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Survival Skillset

Online survival course

Survival Skillset

A demanding online survival course: read land, sky, water and animals, make fire, move safely through dangerous ground, signal and be found, and make the calls that matter when there is no good option.

  • 12 modules
  • 157 lessons
  • 111 hours of study
  • 983 exam questions
  • 1 final practical

Learn at your own pace

Work through it alone, in your own time. No live sessions, no leaderboards, and nothing is shared unless you choose to share it.

Original price was: £149.00.Current price is: £99.00.

Places on the full course open soon. Module 1 is free to try now.

Already enrolled? Log in

How it works

Not a breeze. Built to make it stick.

  1. 1

    Learn it properly

    Deep lessons with the reasons behind every technique, the mistakes people really make, and the law.

  2. 2

    See it in 3D

    Explainers you can turn and test: tyre tracks, contours, rivers, clouds, the sun and stars.

  3. 3

    Go out on real ground

    Field events on real landscapes built from survey data, on screen or in a phone VR viewer.

  4. 4

    Make the hard calls

    Judgement calls with no easy answer, marked on your reasoning, with the thinking explained.

  5. 5

    Prove it

    An exam for every module, then a long unguided day on real terrain for the certificate.

The course

12 modules, from the first hour to the final test

Free tasterTake a bearingTry the course for free: learn how a compass works, then take real bearings from the summit of Corn Du on the real Pen y Fan. 1 lesson 27 min01Mindset, priorities and judgementHow stress, fear and fatigue bend decisions, what to deal with first, and how to weigh risks you cannot undo. 12 lessons 8 hours02Natural navigation and direction findingDirection from the sun, moon, stars, plants, weather and the marks people leave, and improvised compasses. 15 lessons 10 hours03Map and compassReading the map, bearings, navigation technique, pacing and timing, relocation, and using phones and GPS well. 14 lessons 11 hours04Mountain safety and terrain dangersWeather and sky, dangerous ground, rivers and the sea, other climates, and making yourself easy to rescue. 15 lessons 11 hours05WaterWhat your body needs, finding water, judging a source, making it safe and collecting it. 12 lessons 8 hours06FireFuel, tinder, fire lays and ignition, managing a fire, and fire safety and the law. 13 lessons 10 hours07Shelter and resource gatheringChoosing a site, staying warm and dry, and what the land gives you for cordage, containers and tools. 12 lessons 9 hours08Food: plants, fungi, fish and trappingSafe foraging and the deadly look-alikes, where fish lie and how to catch them, and the law on trapping. 14 lessons 9 hours09Fauna: spotting, tracking and safetyTracks and sign, what animal behaviour tells you, and the animals that can hurt you, region by region. 12 lessons 8 hours10Signals: making them and understanding themBeing findable, signals by fire, ground, sound, light and mirror, phones and beacons, rescue and warnings. 12 lessons 7 hours11First aid and recovery in the wildAssessment, bleeding, bones, cold, heat, bites and medical emergencies when help is hours away. 14 lessons 10 hours12Real survival storiesReal incidents around the world: what happened, the decisions made, and what we can learn. 10 lessons 6 hours

Train on real ground

Real places, built from survey data

The field events and the final test happen on real landscapes, rebuilt from laser survey and satellite data to the metre: the same crags, becks, bogs and paths. Walk them on screen, or put your phone in a VR viewer and look around.

Pen y FanBannau Brycheiniog, WalesWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Yr WyddfaEryri, WalesWalk it in 3D Phone VR
BorrowdaleLake District, EnglandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
BleaklowPeak District, EnglandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Grand CanyonUpper Granite Gorge, Arizona, USAWalk it in 3D Phone VR
IngleboroughYorkshire Dales, EnglandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Meldon, Yes Tor and High WillhaysDartmoor, EnglandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Bluejohn CanyonRobbers Roost, Utah, USAWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Cuillin and Loch CoruiskIsle of Skye, ScotlandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Sossusvlei and DeadvleiNamib desert, NamibiaWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Sandwich HarbourNamib coast, NamibiaWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Cairn Gorm and Loch AvonCairngorms, ScotlandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
BondhusdalenHardanger, NorwayWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Morecambe Bay sandsKent estuary, Cumbria, EnglandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Fimmvorduhals and ThorsmorkSouth IcelandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Exit GlacierKenai Fjords, Alaska, USAWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Tre Cime di LavaredoSexten Dolomites, ItalyWalk it in 3D Phone VR
AbiskoSwedish LaplandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Hells CanyonOregon and Idaho, USAWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Mount Solitary and the Jamison ValleyBlue Mountains, AustraliaWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Arthur’s PassSouthern Alps, New ZealandWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Flamingo and Florida BayEverglades, Florida, USAWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Isla GibraleónPearl Islands, PanamaWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Sirena, CorcovadoOsa Peninsula, Costa RicaWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Danum ValleySabah, Borneo, MalaysiaWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Dhikala and the RamgangaCorbett National Park, IndiaWalk it in 3D Phone VR
Samburu and the Ewaso Ng’iroNorthern KenyaWalk it in 3D Phone VR

Course outline

Every lesson

Free tasterTake a bearing1 lesson · 27 min · exam

Try the course for free: learn how a compass works, then take real bearings from the summit of Corn Du on the real Pen y Fan.

