When it comes to an adventure, the preparation stage is crucial. In our last post we discussed what devices and apps we recommend, here we will discuss some small essential items that can be really beneficial if it came to dealing with a bad situation.

1. Whistle. Don’t rely on the whistle that is incorporated into your rucksacks buckle, get yourself an actual whistle. The orange safety/warning whistles are the best to get. If you’re ever in need doing 6 long blasts in the space of a minute then stay quiet for a minute. You’re wanting to hear 3 blasts back. Do this back and forth until you’re located. Remember, you may be the one who has to respond to the whistle.
2. Emergency Blanket. So many uses and it is so light, no excuse to pack a couple. They can be used in many ways, starting off with First Aid; it can be used to wrap up an injured person to keep them warm. Secondly it can be used as an emergency shelter to get out of the elements, set it up as a lean-to shelter you’ll get protection from the wind and the thermal properties will help keep you warm. Finally, it can be used as part of a location action plan, it’ll reflect the sun as part of a tinsel tree or use it with a head torch to reflect the light into the sky.
3. Survival Bag. Similar to an emergency blanket it has a good few uses. First of all as a survival bag which can be put round an individual and their bag to protect them from the environment. It can also be cut and opened up and made into an emergency lean-to shelter.
4. Cylumes. Both small and large are useful to pack in your rucksack. They can be utilised in a location action plan to reflect off of emergency blankets at night time. They are also useful for putting on or near your shelters especially natural shelters to help when you go away from your shelter to make sure you don’t get disorientated. Cylumes are also a great fire ignition; some ways are cutting open a cylume pouring some of it onto a cotton ball then lighting it or as a fire is struggling to catch pouring a small amount of cylume onto it.
5. Head torch – This should be in every rucksack when going out as you never know what could happen and when you might find yourself out when the night comes in. You can also use a headtorch as part of a location action plan. Place it on a small tripod and reflect it off of an emergency blanket and it will reflect a beam into the sky. A top top is when you’re storing your headtorch turn one or more of the batteries around so it won’t turn on in your bag and potentially die. Also, always carry spare batteries.
6. Small pocket knife/multi tool – Remember the best knife you can have is the one you have on you. Although you may be carrying a knife, it is always good to have a small pocket knife/multi tool in your rucksack especially as with multi tools it has various sections that you may find useful when out and about.
7. Battery pack – Mobile devices are useful tools and we do strongly recommend not relying on them however carrying a battery pack can enhance how useful they can be and for how long.
8. Paracord – Paracord is very useful as in one metre of paracord you have a total of 8 metres (depending on the paracord some have different amount of innings) of useful paracord as you can pull out the innings of the paracord to give you more material.
9. Small First Aid Kit – Depending on the activity it is always useful to carry a first aid kit, even if it is a small one. Being able to apply basic first aid to injuries could really help avoid ending up in a survival situation.
10. Lighter/Matches – there is no cheating in survival, don’t leave it to rubbing two sticks together to make a fire. Always carry a way of lighting a fire and even a back up method.

No matter how much we want to deny it, there are only 5 months left of 2022, and we will soon be in the midst of winter. Which is why we have released our 2023 Winter Survival Courses dates!

Join us in January, February and March to put your survival skills to the test in Scottish Winter Conditions. Sleep out in a version of Mors Kochanski’s Super Shelter and put the science of survival to practice.

Winter Survival Courses in Scotland | Backcountry Survival

This article discusses a small handful of a wide variety of devices that can help with sharing your location, either with yourself, your emergency contact or to emergency services if the situation arises. Everything we discuss here, we use and promote the use of in our Location lessons.

GARMIN ETREX 10 HANDHELD GPS

The Garmin Global Positioning System receivers work off of the 24 GPS satellites that orbit the Earth. These orbit the Earth twice a day and transmit signals back. The Garmin eTrex 10 Handheld GPS has high-sensitivity and works off of the GPS receivers and HotFix® satellite prediction. We have found that this has been able to maintain our location in all kinds of areas and has kept it’s accuracy. The Garmin eTrex 10 Handheld GPS holds a wordwide basemap, however, you can not download additional maps on to the system. It is powered by 2 AA batteries, so it is easy to keep it charged when out on longer hikes.

