Cambrian Survival

ste2006

Hi All,

Has anyone ever done a course with Cambrian Survival in Wales, http://www.cambriansurvival.co.uk/

I am hoping to do a course with them Febuary or March coming. (5 day basic) Has anyone ever done a course with them or have any opions on the courses either way.

Also if anyone is interested in joining me going over to do the course i would love to have them come along. (Bushcraft is a difficult business to find people interested in )

Anyway any opinions or interest let me know,

Also anyone interested in heading out around Wicklow over the christmas to do a bit of survival and that let me know,

Stephen

preacherman

ste2006 wrote: »

(Bushcraft is a difficult business to find people interested in )

Also anyone interested in heading out around Wicklow over the christmas to do a bit of survival and that let me know,

Stephen

As has been said on here before check out http://www.irishbushcraftclub.org/

There are schools in Ireland doing bushcraft and survival, it might be worth checking those out also. The course content will be more or less the same in all schools but the quality of instruction may vary. I personally do not see the need to go to Wales for this type of course when there are similar if not identical courses here. Check out reviews etc before you travel to any school.

As for the survival in Wicklow you might find that there is a difference between the people that practice bushcraft and survival. While the two subjects have many definite things in common there would be a difference in attitude in the people that practice one or the other. I only mention this because it is quite a contensious issue on other forums that I frequent. Far be it from me to say what the differences are but there are differences. The Irish Bushcraft Club would most definitely be a good place for you to meet fellow bushcraft enthusiasts if thats what you are interested in.

The main thing is to enjoy the outdoors so best of luck on whatever course you choose.

Andrew

ste2006

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the reply, I have signed up for the mailing list on the Bushcraft club so hopefully things will come from that. I have looked at the various courses in Ireland and nothing against them but i feel they are designed for Ireland and to attract as many (of the few) people as possible so they are not held in hard winter and you are not stuck sleeping out in the shelter you try to build through a thunderstorm etc.

The UK being so big i think that even some really tough courses will attract enough people to run them, Another factor which i like is that you can start at basic, move to intermediate and then advanced even doing master classes if required.

Is there any other people or clubs interested in Survival in Ireland???? I may be new to this but i would have assumed that people interested in bushcraft would also be interested in survival and visa versa, What are the main differences in interest, people who do these etc????

Sorry for all the questions but i really appreciate any opinions or advice on these matters

Thanks,

Stephen

woundedknee

Bushcraft is living in the outdoors with comfort and Survival is existing. I think that before you move on to Bushcraft you should first know the principals of Survival.

neolithic

woundedknee wrote: »

Bushcraft is living in the outdoors with comfort and Survival is existing. I think that before you move on to Bushcraft you should first know the principals of Survival.

Why not exist in comfort. Its human nature to try to make life more comfortable. Forget about labels get out and enjoy.

preacherman

ste2006 wrote: »

I have looked at the various courses in Ireland and nothing against them but i feel they are designed for Ireland and to attract as many (of the few) people as possible so they are not held in hard winter and you are not stuck sleeping out in the shelter you try to build through a thunderstorm etc.

I would have to disagree with you on this. There at least 2 schools in Ireland that run courses throughout the year. They may not run all courses at this time of the year mainly due to the short days. There are basic skills that need to be learned before you would head off with nothing and expect to ''survive'' and these are best learned in daylight. It can be a long cold night in the woods at this time of the year with darkness setting in at 4.30pm, alot of firewood needs to be collected to maintain a fire until bedtime so you really only have a few hours in a given day to hone your skills. Ithink that the schools want to offer value for money and a short day in winter probably would not give you the same value as a spring/summer/autumn day.

As for the progression of skills from basic to master etc., again this is possible here also.

The survival versus bushcraft is a debate not worth getting involved in really. They can be seen as two different subjects by some people and usually ends in a debate that can get heated. I personally do not entertain that kind of arguement. As neolithic says you should just enjoy what you do. Something has got you interested in getting out in the woods and you should follow it up however you choose. There is nothing wrong though in having some semblance of comfort when you are starting out. It is no fun being wet and cold trying to build a shelter that you need because you are in a survival situation. Building a good weatherproof shelter takes many hours. Bring a tent or tarp along with you and you can practice building shelters etc. while having the comfort of being able to get in out of the weather if neccessary.

Here are links to two schools in Ireland that run courses with your specification. MODs feel free to move or delete if any rules are broken. I have no connection with these schools other than having done some courses in one.

http://www.ipna.ie/sched.html

http://www.wild-live.org/booking/calendar.asp


Whatever you decide remember the outdoors are to be enjoyed. Take your time, learn all that you can from anywhere that you can and most importantly look around you, use all your senses in the woods and you will see things in a totally different way. That has been my experience anyway. I hope this helps.

Andrew

PS. Apologies for the delay in replying but I was away for a few days and have just seen your post.

ste2006

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the reply, I guess you are totally correct, I can see by your post you are fairly experienced (at least a lot more than me). I guess i am just lacking guidance and after years of tipping away on my own probably get ideas into my head which are not totally correct,

Thanks for the advice again, I will look these courses up now, would you reccommend them????

As i mentioned i signed up to the bushcraft club site so hopefully something will come of this,

Thanks,

Stephen

preacherman

Hi Stephen,

I would not like to say that I am more experienced than anyone, older maybe but not necessarily more experienced.

I can recommend IPNA to you as I have been there myself a few times. Aebhric O Kelly trained at the Tom Brown Tracker School and also with Jon Young. He runs basic and advanced bushcraft courses amongst other things and after doing these you can progress to a full survival trip with only a knife and a blanket, using the learned skills to survive.

Wild -Live is run by Anthonio Ackermans who is also from the Tracker School and while I have met him I have not been on his courses. Crapbag and Neolithic who post on here both have been on week long courses there though and would be best placed to give their opinion. They both speak highly of Anthonio and his school has a good reputation.

Both Aebhric and Anthonio run free gatherings during the year where like minded people gather to share skills and these can be good events to meet people. It also gives you the oppurtunity to meet the instructors and decide which course would suit you best. Check their websites for details.

There are at least 2 other schools that I am aware of in Ireland but I have not met anybody from those schools or anybody who has attended so I cannot give an opinion and did not post links because of that but I am sure a bit of research will give you information on them.

The bushcraft club only formed this summer and already have had a few good meets. As the club is still in the early stages there is still alot of red tape etc to be ironed out but it is in hand. As you are on the mailing list you will be notified about upcoming events, but as far as I know there is nothing official planned for over christmas.

Hope this helps

Andrew

meathmannn

If your looking for courses in the Uk check out John Ryder (a google will get his site). I had planned heading over to Ray Mears a few years back, but he was away with Ewan Mc Gregor at the time, so I did a week with John Ryder. Ryder was the head instructor in Ray Mears company, he went solo a few years back.
He's the real deal, a forrester by trade, who lectures in university on forest management etc. His courses are very well structured, he covers food, shelter, fire etc. and does some basic weaving, demonstrates bow making, hunting etc.
He also teaches 4x4 driving and does some amazing sculptures with his chainsaw!!
A lovely character, with a great team. highly recommended.

woundedknee

I'll second that recommendation.