Learn essential survival skills including shelter building, fire lighting, navigation, first aid, outdoor safety and practical skills to survive in the wilderness.
Before heading out for a walk, hike or other outdoor trip, it is worth making sure someone knows where you are going. It doesn’t need to be a complicated itinerary. A few clear details can make a big difference if your plans change, you are…
A lot of outdoor problems start out as small inconveniences. You take the wrong turn, the weather changes, something breaks or the route takes longer than expected. The problem is often not the original mistake, but what happens next. Staying calm gives you a much…
Pay Attention to the Person, Not Just the Pace When you are walking with other people, it is easy to concentrate on your own pace, the route ahead or how far you have left to go. Someone who is struggling might not immediately say anything,…
Start With the Space You Actually Have One of the easiest ways to make a tent feel untidy is to treat every bit of floor space as storage. It might seem harmless when you first arrive, but once your rucksack, boots, clothing, food and sleeping…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…