GARMIN INREACH MINI

The Garmin inReach Mini follows the same GPS system as the Garmin Etrex 10 Handheld GPS however, it has quite a few more features that make it one of our favourite devices. The inReach Mini does require a subscription but you can pay for when you want to use it. For example, if you’re planning an expedition August – September, you’ll pay for those two months then don’t pay for it when you’re not using it. Here are some reasons why it is one of our favourite devices:

1. One of the most useful features is it’s Two Way Global Messaging. You can send text messages to your contacts and communication inReach to inReach when out and about. We have used this to send our emergency contacts a message to say we have arrived at our camp and then they have been able to message us back confirming they received the message. This is really beneficial when we have found ourselves with little to no signal, the messages are sent via the global Iridium satellite network. There is reports of it being used to post on social media as well, however we have yet to try this out.
2. There is an Interactive SOS Alert, which once alerted get’s sent to Garmin over in Houston, once your position is located it get’s pinged to a station near your area, which for the UK would be the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, Fareham.
3. Location Sharing; this feature is great for when you’re heading to areas out of signal to keep your loved ones up to date, it has an ability to share your location and they can ping your device for an update. With this feature, the more you pay a month, the more frequently your location pings.
4. It has a weather forecast service, so you can check on the weather forecast for your location or look ahead at points ahead of your journey.

Here is a short video explaining how the Garmin inReach Mini works when you require help:

MOBILE PHONE APPS

Before we start, we want to emphasise that when you go out on hikes or adventures, do no purely rely on your phone. Always take a map and a compass with you as your primary method of navigation. If you are using your phone (alongside other aids) ensure you bring a portable charger as well. Here are some things on our mobile phones we use and discuss in our Location lesson that can be used for when you have signal.

SARLOC

SARLOC can be used without downloading an app but it requires data signal:

1. When you have data and signal, you will phone emergency services , they will then send you a text message with a URL link and as soon as you click this, it will send your location to Emergency Services.

Emergency Services were trying to find out a way to help lost personal when they don’t have data, which is where the development of SARLOC V 2 was created, which is an app that can be downloaded. If you have the app and find yourself with signal and no data then:

1. You will phone the emergency services, then you can use the app to give you your exact location and verbally tell the Emergency Services what your grid references are.

If you have the app and have data signal then Emergency Services may give you a SARKEY which once entered into the app will send your location to the Emergency Services like the URL link does.

The SARLOC app can currently be downloaded on the Apple App Store for less than £2. An android version is currently under development and testing.

Here is a link to Mike Raine Upland Lives podcast episode with Russ Hore who is the creator of SARLOC:

OSLOCATE

OSLocate is an app that compliments the use of Maps and should not replace a compass. The app doesn’t require signal, the inbuilt GPS system can find your location. OSLocate converts the GPS location readings from your mobile phone to the Ordnance Survey National Grid references so you can locate yourself on the map accurately. The app also includes a compass feature as well as the option to share your location with friends and family via messaging or social media.

What3Words

We are often asked about What3Words and the reliability of it after some negative reports came out. The app has divided the world into three metre squares and each of these squares are given a combination of three words, for example the BCS Bothy is articulated.eagles.revolting. This has become rather handy when sharing amongst friends and family to share where you are, however there were reports of Emergency Services not advising the use of what3words due to the issue of pronunciation. As we all pronounce words differently, there were issues where the Emergency Services were getting sent to the completely wrong place as they had heard a word wrong or it had been said differently due to accents. What3Words has listened to these reports and have now added the feature of 6-10 figure grid references being provided alongside the three words. If you have this app and haven’t set that up yet, here is how:

1. Click on Setting
2. Click on Display Settings
3. Scroll down to ‘Country-specific systems’ and drop the arrow down to open up the menu
4. Here you can choose to have either Eastings, Northing or the choice of 6, 8 or 19 Digit Grid Reference

Depending on your choice your location will look similar to this:

This has been a brief run through of some of the devices and apps we have trialed and use when out and about either on our own personal adventures or with groups. As mentioned before there is a wide variety of devices/apps available and all have their advantages and disadvantages and it is all down to personal preference. No point having a device or app that you don’t know how to work. Just don’t be that person who climbs a hill using Google Maps…

We are ready for 2022, all survival courses are now live to book onto!

For our winter survival courses (including our Winter Skills and Snowholing Courses) from January to March follow this link:
https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/cou…/winter-courses/

For our summer survival courses (including our 5 dayer) April to October follow this link: https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/cou…/summer-courses/

Keep your eyes peeled for our 4000s, Lairig Ghru, Woodland Skills Leader, Bushcraft Competency Course and Outdoor First Aid Courses getting released soon as well 

October Holidays are round the corner, so we have got our Bushcraft Bonanza (5-10 year old), Survival Mission (11-17 year old) and Family Courses running to help entertain either the young people in your life or the entire family.

