Learn the essentials of living closer to nature. This survival training builds a foundation of practical skills to help you stay alive and well in the wilderness.
Spend a day grasping the basics of bushcraft, in majestic beech woodland with an experienced instructor. This course will spark an interest in woodland skills, empowering you to delve further on one of our advanced courses.
Basic Skills
There is a lot of paraphernalia associated with bushcraft, but the fundamental skills are very basic and can be learnt anywhere. A good, solid knife is essential for the carving and craft aspects of bushcraft. Invest in one that suits your hand, is easy to use and durable.
Start by mastering fire-lighting with tinder. This will give you an understanding of which fungi and plants to collect for tinder, and the techniques of creating and maintaining a fire.
The basics also include knowing how to build a shelter from the materials available. The Elementary Wilderness Bushcraft course puts these cornerstone skills into practice in a context that allows you to understand the freedoms and limitations of being more directly dependent on nature.
Shelter
Shelter is an unsung hero of survival – it provides protection from harsh weather conditions and can be used to store food, water and equipment. It’s also critical for maintaining body heat – the ground is a terrible conductor of heat and can literally suck it out of you.
Learn how to create a shelter using various materials in different environments with expert instruction from our Frontier Bushcraft instructors. You’ll master tarp construction and expedient emergency shelters, as well as pro-tips and tricks to make your shelter comfy and functional in all types of wilderness environments.
Explore a wild 560-acre island and build your survival skills in this ultimate Bushcraft adventure experience. You’ll gain confidence in a variety of life-saving survival techniques, and build resilience in a breathtaking natural setting featured on Bear Grylls’ show.
Food
Cooking is a vital skill for bushcraft and survival. Getting the right equipment and learning how to use it can make a big difference.
Whether you are cooking for one or more people at camp it is essential to select recipes that are easily scalable. This will help you avoid any over or under cooking of food.
Participants will learn about how to prepare wild food using various methods such as roasting, baking and steaming. They will also be shown how to construct a variety of traps and fish foraging techniques. The group will also learn how to strike camp leaving their campsite in a natural state.
Water
Staying hydrated is vital for survival and clear thinking, but natural water sources are not always clean and can harbour bacteria and viruses. Learn the skills to prepare water for consumption. This includes solar stills, charcoal filtration and heated rocks. You’ll also master techniques for acquiring water in wilderness environments and failsafe protocols to render swamp water drinkable.
Responsible foraging practices are also taught to ensure you harvest judiciously, leaving plenty of resources for wildlife and future foragers. Practice tinder preparation, including feather sticks and conifer resin kindling. Learn match, zirconium and bow drill methods of fire lighting. A full kit list is available.
Navigation
A fundamental component of wilderness survival skills is the ability to navigate. Without this skill, one can become hopelessly lost in the wild.
Navigation techniques taught in the bushcraft course include compass calibration and use, detailed map interpretation (including contour lines), locating terrain features, estimating distance travelled and micro-navigation. We also explore other natural ways to navigate such as sun and wind direction, cloud formations and animal tracks.
Students learn to combine all of these skills in order to navigate in a variety of wilderness environments. This knowledge enables them to travel with minimal need for electronic equipment, especially in remote areas where there is no cell coverage.
First Aid
For those on a bushcraft course it is vital to have the skills and knowledge to deal with any issues that may arise. This will include first aid techniques adapted to the wilderness environment.
Wilderness bushcraft courses will also teach you how to prepare food. This is a crucial skill to have in any survival situation as mishandling of food can be incredibly dangerous.
A wilderness bushcraft course will also cover water sourcing and purification. This is a vital skill to have as in some environments it can be hard to find and in many cases is unsafe to drink. During the course you will learn failsafe protocols for water treatment and storage.