom. Each episode would see Mears spend day in a location exploring the local wildlife and offering advice on how to find wild food and make the most of natural resources. In 2015 he presented Wild River, a one-off episode where he explores the wildlife around the River Wye. 2016 saw him present Wild Australia where he explored the wildlife of several locations both on land and in the sea, coming across several iconic Australian species, such as the Red Kangaroo and Platypus. He then presented six episodes of Wild France, travelling around the country and looking at its wildlife. Following the same format as his previous series, each programme focused on a different environment. He returned to Australia in 2017, presenting the seven part-series Australian Wilderness with Ray Mears. In 2021 he presented Wild China, a seven part series, where he visited a range of habitats and looked at several iconic animals, including Snow Leopards and Giants Pandas.


Personal life

Mears met his first wife, Rachel, in 1992 when she attended one of his five-day survival courses. The couple lived in Eastbourne, East Sussex with her two adult children and married in 2005, after Rachel was diagnosed with
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
. Rachel died in 2006, aged 50, and her ashes are scattered in
Ashdown Forest Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation o ...
near their home. Mears currently lives in Sussex with his second wife Ruth and his stepson. In 2019 he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of York's archaeology department for "...his excellent representation of craft, the wilderness and public outreach".


Series

* ''Wild Tracks'' (BBC, 1994) * ''Tracks'' (BBC, 1994–97) * '' Ray Mears' World of Survival'' (BBC, 1997–98, 2 series of 6 episodes each) * ''Ray Mears' Country Tracks'' (BBC, 1998, 2002–03) * ''The Essential Guide to Rocks'' (BBC Education, 1998) * '' Ray Mears' Extreme Survival'' (BBC, 1999–2002, 3 series of 6 episodes each) * ''Ray Mears' Adventure Special'' (BBC, 2001) – Mears takes
Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
into the Honduran jungle on the trail of the prehistoric people of the
Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
. * ''Ray Mears' Real Heroes of Telemark'' (BBC, 2003) * '' Ray Mears' Bushcraft'' (BBC, 2004–05, 2 series of 5 episodes each) * '' Ray Mears' Wild Food'' (BBC, 2007, 5 episodes) * '' Ray Mears Goes Walkabout'' (BBC, June 2008, 4 episodes) – Mears tours the
Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
. An accompanying hardcover book was published in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton in March 2008. In the series, Mears meets one of his heroes,
Les Hiddins Major Leslie James Hiddins AM (born 13 August 1946 in Brisbane, Queensland), known as "The Bush Tucker Man" is a retired Australian Army soldier and war veteran who is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush. Hiddins is recog ...
(aka "The
Bush Tucker Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...
Man"). He also heads to the Kimberley region to meet the reputed aboriginal artist and bush guide Ju Ju Wilson. * '' Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness'' (BBC Two, Autumn 2009, 6 episodes) – Mears follows in the footsteps of pioneers who opened up Canada, such as
Samuel Hearne Samuel Hearne (February 1745 – November 1792) was an English explorer, fur-trader, author, and naturalist. He was the first European to make an overland excursion across northern Canada to the Arctic Ocean, actually Coronation Gulf, via the C ...
, John Rae and David Thompson. * '' Survival with Ray Mears'' (ITV, Spring 2010, 3 episodes) * '' Wild Britain with Ray Mears'' (ITV, 2010–2013, 3 series) * ''Ray Mears: Close Encounters'' (ITV, 2013) * ''How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears'' (BBC Four, 2014) * ''Wilderness Walks with Ray Mears'' (ITV, 2014) * ''Wild River with Ray Mears'' (ITV, 2015) * ''Wild Australia with Ray Mears'' (ITV, 2016) * ''Wild France with Ray Mears'' (ITV, 2016) * ''Australian Wilderness with Ray Mears'' (ITV, 2017) * ''Wild China with Ray Mears'' (ITV, 2021)


Books

* '' The Survival Handbook'' (1990) * '' The Outdoor Survival Handbook'' (1992) * '' Ray Mears' World of Survival'' (1997) * ''Bushcraft'' (2002) * ''Essential Bushcraft'' (2003) * ''The Real Heroes of
Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
: The True Story of the Secret Mission to Stop Hitler's Atomic Bomb'' (2003) * ''Ray Mears' Bushcraft Survival'' (2005) * ''Wild Food by Ray Mears & Professor Gordon Hillman'' (2007) * ''Ray Mears Goes Walkabout'' (2008) * ''Vanishing World - A Life of Bushcraft'' (2008) * ''Northern Wilderness'' (2009) * ''My Outdoor Life ''(2013) * ''Out on the Land: Bushcraft Skills from the Northern Forest'' (2016) * ''Wilderness Chef: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Outdoors'' (2020) * ''We Are Nature: How to reconnect with the wild'' (2021)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mears, Ray English television presenters English male writers 1964 births Living people People educated at Reigate Grammar School People from Kenley Survivalists