Learn essential survival skills including shelter building, fire lighting, navigation, first aid, outdoor safety and practical skills to survive in the wilderness.
A small tent can be surprisingly comfortable when you know how to use the space properly. The problem is that it doesn’t take much equipment, wet clothing or a badly organised rucksack to make the inside feel cramped. You don’t need a huge tent to have a good night’s sleep outdoors. You just need to…
A long uphill section can change the whole feel of a walk. A route that seemed easy on the map can suddenly become hard work when you’re faced with a steady climb that just seems to keep going. The biggest mistake is often trying to attack the hill too quickly. You start at the same…
When you’re enjoying a walk or outdoor adventure, it can be tempting to keep going. You might have a certain distance in mind. Perhaps you’re trying to reach a particular viewpoint, get back before dark or simply don’t want to be the person who suggests stopping. But being tired isn’t something you should ignore just…
Getting outside is one of the best ways to appreciate the natural world. But the more people who visit outdoor spaces, the more important it becomes to think about the effect we have while we’re there. That doesn’t mean you need to tiptoe through the countryside afraid of touching anything. It mostly comes down to…
There is a big difference between being outside and actually noticing what is going on around you. You can walk the same woodland path ten times and still miss things that were there all along. A broken branch, a set of animal tracks, a change in the wind, birds suddenly going quiet, or a path…
Water planning is an important part of preparing for any outdoor journey. It is not simply a case of filling a bottle before you leave. You need to consider how much water you are likely to use, where you can refill, whether those sources are reliable, how you will treat collected water and what you…
Water becomes a different hazard when temperatures fall. Cold weather can affect rivers and streams, make banks slippery, create ice and increase the consequences of falling into water. Even a relatively short immersion can become dangerous when the water is very cold. Cold-weather water safety therefore involves more than avoiding deep water. You need to…
Being swept into fast-moving water is a serious emergency. The current can move you much faster than you can swim, and obstacles beneath or above the surface may be difficult to see. Trying to fight directly against the current can quickly lead to exhaustion. The most important thing is to stay calm, protect your airway…
Crossing a stream can look simple until the water becomes deeper, faster or more unpredictable. A shallow stream in calm conditions may present little difficulty, while the same watercourse after heavy rainfall can become a serious hazard. Advanced stream crossing is therefore not about finding a clever way to get across. It is about assessing…
Water can become contaminated in many different ways. Animals, people, sewage, flooding, agricultural activity and pollution can all affect a water source. Some contamination is obvious, while some cannot be seen, smelled or tasted. For anyone spending significant time outdoors, understanding waterborne contamination means knowing how to reduce the chance of contamination in the first…