Come and spend half a day learning bushcraft skills and putting them to practice. The course will cover various survival and bushcraft lessons, some of the things covered may be:

Basic Navigation

Shelters

Fire

Water Filters

Knife Work

First Aid

Team Building and more!

Dates:

Saturday 9th October @ Alvie Estate – Family Course – £50pp

Monday 18th October @ Murthly Estate – Bushcraft Bonanza ( 5-10 year old) – £50pp

Wednesday 20th October @ Murthly Estate – Survival Mission ( 11 – 15 year old) – £50pp

Friday 22nd October @ Alvie Estate – Family Course – £50pp

Email info@backcountrysurvival.co.uk to book your spaces. Bespoke family courses are available at Murthly and Alvie, minimum booking value £200.

Two weekends ago was our Lairig Ghru Expedition

3 days of walking through the Lairig Ghru and it was made extra special with a wake up call from reindeers…

If you’re looking for your next expedition we have the 4000s Expedition running 27th-29th August!https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/courses/expedition/

Upcoming Courses July to August:

July:

23rd – 25th: 3 Day Survival Course

23rd: Survival Mission/Bushcraft Bonanza @ Alvie

For more information follow the link for the following courses:

2/3/5 Day Survival Courses: https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/cou…/summer-courses/

Bushcraft Bonanza / Survival Mission: https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/…/young-people…/

Outdoor First Aid and Bushcraft Competency Certificate: https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/…/training-courses/

Lairig Ghru and 4000s Expeditions: https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/courses/expedition/

“Challenge yourself, it’s the only path which leads to growth” – Morgan Freeman

Have you attended a 3 Day Survival Course with us or an equivalent course with another provider and are looking for your next challenge? Well, get yourself booked onto our first 5 Day Survival Course!

Running 26th-30th August, the first day will see you go over revision from the 3 Day course then from there the rest of the course will follow a survival scenario where you will have to survive for 4 days. A brilliant course to put your knowledge and skills to the test 💪

Head to our website to find out more details and book your place.

Courses are back up and running in both our Murthly and Alvie sites! With the ever changing circumstances, if we are not able to run a course we will publish an announcement to say so.

Got concerns about booking onto a course and covid restrictions? Check out our updated Terms and Conditions to see what is in place to ensure Covid doesn’t ruin your chances of getting onto a course with us.

Finally some good news and we have a lot to share!

April – All our April courses will be run in Murthly, Perthshire. We have the following courses (also pictured below) available to book on:

For those wanting to focus more on survival skills we have full day survival courses available for Under 18s only and Over 18s, you can book your place following this link https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/…/survival-courses/

May onwards:

1) May will see us back up at our Alvie Estate so all 2-3 Day courses will be back up and running open to everyone from all areas. You can book your place following this link https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/cou…/summer-courses/

2) May will also see our Woodland Skills Leader course going ahead over the 21st – 24th May with Andy Lewis Bushcraft. If you are interested in delivering woodland & bushcraft skills or are a teacher, scout leader, outdoor instructor or youth worker who wishes to deliver woodland skills, such as Bushcraft & Survival activities then this course is for you. Anyone interested will have to email info@backcountrysurvival.co.uk showing leadership experience and other NGBs or teaching/coaching qualifications as well as any Bushcraft/Survival experience. https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/…/training-courses/

Last but no means least, it’s Andy Lewis. He owns Andy Lewis Bushcraft and works with us to offer many of our courses, including the Woodland Skills Leader:

Meet Andy, an adventurer and passionate Survival Skills expert. As a hugely experienced Bushcraft and Survival Instructor Andy has spent time in some of the most remote and extreme environments in the world; including the Nepalese Himalayas and Norway’s Mountainous Hardangervidda wilderness. Andy is a qualified Mountain Leader and a former expedition co-ordinator, he is a full-time professional instructor of the highest calibre, delivering IOL accredited instructor training, regular courses, one-to-one skills training and bespoke, with us but mainly with his own company ‘Andy Lewis Training’ based on the Cheshire border.

“Be prepared and learn skills for life” is the ethos he lives, works and inspires others by

Up next on our “Meet the Team” segment is instructor Neil Foote. From mountaineering routes and North faces in the Alps to extreme endurance races in the most inhospitable places in the world, Including having competed ultra-marathons at a distance of 95 miles non stop. You can be sure that Neil (or any of our other instructors) will not ask you to do anything he hasn’t had to do himself. Originally from Fife Neil’s formative years were spent camping and exploring the local woods and countryside where he lived, learning the skills that would hold him in good stead for the future. Neil has a background in outdoor education and holds his SIA (Survival instructor award) and is one of the founding members of the Survival Training Award Scheme. Neil is also a qualified SPA, Mountain leader, winter mountain leader and UKCC paddlesport coach.

