Nomadic Survival Weekend,
West Coast of Scotland
Take our Nomadic Coastal Challenge
Imagine you are washed up on a remote, wild, Scottish coast and have to survive on your wits to find your way back to safety! This is the challenge of Nomadic Coastal survival - a unique course in one of the most stunning parts of the country.
When you arrive at the meeting place on the West Coast you will choose some "washed up" items to assist your survival. Then you will be taken to a nearby sea loch and travel by canoe to a small island. You will be given some practical training with regard to safety, local foraging, water purification, signalling, fire and shelter. As a group, you will then make a plan within certain guidelines defined by the instructor and leave the small island and spend the day on the coast. The objective will be to navigate to shelter area and make camp. You will forage for your supper from the shore, source water.
On Sunday you will navigate towards civilisation - the journey will involve walking out over several kilometres of tough hilly terrain, through stunning west coast wilderness. Along the way we may throw in some additional scenarios to challenge you!
The idea of this course is to simulate a genuine short-term emergency (such as a shipwreck) and to encourage you as a group to take decisions and, within safety, make your own mistakes. For safety, everyone must carry a sleeping system (i.e. sleeping bag and roll mat) but you can choose whether or not to use it. There will be very little food carried in (mainly flour and oil). Most of your food will be foraged (so we hope you like shellfish and seaweed!). Carrying in and eating additional food is discouraged as part of the course ethos and can result in failing the challenge (unless there is a medical reason to do so).
Learning Outcomes
Here are some of the key skills you will learn:
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marine foraging - shellfish, seaweeds and fishing
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land based foraging
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knife use
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water sourcing and purification
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fire lighting
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signalling for help - reflection, whistles, ground to air, signal fires
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tidal cycles and flows
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shelter using natural features, and materials, also tarps
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hypothermia treatment
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utilising found materials and survival kit selection
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navigation with map and compass
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route finding and safely crossing difficult terrain
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paddling and portaging a canoe (short distances)
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physical, psychological and physiological aspects of survival
More Details
Price: £295 per person
Location: Moidart, 35 miles west of Fort William.
Duration:
starts 09.00 on Saturday morning; ends 15:00 Sunday afternoon.
Group size: usually 5-8 people - we keep groups small to minimise our impact on this pristine environment.
Facilities: overnight wild camping - sleeping in natural shelters or under group tarp. Drinking water, very basic provisions, fish and foraged food available. NB unless you need additional food for health reasons you are requested not to bring any.
What to bring: course-specific kit list
