Prior Experience – You do not need prior experience to attend any of our courses. On some of the more advanced craft workshops, it is advantageous to have experience with safely using sharp tools.
Solo / Group Bookings – Our courses are aimed at individuals who have a passion for the outdoors, a desire to learn and reconnect with nature. Although some people attend in pairs or small groups, the vast majority of our groups are made up of individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Course Locations – We run courses from three private estates within the Lake District National Park. These are a young woodland in the Lyth Valley, a secluded valley in Witherslack woodlands and deep in the forest on Claife Heights. Please ensure that you have received and printed the correct arrival information!
Parking – Courses are conducted on private estates, with limited access to the general public. There are parking facilities provided within the estate grounds, and whilst we cannot guarantee the safety of your vehicle, there have never been any incidents of theft. We would recommend that you keep any valuable personal belongings in your day sack.
Climate & Weather – The Lake District weather is notoriously fickle, so please ensure that you have brought all of the equipment listed in the Kit List. It is always better to pack warm. It is better to have and not need, than to need and not have. Courses will run in all but the most extreme weather conditions. Bad weather makes learning the skills more challenging and harder to master, but you will be rewarded with a higher level of ability and a greater sense of achievement. The unpredictable weather in Britain makes it one of the best training grounds in which to learn bushcraft.
On Arrival – Please already be wearing outdoor clothing and footwear on arrival, and have a head-torch handy. From your cars, you will walk and your kit will be driven to our base-camp location, therefore it is not essential that you pack all your equipment into one rucksack, you will not be required to walk more than 200m with kit to the camping area.
Late Arrivals – Late arrivals will have to make their own way to the course venue. Wild Human will not be responsible for any costs incurred by late arrivals or late returns that are outside of our control.
Course 1st Aid & Medical Care – All Instructors carry valid outdoor first aid certificates. There is always a well-stocked and comprehensive first aid kit on hand. Risk analysis and management systems are in place for each course and course venue. The nearest A&E department for all locations is in Kendal.
Sanitation & Hygiene – Toilets are simple earth screened, covered latrines. Toilet paper is incinerated at the latrine. We have used this system for the past 20 years of our teaching experience and find it to be the cleanest, most environmentally friendly and hygienic system. Hand washing stations are always available, as are hand sanitation dispensers. Personal washing is in a stream or nearby lake, only biodegradable products are to be used. The biggest risk to your welfare on any outdoor UK activity is from ticks, but through good bite avoidance measures they should not present any problems – you will be well briefed at the start of each course.
Course Cancellation – If, for any reason you wish to cancel your course, please refer to our Terms & Conditions. You will not be offered a refund for any money for late cancellation, neither will you be offered a transferral of your money to another course. Please seek appropriate insurance against late cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances!
Pre & Après Course Accommodation – If you are interested in spending some time enjoying the stunning scenery of the Lake District, either before or after your course, you can contact Windermere Tourist Information via their website.
Personal Communications – All of our sites have reasonable 4G coverage. Please be discreet when using your phone so that it does not impinge on anyone else’s experience. We would encourage you to switch it off, and bring a notebook and camera to record your experience.
Power & Charging – There are no mains charging facilities available. Please bring a power bank. If you ask really nicely, you may be able to charge from the Wild Human vehicle, but you may need to supply your own cable.
Pets – Unfortunately pets are not allowed on any of our courses.
richardbeckett2014 (verified owner) –
The Native.
A step up from The Woodlander.
I’d thoroughly enjoyed the previous course, so, on arrival I had that feeling in my stomach of overwhelming excitement again and I remember thinking,
I wonder what I’d be getting myself into this time round?
I was looking forward to the challenge.
Our instructors this time were Debs, Ben, Joe and John.
I was really glad to be coming back to Wild Human and seeing familiar faces once more and meeting more new like minded people with a shared interest.
Amongst being taught carving harpoons and netting needles to make fish nets, weaving fish trap baskets, as well as reading animal tracks in the mud to see what manner of woodland creatures were out and about in our local area, we learned to butcher a different type of beast every day.
From the scaled, to the feathered, not mention the furred and bushy tailed.
We got to skewer them all in various ways, then cook them up over open fires we’d made everyday, as a group or as individual teams depending on the quantity of meat available.
Tasty grub indeed, all marinade in a variety of sauces, I never went hungry once, or cold either that’s for sure !
We also learned to build bigger shelters this time.
All were built with an open log fire place in the centre which would keep us warm in our raised log beds.
Team work, axes and knife craft skills came into play from what we’d been taught on the previous course.
Some of the structures where huge, all of them covered with leafy tree branches to trap heat inside and were big enough for 3 to 5 persons.
All were built so we could have a open log fire in the centre.
My buddies slowly waking up to the smell of wood smoke and strong coffee I’d made them on our log fire early in the morning , surrounded by our leafy green walls. Good memories.
I could tell we all felt a great sense of satisfaction at what we’d accomplished together after each task and project was complete at the end of it all.
We got up to more activities than I’ve mentioned here, but in a nutshell this course is packed full of hands on learning and doing, the days go fast and when I look back I’m really impressed with the amount of lessons we got though on a daily basis.
Great job Wild Human and to all my fellow students for making this course yet another valuable experience that I can never forget.