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 17: Identify Three Edible-Looking Plants You Should Not Eat
Some wild plants look harmless, and a few even resemble familiar foods you might find in a supermarket or garden. The problem is that appearance alone cannot tell you whether a plant is safe to eat. Some poisonous species look similar to edible plants, and getting an identification wrong can have serious consequences. For the…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 16: Practise the Stop-and-Think Routine
When you’re walking outdoors, it’s easy to keep moving even when you know that something doesn’t feel quite right. Perhaps a path doesn’t match your map, you’ve missed a turning, or you’re no longer certain which direction you should be heading. Continuing without checking can turn a small mistake into a much bigger problem. The…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 15: Learn the Five Ds of Navigation
Good navigation is about more than knowing how to read a map or follow a compass bearing. You also need to keep checking your surroundings, make sensible decisions and recognise when something isn’t going to plan. The Five Ds of Navigation provide a simple way to remember important questions to ask yourself before and during…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 14: Leave a Fire Site Safe
Lighting a fire outdoors is only half the job. Before you leave a campsite, you need to make absolutely sure the fire is completely extinguished and that no hidden heat or embers remain to start another fire after you’ve gone. Ash can look cold on the surface while embers underneath are still hot enough to…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 13: Learn the 3-3-3 Rule
Getting lost outdoors can feel frightening, especially when you are unsure of how far you have travelled or how to get back. The important thing is not to panic or rush into making a decision. The 3-3-3 rule is a useful little way to remember some basic survival priorities and think clearly when things do…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 12: Make a Feather Stick
A feather stick is a useful piece of kindling made by shaving thin curls of wood along a stick while leaving those curls attached. The fine curls catch a flame more readily than a thick piece of wood, making a feather stick a handy skill to learn when practising traditional fire preparation. In the previous…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 11: Identify Three Common British Trees
How many trees can you recognise when you’re out walking? You might know an oak by its distinctive leaves or recognise a horse chestnut from the familiar conkers that fall in autumn, but identifying trees becomes much easier when you start looking at the small details rather than relying on a quick glance. In the…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 10: Read a Map
Being able to read a map is one of the most useful skills you can develop for spending time outdoors. A map can tell you far more than where a path goes. It can help you recognise hills, valleys, rivers, woodland, buildings and other features, allowing you to work out where you are and what…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 09: Pack a Day-Walk Rucksack
Packing a rucksack properly is one of those outdoor skills that makes a real difference to how comfortable and prepared you feel on a walk. It is easy to throw a few things into a bag and head out, but knowing what to take, where to put it and how to carry it comfortably takes…
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SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 08: Navigate Using Landmarks
It’s easy to become so focused on following a path that you stop paying attention to the place that you’re actually walking through. Learning to recognise landmarks helps you build a better picture of your surroundings, making it easier to keep track of where you are and recognise when something doesn’t look right. In the…
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