LATEST OUTDOOR GUIDES
Keep up to date with the latest guides, activities and resources from Survival Guides UK. Explore new articles covering outdoor skills, survival, Scout activities, camping, navigation, knots, fire safety and practical skills.
Our latest posts are designed to help Scouts, youth groups, leaders and anyone interested in outdoor learning develop practical knowledge and confidence. From new activity ideas and survival skills to useful how-to guides, check back regularly for the latest resources.
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge: Something Big Is Coming
Something big is coming to Survival Guides UK. Not another short list of outdoor activities. Not a course that finishes after a few lessons. And not a challenge that stops when you reach number 100. We are building something much bigger. The SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge is going to be a huge, ever-growing collection of…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 47: Practise Leaving No Trace in Woodland
A good woodland visit shouldn’t leave a lasting mark on the place you’ve enjoyed. It’s easy to think that moving a branch, picking a few plants or leaving a small piece of rubbish won’t make much difference, but repeated actions by lots of visitors can gradually damage a habitat. Even activities that seem harmless can…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 46: Learn Which Nuts Are Ready to Harvest in Autumn
Autumn is a rewarding time to explore woodland and hedgerows, especially when you start noticing the nuts developing beneath the trees. But finding a nut on the ground doesn’t automatically mean it’s ripe, edible or worth collecting. Some are ready to gather, others need more time, and a few that look tempting are poisonous. For…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 45: Find Dry Fuel in Damp Woodland
After a spell of rain, a woodland floor can look as though every twig and branch is too wet to burn. Yet not all wood gets wet at the same rate. Some material stays sheltered beneath dense foliage, while the inside of a dead branch can remain considerably drier than its rain-soaked surface. Knowing where…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 44: Learn How what3words Works and Its Limits
Imagine you’re walking across open countryside when someone in your group gets injured. You can see fields and footpaths all around you, but you don’t know the name of the nearest road or how to describe your exact position to the emergency services. This is where what3words can be useful. The system gives locations three-word…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 43: Learn the National Trail Waymarks
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…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 42: Cook by Stone Boiling
Cooking outdoors doesn’t always require a metal pot, a camping stove or a kettle over a fire. One traditional technique, known as stone boiling, uses heated stones to warm water in a separate container. It takes patience and careful preparation, but it’s a fascinating way to explore how people could heat water and prepare food…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 41: Make a Fire Blowpipe from a Hollow Stem
Getting a fire going isn’t always about adding more tinder or piling on extra kindling. Sometimes, a small amount of carefully directed air is all that’s needed to help an established bed of embers burn more strongly. A traditional fire blowpipe is a simple tube that lets you direct your breath towards a particular spot…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 40: Predict Where Water Will Pool After Rain
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…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 39: Learn the Risks of Carbon Monoxide When Cooking in a Tent
Cooking outdoors is part of the enjoyment of camping, but using a stove in the wrong place can turn an ordinary meal into a life-threatening situation. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas produced when fuels such as gas, petrol, charcoal, wood and other carbon-based materials burn without enough oxygen. It has no colour, smell or…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 38: Build a Bough Bed
Sleeping on the ground outdoors can be uncomfortable, even when the weather is mild. Cold ground draws heat away from your body, while roots, stones and uneven surfaces can make it difficult to settle down. A traditional bough bed tackles some of these problems by creating a raised or thickly insulated sleeping platform from natural…
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