Ready-to-use scouting and outdoor activity plans for leaders, with ideas organised by duration, setting and activity type for easy session planning.
Want to become more confident outdoors? The best way to develop practical outdoor skills is to get outside, try things for yourself and learn through experience. Reading guides can help you understand a technique, but putting it into practice is what helps turn that knowledge into a skill you can use. The SGUK Outdoor Skills…
When you’re walking in the countryside, a small symbol on a gatepost, wooden fingerpost or trail marker can tell you that you’re following a recognised long-distance route. Learning to spot these markings makes walking less uncertain and helps you understand the signs you’ll encounter along the way. The key symbol for National Trails in England…
After a spell of heavy rain, some parts of the ground dry quickly while others remain muddy for days. You can often predict where the water will collect before the rain even starts, simply by looking at the shape of the land, the soil and the way the surrounding ground drains. This is a useful…
A woodland floor, hedgerow or patch of grass can look quiet until you start noticing the signs of life around you. A hole beneath a tree root, a nest tucked into a hedge or a web stretched between two branches can tell you that an animal has been using that spot for shelter, raising young…
There’s a useful difference between walking a route someone else has marked and being able to mark a route for somebody to follow. The second takes a little more thought. You need to decide where a marker belongs, make its meaning clear and check that the next person can follow it without having to guess….
A successful hike depends on more than choosing a route and putting one foot in front of the other. Conditions can change, paths can become difficult to follow, equipment can fail and people can become tired or injured. The decisions you make when something unexpected happens can have a considerable effect on how safely you…
Rainfall affects everything from ground conditions on a walk to how quickly streams and rivers can rise. Making a simple rain gauge gives you a way to measure what’s falling where you live, rather than relying on how wet the ground looks. For this challenge, you’ll make a rain gauge of your own, place it…
There is something satisfying about arriving at camp with little more than some rope, a few useful tools and whatever suitable materials you can find around you, then turning the campsite into something that actually works for you. A simple tripod can become a kitchen. A few poles can turn into a gear rack. With…
Navigation doesn’t have to mean walking for miles with a map and compass. For children, learning to navigate can start with something much simpler: understanding where they are, knowing where they want to go and working out how to get there. A short route is a great way to practise. It might be a walk…
Setting up a tent is one of the most useful camping skills you can learn. The first few times it can seem confusing, especially when you’re faced with poles, pegs and a bundle of fabric, but it becomes much easier once you understand the basic process. You don’t need to do everything perfectly straight away….