  1. Take a bearing: the compass in ten minutes12 min
  2. Practical: five bearings from Corn DuField practical
Module 1Mindset, priorities and judgement12 lessons · 8 hours · exam

How stress, fear and fatigue bend decisions, what to deal with first, and how to weigh risks you cannot undo.

  1. 1.1STOP and the first minutes35 min
  2. 1.2What comes first: the survival priorities35 min
  3. 1.3Priorities in other climates35 min
  4. 1.4How the body bends judgement35 min
  5. 1.5Thinking about risk40 min
  6. 1.6Time, light and turning back40 min
  7. 1.7Stay or move45 min
  8. 1.8Being found and calling for help40 min
  9. 1.9Improvising, its costs, and the phone45 min
  10. 1.10Hard calls on water, food and the river40 min
  11. 1.11Groups under pressure40 min
  12. 1.12Keeping going, and learning afterwards40 min
  13. Module 1 examWritten exam
Module 2Natural navigation and direction finding15 lessons · 10 hours · exam

Direction from the sun, moon, stars, plants, weather and the marks people leave, and improvised compasses.

  1. 2.1The sun’s path: rising, noon and setting35 min
  2. 2.2Shadow stick: east, west and true noon40 min
  3. 2.3The watch method, cloud and the sun abroad35 min
  4. 2.4Needle and leaf: making an improvised compass45 min
  5. 2.5Polaris and the turning sky35 min
  6. 2.6The Southern Cross, Orion and reading any star40 min
  7. 2.7The moon: lit side, horns and phase30 min
  8. 2.8Wind, clouds and swell as a compass35 min
  9. 2.9Trees, moss, lichen and plants45 min
  10. 2.10The ground: slopes, snow, sand and mountains40 min
  11. 2.11Water, animals, sounds and smells40 min
  12. 2.12Which way to people? Paths, gates and forestry40 min
  13. 2.13Lines, lights, litter and buildings35 min
  14. 2.14Walking straight, keeping track and judging distance40 min
  15. 2.15Combining clues, other lands and the southern hemisphere45 min
  16. Module 2 examWritten exam
Module 3Map and compass14 lessons · 11 hours · exam

Reading the map, bearings, navigation technique, pacing and timing, relocation, and using phones and GPS well.

  1. 3.1The map: scale, symbols, access and what changes40 min
  2. 3.2Grid references in Britain and around the world45 min
  3. 3.3Contours: the shape of the land and its dangers50 min
  4. 3.4The compass, the three norths and declination40 min
  5. 3.5Setting the map and walking a bearing50 min
  6. 3.6Bearings from the ground: identify, resect and transit45 min
  7. 3.7Handrails, catching features, attack points and aiming off50 min
  8. 3.8Pacing, boxing round obstacles and contouring45 min
  9. 3.9Timing: Naismith, Tranter and the stopwatch45 min
  10. 3.10Legs, route cards and reaching the RV on time55 min
  11. 3.11Relocation: finding yourself on the map50 min
  12. 3.12Night navigation and dead reckoning50 min
  13. 3.13Mist near edges, whiteout, forestry, coast and jungle50 min
  14. 3.14Altimeters, GPS, phones and why you carry paper40 min
  15. Module 3 examWritten exam
Module 4Mountain safety and terrain dangers15 lessons · 11 hours · exam

Weather and sky, dangerous ground, rivers and the sea, other climates, and making yourself easy to rescue.

