Navigation, Compass, Map-Reading, Steep/Broken-Ground Skills Refresher

Looking for a navigation, compass, map-reading and steep/broken-ground skills refresher?

 

Coming up on the following 4 days, we have that happening, in the West Cork Mountains.

 

Pick and choose from any of the days:

25th, 26th, 28th, 29th March.

 

25th + 28th include a night navigation session

 

More Details info@outdoorsireland.com

 

Mountaineering Ireland

Back On The Bay...

Time to hang up the ice axes, and get back into a summer season of kayaking :)

Yesterday, first kayak trip of 2026 across Glengarriff Bay. Beautiful silver misty conditions. Saw a happy otter and a lonely great northern diver, plus the regular curious harbour seals...

 

Our Killarney Lakes Kayaking plus Glengarriff Bay Sea Kayaking now back in action; with availability most days (although best to book a few days in advance, to be safe)

Lowland Leader Training + Mountain Skills 2 Training Running In Glengarriff, Cork

Here's a handy mountain navigation thing.

Strap a basic watch/stopwatch to your shoulder strap, for the technique of timing.

And on the opposite shoulder strap have 10 toggles, on a cord, for the technique of pacing.

Over the next 2/3 weeks we have two separate Mountain Skills 2 Courses (one midweek, one weekend); and a Lowland Leader Training.

MS2 covers compass skills, night navigation, steep ground skills.

Lowland Leader Training covers the skills (inc some map reading) to lead and guide others on Irish/UK trails, paths, forests, beaches...

More Details: info@outdoorsireland.com

Mountaineering Ireland Accredited Courses

Mountain Skills 1 & Mountain Skills 2 Coming Up In Glengarriff, Cork

Places are available for a beginner friendly map reading and mountain navigation course; Mountain Skills 1; this coming weekend, 14th-15th Mar, in the Glengarriff Mountains of West Cork...
We're probably unlikely to be particularly close to these guys though 😅

If you're looking to get off trail and into the hills and mountains, in a safe and self sufficient way-this is the course to do!

Then followed by Mountain Skills 2; which covers more advanced navigation and map reading, compass skills, route planning, emergency procedures, night navigation and dealing with steep ground.
Dates: 25th-26th Mar  OR  28th-29th Mar.

For Details: info@outdoorsireland.com

Mountaineering Ireland

First Trees To Arrive In Ireland

Our glaciers retreated and melted roughly 12,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Our landscape was initially tundra before developing into woodlands as the climate warmed.

These are the first trees to arrive in Ireland. They were hardy species; and arrived via land bridges, or as wind-blown seeds :)
 

Juniper  (one of the earliest, often colonizing meadows)
Willow  (dwarf willow appeared early, followed by taller willows)
Downy Birch  (key pioneer species that rapidly colonized the landscape)
Hazel  (arrived shortly after the initial pioneers and became dominant 9,000–8,500 years ago)
Scots Pine  (widespread in the west)
Sessile Oak
Pedunculate Oak
Wych Elm  (liked fertile soils)
Alder  (spread later, liked wetlands)
Rowan/Mountain Ash

Interested In Hike Leader / Guide Leader / Lowland Leader Training? Click Here For Details

Winter Mountaineering Scotland

After a great couple of months mountaineering in mostly whiteout conditions; thinking about cornices and avalanches; the sky cleared today,  and got a magnificent 450meter gully route done, up onto this peak - Stob Coire nam Beith, in Glencoe.

I'm purposely bad with my phone, outside of work.

Prefer to enjoy the moment, instead of snapping photos for instagram, so this was the one and only photo from the day!

@Mountaineering Ireland
@Mountain Training

How To Get Into Bushcraft

I was surprised with the level of interest my recent post about an upcoming intermediate/advanced bushcraft course received.

With quite a few people asking, how to get started with bushcraft skills, survival skills, wilderness sufficiently skills...