‘Meet the Team’ segment continued with the final member of the Robertson instructor trio; Michael Robertson.Michael has been an instructor at BCS for 3 years, he is a qualified Woodland Skills Leader and a Land-Based Survival Instructor.

Michael grew up as a military child, this saw most of his childhood in the woods or up a mountain. Michael’s teenage years saw him in the Army Cadets which provided him with navigational skills, instructional and leadership skills and helped him pursue his career in the Army. He is now serving as a Royal Engineer, spending his free time rock climbing, mountain biking or instructing survival.

Up next on the “Meet the Team” segment is Instructor and our Social Media Guru, Abigail Robertson. Abi has been an instructor at BCS for 3 years, she is a qualified Woodland Skills Leader and a Land-Based Survival Instructor. Abi grew up as a military child, this saw most of her childhood in the woods or up a mountain. She has been an Army Cadet Instructor for the Black Watch Battalion for 5 years which has allowed for her Adventure Training, Instructional and Navigational skills and experience to be expanded. With a love of mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking mountains and skiing, Abi has a lot of experience in the outdoors.

Next up on our ‘Meet the Team’ segment is Director and Instructor Derek Robertson.

Derek grew up in Northern Perthshire along with Graham Melloy the Chief Instructor and Graeme Stuart and spent his younger days in the woods and hills around Tayside fishing, hunting and shooting as well as learning the outdoor ways from farmers, gamekeepers and woodsmen and did his first survival course with the Army Cadets in 1986. His love of survival continued with a full career in the Army serving in all corners of the world. He holds the Woodland Skills Leader (WSL) and Land-Based Survival Instructor (LSI) awards as well as mountaineering, skiing and teaching qualifications.

One of Derek’s favourite survival quotes is “Learning is not compulsory…neither is survival” – W. Edwards Deming

It’s always good to know who you’re booking onto a course with, so we are going to do a ‘Meet the BCS Ltd Team’ segment starting off with Director and Chief Instructor Graham Melloy.

Graham grew up in Northern Perthshire and spent a lot of his formative years fishing, hunting and shooting as well as learning the outdoor ways in the woods and hills along the River Tay from farmers, gamekeepers and woodsmen and did his first survival course with the Army Cadets in 1986. His love of survival continued with a full career in the Army where he completed several SERE courses including the Land Survival Instructor Course and the Unit SERE Instructor Course. He has been a navigation instructor for over 20 years and has navigated in all corners of the world. He holds the NCFE Defence SERE Advanced Survival Instructor Award, the NCFE SIA Level 4 award as well as winter mountaineering and teaching qualifications.Graham has conducted survival training in various corners of the globe including the South Atlantic, Europe, Mediterranean, Middle East & Asia and Africa.

Due to the current situation, all courses in March have been cancelled. We will are waiting until the next announcement from the First Minister which will give us confirmation over whether our April courses will be going ahead.

Dates are now up for our 2 Day Winter Skills and 2 Day Winter Survival Courses.

Winter Survival Course: The aim of this course is to learn the skills and knowledge to survive in colder winter conditions whilst using the PLAN-M format (Protection, Location, Acquisition, Navigation – Medical). This will all be done whilst experiencing Scottish Winter conditions which will make everything more challenging than our 2 Day Summer Survival Courses.

Winter Skills Course: Interested in winter mountaineering? This course is for you. The aim of the course is to provide participants with the confidence to effectively plan days out in the mountains during winter conditions whilst wearing the correct clothing and using the appropriate equipment. The course will also cover various techniques in ice axe use, self arrests, emergency shelters and more. 

To find out more information and to book yourself onto a course head to https://www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/courses/winter-courses/

It’s November, that means we can start talking Christmas

Want to gift somebody a unique experience? Is a family member/friend keen on the outdoors? Or maybe, someone is just looking for something fun to do?

Our Gift Vouchers are also a great gift for young people and can put towards a course with us. We will have kid only and parent and kids courses in 2021. Keep your eyes peeled for dates

“Teaching children about the natural world should be treated as one of the most important events in their lives.” – Thomas Berry

The BCS Ltd Team have been busy in the last couple of weeks, we have moved next door and have a new Bothy now!

As well as this, the weekend of the 11-13th August saw us start running courses again. We hit the ground running by running a 3 Day, 2 Day and 1 Day courses over the weekend.

A successful weekend for all, check out our calendar for the rest of our upcoming courses.