If the comfort of a four-poster bed and en suite hot tub is your idea of the perfect weekend break then stop reading now.
Survival weekends do just what they say on the tin – deny you of every luxury and provide a battleground with cold and hunger.
They’re designed to challenge you mentally and physically, teach you the basics of bush survival and instil a sense of achievement you just don’t get after a night in a five star hotel!
Staffordshire or Devon
Hands-on learning covers fire, shelter, food and water on a camp out with a wilderness expert. The course runs from 7pm Friday through Sunday lunch. You’ll light a fire on which to cook your evening meal of trout, rabbit or pigeon. Set your own snares, learn to tell an edible plant from one most poisonous and learn about navigation. More.
Laikipia, northern Kenya
Beautiful landscape, wonderful wildlife and an abseiling challenge will only go so far to ease the pain of this five-night bush camp where you’ll have to source your own water and food, and brush up on your orienteering, medicine sourcing and tool making skills for the end of stay test. You have been warned. More.
Knoydart, Scotland
You’ll need to get your strength up for this three-day survival training and trekking expedition through the rough mountain passes of the Scottish Highlands. You’ll have to build your own camp each night, organise your own distress signal and use the survival knowledge imparted by the course tutors prior to setting out. At the end of the weekend you’ll be picked up by sea rescue boat and return to base for a well-deserved knees up. More.
Brecon Beacons, Wales
Unpredictable climates and challenging terrains await you in the Welsh hills – one of the few regions in the UK that can prepare you for adventures in more remote lands. You’ll learn how to find the perfect location for setting up shelter, skin a rabbit and identify animal tracks and trails. More.
Artic Circle, Norway
Sub-zero temperatures welcome you at a base camp located 400 kilometres within the Arctic Circle, 70 kilometres from the Russian border. Mingle with the Sami people, whose culture has sprung from a landscape which puts immense demands on their lives. You’ll learn the skills, both modern and ancient, essential to survival in this unique corner of the world. You’ll either be inspired to venture further into the terrain, or go home and sit by the fire. More.
Mount Kinabalu, Borneo
A survival challenge with an exotic twist, you’ll wade through some of the oldest rain forests in the world, where plants and fungi thrive and a vast diversity of species dwell. You’ll learn bamboo craft, traditional medicine, and the traditional beliefs of the tribe’s people who live on the slopes of the mountain. More.
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