  1. 4.1Planning the hill day: route plan, kit, daylight and ways off40 min
  2. 4.2The mountain forecast: height, wind, chill and cloud40 min
  3. 4.3Reading the sky: fronts, wind shifts and high cloud45 min
  4. 4.4Showers, local winds, weather lore and lightning45 min
  5. 4.5Reading dangerous ground before you step on it40 min
  6. 4.6Steep grass, scrambling, scree and rockfall40 min
  7. 4.7Mist on the ridge: edges, ridges and darkness40 min
  8. 4.8Bogs, peat hags, forestry and old mines35 min
  9. 4.9River crossings: whether, where and how45 min
  10. 4.10Cold water, flash floods, ice, tides and the sea50 min
  11. 4.11Snow, ice, cornices and avalanches50 min
  12. 4.12Other climates: heat, dust, altitude and jungle40 min
  13. 4.13Lost: how people behave, how searchers think, stay or move45 min
  14. 4.14Calling for help and being found45 min
  15. 4.15Waiting it out: shelter, warmth, pacing, morale and a casualty45 min
  16. Module 4 examWritten exam
Module 5Water12 lessons · 8 hours · exam

What your body needs, finding water, judging a source, making it safe and collecting it.

  1. 5.1Water and your body35 min
  2. 5.2When water runs short35 min
  3. 5.3Reading the land for water40 min
  4. 5.4Animal signs and digging for water40 min
  5. 5.5Water from trees and plants35 min
  6. 5.6Water in the cold: snow, ice and fuel35 min
  7. 5.7Reading water: colour, flow and surface40 min
  8. 5.8What is upstream? Judging a source45 min
  9. 5.9Settling, boiling and distilling45 min
  10. 5.10Filters: what they stop and what they miss35 min
  11. 5.11Chemicals, UV and sunlight45 min
  12. 5.12Collecting water: rain, dew, bags and stills40 min
  13. Module 5 examWritten exam
Module 6Fire13 lessons · 10 hours · exam

Fuel, tinder, fire lays and ignition, managing a fire, and fire safety and the law.

  1. 6.1How fire works, and finding fuel that burns40 min
  2. 6.2Processing wood safely: knife, saw and axe45 min
  3. 6.3Natural tinders by habitat40 min
  4. 6.4Ember tinders, carried tinders and the tinder bundle40 min
  5. 6.5The fire site, preparation and quick fire lays40 min
  6. 6.6Long-burning lays, reflectors and cooking fires45 min
  7. 6.7Flame and spark: matches, lighters, ferro rods and flint45 min
  8. 6.8Friction fire: the bow drill and its relatives1 hour
  9. 6.9Fire from the sun and from batteries, and the phone45 min
  10. 6.10Dry fuel in a wet wood: fire in the rain50 min
  11. 6.11Keeping, carrying and using fire50 min
  12. 6.12Fire safety, wildfire, peat and the law55 min
  13. 6.13Fire in other climates: desert, Arctic, jungle and coast40 min
  14. Module 6 examWritten exam
Module 7Shelter and resource gathering12 lessons · 9 hours · exam

Choosing a site, staying warm and dry, and what the land gives you for cordage, containers and tools.

  1. 7.1Staying warm: how you lose heat and what to fix first40 min
  2. 7.2Choosing a site: the five Ws40 min
  3. 7.3Natural shelters: rock, roots, trees, caves, coast and bothies40 min
  4. 7.4Tarps and hammocks: pitches for every weather45 min
  5. 7.5Built shelters: the debris hut, the natural lean-to and safe warmth45 min
  6. 7.6Snow, jungle and desert shelters45 min
  7. 7.7Reading the land for resources40 min
  8. 7.8Trees and what they give45 min
  9. 7.9Cordage from the land50 min
  10. 7.10Knots and lashings1 hour
  11. 7.11Containers, cooking and the useful stones and clay50 min
  12. 7.12Tools and their safe use: knife, saw and axe55 min
  13. Module 7 examWritten exam
Module 8Food: plants, fungi, fish and trapping14 lessons · 9 hours · exam

Safe foraging and the deadly look-alikes, where fish lie and how to catch them, and the law on trapping.

  1. 8.1Food: priorities, energy and the law30 min
  2. 8.2Identify or leave it: the method and the plant families40 min
  3. 8.3The deadly plants: umbellifers, foxglove, arums and berries40 min
  4. 8.4Greens, shoots and roots40 min
  5. 8.5Fruit and nuts: the autumn larder40 min
  6. 8.6Fungi: the golden rules and the killers45 min
  7. 8.7The shore: sea plants, seaweeds and shellfish40 min
  8. 8.8Fishing law, and the methods it bans35 min
  9. 8.9Where are the fish? Reading a river45 min
  10. 8.10Lakes, the coast and the clock40 min
  11. 8.11Hooks, lines and bait from almost nothing45 min
  12. 8.12From catch to meal: preparing, cooking and keeping food safely45 min
  13. 8.13Trapping: the law, the ethics and the theory, and the small creatures40 min
  14. 8.14Food in other climates: cold, tropical and dry lands35 min
  15. Module 8 examWritten exam
Module 9Fauna: spotting, tracking and safety12 lessons · 8 hours · exam

Tracks and sign, what animal behaviour tells you, and the animals that can hurt you, region by region.

