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…
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…
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…
Water can look calm from the bank and still be moving with surprising force beneath the surface. A smooth patch might indicate deeper water, a line of bubbles may reveal the direction of a current, and a patch of swirling water can show where the…
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…
Knowing how to take a pulse is a useful skill to have outdoors. If someone feels unwell during a walk, struggles during a strenuous climb or needs a moment to recover after exertion, being able to measure a heart rate gives you another piece of…
Falling into water unexpectedly can be frightening, even if you’re a strong swimmer. You might slip from a riverbank, fall off a paddleboard, get caught by a wave or enter the water while walking beside a reservoir. Your first instinct may be to thrash about…
A handful of fresh greens can turn a basic pot of soup into something worth making again. Nettles have a mild, earthy flavour once cooked, wild garlic brings a gentle savoury sharpness, and sorrel adds a fresh, lemony taste. Each works well in a simple…
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…
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,…
There are many ways in which nature gives us signs of wind direction. Wind leaves clues behind, even when the air has become still. Trees may grow in unusual shapes, grasses can become combed in one direction, and loose sand or fallen leaves may collect…
You don’t need leaves to recognise a tree. Its bark, buds, twigs, shape and even the seeds scattered beneath it can provide clues to its identity. Learning to identify a tree without leaves is especially useful in autumn and winter, when many familiar trees have…