The answer is pretty straightforward 🙂

Come do a two-day Bushcraft Skills 1 or a five-day Bushcraft Skills Week. Dates happening in April; then throughout this year.

Both courses are totally beginner friendly, mix of female and male, and not much gear needed.

The other option (if you're lucky enough to have a back garden) is make a small firepit and begin experimenting with bushcraft skills and fire cooking.

There are plenty of resources on YouTube, some bad; some good! And get a book like Collins Gem 'Food For Free'.

However ideally, if you have the time and money, start off with a proper bushcraft training course, so get the basics right.

For Details: info@outdoorsireland.com

Bioluminescence Night Kayaking In Glengarriff Bay, West Cork - National Geographic

Bioluminescence Night Kayaking In Glengarriff Bay, West Cork - National Geographic

Delighted with this mention in National Geographic, about our Bioluminescence Night Kayaking in Glengarriff Bay, West Cork: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/night-kayaking-ireland

This is such a beautiful, and awe-inspiring, trip to run - I never get tired of it :)

Thanks @yvonne.gordon and @natgeotravel

Here are those trip details: https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/glengarriff-bay-kayak/

Our regular sea kayaking trips in Glengarriff Bay will be running from mid March onward - and these include sunrise trips, daytime trips and sunset trips.

Our bioluminescence night kayaking trips, in Glengarriff Bay, will be running from 1st May (possibly slightly earlier); as soon as the glittering, glowing, shimmering marine plankton bloom :)

Advanced Bushcraft Training Course On The Radar; For Glengarriff, Cork

Advanced Bushcraft Training Course On The Radar; For Glengarriff, Cork

I have been asked to run a 3day or 4day advanced bushcraft course in Glengarriff; over a Wed/Thurs/Fri, most likely.

 

Either Apr/May time, or Sep/Oct time.

 

Challenging days; and assumed you have a decent level of competence from previous experience.

 

The price for this would be €495 per person, inc food.

 

Course content along the lines of:

1. Within our bushcraft area moving, breaking camp, setting camp each day?

2. Mix of hammock/tarp sleeping and shelter sleeping.

3. Different fire lays; including making and using a dakota fire x 2.

4. Different fire making from spark (bark, sap, lichen, grass, punk, dog end, char cloth)

5. Different shelter lays?

6. Different tarp lays?

7. With different food sources provided to you each day; foraging what we can find, to enhance and bulk out those food sources - such as making 1 potato + half-tin of baked beans per person into a decent and nutritious dinner.

8. Dressing and cooking something like a rabbit. Ideally cooking two rabbits; one on a spit and one as a stew - along with foraged items.

9. Recap of different natural cordages.

10. Recap of knife sharpening.

11. Kayaking into the bay to gather three types of worldwide common shellfish (mussel/limpet/whelk) plus some seaweeds, plus possibly edible jellyfish-if we find them. Cooking this up back at camp; plus cooking with seawater.

 

(While the kayaking will eat into the learning time of one of our days; this is the only way we have to access the shellfish and seaweeds - and these are valuable things to know and have done.

 

Anyone interested, please get in touch, info@outdoorsireland.com, and we can figure consensus dates.

Bushcraft Skills + Survival Skills; Coming Up This Spring, In Glengarriff/Cork

Some Bushcraft Skills dates, and Survival Skills dates, coming up this spring, in Glengarriff/Cork.

Places are available to book.

Depending on the course; we'll be covering things like building shelters, hanging hammocks + tarps, foraging, skinning + cooking rabbits, knife sharpening, making emergency snares + fishing lines, making fire from spark, making proper bread/scones/coffee, sterilising water, dakota fire...

Beginner friendly. All food provided. Sleeping outdoors in the woods at night.

15th-19th Apr : Bushcraft Skills Week : 5 Days

25th-26th Apr : Bushcraft Skills 1 : 2 Days

20th-22nd May : Survival Skills 1 : 3 Days

For Details: info@outdoorsireland.com