  1. 9.1Ground, light and reading a paw print40 min
  2. 9.2Hooves, hoppers, birds and how animals move40 min
  3. 9.3Ageing sign, following a trail and tracking a person40 min
  4. 9.4Feeding sign, bark damage, diggings and kills35 min
  5. 9.5Droppings, runs, homes and the law on disturbance40 min
  6. 9.6What animals tell you: alarms, routines, water, weather and people45 min
  7. 9.7Watching without being seen: wind, cover, stillness and optics35 min
  8. 9.8Through the herd: cattle, bulls, horses and dogs40 min
  9. 9.9Wild dangers in Britain: rutting deer, boar, birds, the shore and adders40 min
  10. 9.10Ticks, stings, bites and the diseases animals carry45 min
  11. 9.11Bears, wolves and keeping food from animals45 min
  12. 9.12Snakes, crocodiles, big cats and big herbivores abroad45 min
  13. Module 9 examWritten exam
Module 10Signals: making them and understanding them12 lessons · 7 hours · exam

Being findable, signals by fire, ground, sound, light and mirror, phones and beacons, rescue and warnings.

  1. 10.1Being findable: plans, sites and searches35 min
  2. 10.2Contrast, size and markers: making yourself visible30 min
  3. 10.3Signal fires and smoke40 min
  4. 10.4Ground-to-air codes and body signals30 min
  5. 10.5Sound: whistles, voices and the six-a-minute signal30 min
  6. 10.6Light: torches, Morse and signalling at night35 min
  7. 10.7Signal mirrors and reflectors30 min
  8. 10.8Flares, smoke and dye, and other people’s distress signals35 min
  9. 10.9Calling for help and giving your location35 min
  10. 10.10Signal, battery, beacons and radios40 min
  11. 10.11Rescue: helicopters, teams and the coastguard40 min
  12. 10.12Reading warnings: official signs and natural signals45 min
  13. Module 10 examWritten exam
Module 11First aid and recovery in the wild14 lessons · 10 hours · exam

Assessment, bleeding, bones, cold, heat, bites and medical emergencies when help is hours away.

  1. 11.1Scene safety, the primary survey and the call40 min
  2. 11.2CPR, defibrillators and choking40 min
  3. 11.3Stopping bleeding and recognising shock40 min
  4. 11.4Head to toe: the secondary survey, heads and spines40 min
  5. 11.5Chest, pelvis, impalement, lightning and several casualties40 min
  6. 11.6Bones, joints and splints50 min
  7. 11.7Hypothermia, the casualty wrap and safe rewarming45 min
  8. 11.8Cold water, drowning, frostbite and trench foot40 min
  9. 11.9Heat, fluids, sun and altitude45 min
  10. 11.10Burns, wounds, feet and eyes45 min
  11. 11.11Bites, stings and allergy35 min
  12. 11.12Medical emergencies away from help40 min
  13. 11.13Stay, walk out or send for help40 min
  14. 11.14Prolonged field care and the first aid kit40 min
  15. Module 11 examWritten exam
Module 12Real survival stories10 lessons · 6 hours · exam

Real incidents around the world: what happened, the decisions made, and what we can learn.

  1. 12.1Lost children: Pen y Fan and the Colombian Amazon35 min
  2. 12.2Cold on British hills: the Dark Peak and the Cairngorm plateau40 min
  3. 12.3Storms high on big mountains: Aoraki, Siula Grande and Everest40 min
  4. 12.4Nobody knew where to look: a Utah slot canyon and a Maui forest35 min
  5. 12.5Moving away from the search: the Sierra Nevada and the Sahara35 min
  6. 12.6Following water out of the forest: the Peruvian Amazon and the Tuichi River40 min
  7. 12.7Living off the land: the Stampede Trail and the Northern Territory35 min
  8. 12.8The wreck and the raft: the Andes and the Atlantic45 min
  9. 12.9Trapped underground: Tham Luang and the San José mine35 min
  10. 12.10The polar journeys: Endurance and the far eastern sledge party40 min
  11. Module 12 examWritten exam

The finish

Final practical test

A long, unguided day on real terrain, then the final judgement questions. Pass to earn the certificate.

Pass the final exam and the practical to earn the Survival Skillset certificate.

  1. The final test: what it is and how to prepare
  2. The final practical: a long day in Borrowdale
  3. Final exam