Learn essential shelter and camping skills for Scouts and outdoor adventures, including campsite selection, campcraft, tents, tarp shelters, sleeping outdoors and staying warm and dry.
Choosing the right place to pitch a tent is one of the simplest camping skills to learn, but it can make a big difference to comfort, safety and how well the tent performs. A good campsite isn’t always the flattest-looking patch of grass. Scouts should learn to look at the whole area before unpacking the…
A tarp shelter can be built with surprisingly little equipment, but having the right kit makes a big difference. For Scouts, choosing and organising shelter equipment is about more than simply carrying as much as possible. The aim is to have a simple, reliable and manageable shelter kit that can be used safely in the…
A tarp can be one of the most useful pieces of outdoor equipment a Scout carries, but even a good tarp can become damaged. A sharp branch can create a small tear. A guy line can pull out an attachment point. A peg can rip a corner when strong wind catches the fabric. Knowing how…
A tarp shelter can be one of the most useful pieces of outdoor equipment a Scout can carry. It is lightweight, flexible and can be pitched in several different ways. However, a tarp that works well on a calm summer afternoon may be completely unsuitable when the wind picks up or heavy rain arrives. Learning…
Building a tarp shelter is a useful Scout skill, but building one once and declaring it finished doesn’t teach the whole story. A good shelter needs to be stable, practical, weather-aware and easy to use. The Tarp Shelter Challenge turns shelter building into a practical problem-solving exercise. Scouts work in teams to design and build…
Knowing how to make a simple emergency shelter is a useful outdoor skill for Scouts. A lean-to is one of the simplest shelters to understand. It uses a strong horizontal support with smaller poles arranged against it to create a sloping roof. Once covered, the structure can provide some protection from wind and light rain….
If you ever need to make an emergency shelter outdoors, the materials you have available can make a big difference. You don’t always need specialist survival equipment. A useful shelter can sometimes be made using items already in your rucksack, combined with suitable natural materials. The important thing is knowing what each material can realistically…
Knowing how to stay warm outdoors without a fire is an important survival skill. A fire can provide warmth, but there are many situations where lighting one isn’t possible, practical or safe. You might be camping somewhere where fires aren’t permitted, caught out in poor weather, travelling without fire-lighting equipment or simply need to conserve…
Staying warm in a sleeping bag is an important part of camping, especially during colder nights in the UK. A good sleeping bag can provide excellent insulation, but simply having a warm-rated sleeping bag doesn’t guarantee a warm night’s sleep. What you wear, what you sleep on, where you camp and how you look after…
Cold hands can make outdoor activities uncomfortable and can make simple tasks much harder. Whether you’re hiking, camping, taking part in a Scout activity or spending time outdoors in winter, knowing how to keep your hands warm is a useful practical skill. Your hands are particularly exposed to cold weather, and once they become very…
