Speyside Wilderness Skills provides courses to give individuals and groups of all ages the opportunity to develop outdoor knowledge and skills whilst feeling all of the benefits of connecting with nature, including to health & well-being, confidence and self-reliance, here in the stunning woodland environment of Speyside. For our younger generation we know that there is no greater means to learn,
retain information, gain confidence and have fun than the multi-sensory learning afforded by the outdoor classroom. As grown ups it will be a chance to unwind, gain new knowledge, or contribute to group sessions with existing knowledge, in a relaxed environment around a camp fire. The meditative effect of the carving zone when whittling wood crafts in good like-minded company around the fire is hard to beat! Growing up in the countryside in the 70s with a lot of freedom I began my journey making dens and lighting fires, watching animals and using the tools of a woodsman. I have practiced, studied, worked, gained qualifications and taught in the countryside ever since and have a particular passion for the all encompassing, and now very popular, subject of bushcraft. As Speyside Wilderness Skills evolves, plans involve a collaboration of outdoor skilled people in the area to bring their knowledge to the campfire as teachers. There has been meetings with some great people and I hope to meet more of the rich knowledge and skills I know there to be here in Speyside. Whether you are already into the outdoors or wish to get out more, a person planning a wilderness trip, or a person wishing to learn crafts or how our ancestors lit and managed fire, how to track an animal, how to navigate with and without a compass, make shelter and natural cordage, forage for food, how to safely use and maintain the knife, axe and saw, how to fish, how to cook on the open fire, what to carry, how to identify trees & plants and know their uses or how to deal with hypothermia or simply wishing to sleep under the stars, I hope there to be a subject of interest. We shall be learning all of these things and more as well as absorbing the pace of nature and the crackling glow of bone-warming ancient fire where the occasional ember rises to the forest canopy averting eyes and imagination to the constellations..
