Weekend Bushcraft & Survival Course

This Bushcraft Survival Weekend course gives you the essential skills to be able to thrive in your environment, not just survive. The course starts at 7pm on Friday and runs until 4.30pm on Sunday giving you ample time to unwind and immerse yourself in the woodland. On Saturday and Sunday your instruction will start at 9am learning and practising a range of skills all day Saturday, and until 1500 on Sunday, when you will be given some time to pack away and leave no trace on the woodland.

The first and most obvious skill is fire. It is the most fundamental skill you can learn and is an essential part of self-reliance. Once you have fire you have warmth, light, the ability to sterilise water and cook food. A fire also gives you one of the most important things in a difficult situation - morale. Never underestimate the boost a fire can give you rather than shivering in the dark.

You will also learn shelter building techniques including natural and modern shelters. You will have the opportunity to set up and try a modern tarp and hammock combo and how to use a tarp in a range of weathers and terrains, you will be surprised at how some simple techniques can change your whole experience. You will also learn how to efficiently construct different types of natural shelters, so that you can build shelter appropriate to the situation with the minimum of energy outlay, and should you choose to, we would encourage you to sleep in it that night to fully appreciate the effectiveness.

The next most important fundamental is water, one of the first things that starts to fail when dehydrated is good decision making as our brains are more reliant on water than any other organ. You will learn how to source water in a variety of environments and terrains, how to make it safe to drink by a range of methods, but most importantly you will be confident in your skills in this area without reliance on anything but your knowledge. This can obviously be harder than you think but it is a basic of life. Bad water will kill you nearly as fast as exposure!

The course will also cover essential knife skills and campcraft, giving you the ability to make the things you may need, and carry less load on your back, and we will learn to identify useful species of native plants and trees, and any wild foods we may encounter depending on season.

We will also learn methods for cooking on a camp fire without modern pans and utensils, and learn how to interpret the tracks and signs of the common wild creatures whose paths cross our own when in the woods.

One of the most important aspects of the weekend is having time to practise these skills as you learn. You can learn various techniques for all the basic skills for life from a range of sources in principle, but however well-read you may be, or however many techniques you may have seen on you tube, mastery of these skills requires hands on time to practise them in a safe environment with an instructor who can guide you safely and knowledgably and instil confidence in your own abilities. Basic campcraft and fieldcraft is a much underrated skill and experience will teach you to read your environment in a way that becomes second nature. This course will set you on the road to that and help make you completely comfortable within your environment.

Taught from an expedition-style base camp in beautiful mixed broadleaf and coniferous woodland, the camp fire is under cover and acts as a communal and teaching area with a hot kettle constantly on the fire, and coffee, tea, biscuits and squash available at all times of day. Please note this is a self-catering course, so you will need to bring a gas stove and suitable convenient meals, however we will provide food for the campfire cooking activity.

Of course, you will need some basic camping kit but you don't have to start with anything fancy, a full kit list can be supplied upon request. Subject to availability sleeping kit can be supplied (small hike tent, sleeping bag with liner, sleeping mat, tarp/hammock). All tools and equipment used during the course are provided.
If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

All of our courses are run by our highly qualified and experienced lead instructor Graham who, like all good teachers, remains a student for life. He holds various independent qualifications and skills including - NCFE Level 4 Bushcraft Leader, NCFE Level 4 Practical Ethnobotany, Cybertracker Track and Sign Level 2, Cybertracker Wildlife Trailing Level 2, GB Archery Qualified Archery Instructor, Institute of Outdoor Learning Member, and writes articles for magazines. He is a full time Bushcraft Instructor working with both adults and children all year round.