Stunning, Spring-Like, Morning On Glengarriff Bay

Another stunning, spring-like, morning on the bay. Today's highlight was seeing a hovering kestrel 20 meters away from us divebomb a shrew on the rocks, then carry it away...

Honey Bee, Out Of His Depth In Glengarriff Bay

Calm and misty kayak trip this morning. Apart from seeing an otter, a loon and a pair of eagles; the highlight was coming across this honeybee 🐝 in the water, drowning.

Pulled him out, sat him on the spraydeck for the trip, gave him a bit of mince pie - which he loved 😅

Then as we pulled up on the slipway, he took off headed for the Eccles Hotel and the woods...

Yellow Brain Fungus

Yellow Brain Fungus or Witches Butter; loves growing on gorse especially. Ranges in colour from yellow to bright orange.

Edible, and I find pretty tasty in a nice bland kind of way. Has an interesting texture!

It's thought to produce carbohydrates.

Bushcraft Instructor Training Course - Glengarriff/Ireland This Coming Year, 2025

After 11 years of running bushcraft courses in Kerry and Cork, I'm delighted to have a three-day Bushcraft Instructor Training Course finally off the ground and ready to run this coming year

It's been a long time coming! More details here: https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/bushcraft-instructor-training-course-ireland/

Bushcraft Instructor Training is an intensive three-day course, running from our bushcraft base in Glengarriff/Cork. The course is a mix of indoor and outdoor sessions, with a focus on planning, leading and teaching bushcraft skills. Scroll down to read the full course syllabus. There is also some pre-course work and post-course work.

Previous bushcraft experience and competence is required. This experience and competence can be gained through completing the likes of our Bushcraft Skills 1 and Bushcraft Skills Week. The course is non-residential. There are accommodation options available in Glengarriff. Most food is provided.

There currently is no national governing body and no national qualification for bushcraft in Ireland or UK; so this course has been designed to fill a gap. This is an in-house Outdoors Ireland Training School Certified Course. You will also receive a Leave No Trace Awareness Certificate, which is recognised/certified in Ireland and UK. The Leave  No Trace Awareness Certificate will also allow you to progress into Leave No Trace Trainer.

For overall competence we recommend you also qualify as a Lowland Leader and a Leave No Trace Trainer. These are achievable and are recognised/certified in Ireland and UK. Lowland Leader is awarded by Mountaineering Ireland and Leave No Trace Trainer is awarded by Leave No Trace Ireland. We train and asses for these awards and you can see details here.

Price: €495 Per Person
Complete A Training Course With Us – Repeat The Same Course At Any Stage In The Future, Free Of Charge, Bar A Reg Fee

930am – 630pm
Food Provided

Bushcraft Instructor Training Dates
Glengarriff/Cork:
Please Contact Us

Course Syllabus:
Plan A Course
Plan A Session, Inc Session Breakdown
Reflect & Improve A Session
Brief & Debrief Skills
Teaching Skills, Inc VARK/EDICT/Whole-Part-Whole/Step-By-Step/Drip-Feed/Peer
Demo Skills / Coaching Skills / Tasking Skills
Best Practice Behaviour
Teach Leave No Trace
Teach Foraging
Teach Fish/Fowl/Fur Dressing (Generally One)
Camp Organise / Camp Setup / Camp Brief
Water Organise / Water Setup / Water Brief
Toilet Organise / Toilet Setup / Toilet Brief
Risk Asses, Inc Likliehood & Consequence
Emergency Procedure / Sweep Search
CLAP / 3C / Leader Tic

Instructor Good/Bad/Ethic
Access / Insurance / Qualification
Weather / App / Resource
Student Pre-Course/Post-Course
7S / 7 Snippet
Session Plan Template
Paperwork / Car Pool
Medical Lyme/Weils/Burn/Dehydrate/Hypothermia/Hyperthermia

Fox will Generally Pounce In A North Easterly Direction

Did you know, typically, when a fox pounces on prey it will pounce/jump in a north easterly direction?

If they do pounce in a north easterly direction they catch their prey 73% of the time.

If they pounce in other directions they only catch their prey 18% of the time.

It's believed they are using earth's magnetic field as a range finder...

Prepping – Where To Start

Prepping – Where To Start

Prepping is a big undertaking, and pretty daunting, as so much involved. When people ask me why I prep, I’m always equally surprised they’re not prepping.
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Some of the important things are:
1. A home-base set up to be without electricity; with it’s own natural water supply; compost toilet; and veg/fruit garden potential.
2. A wilderness-base in the woods and ideally on water; either freshwater or seawater.
3. Fishing gear and rifle for hunting.
4. Veg seeds and tools for gardening.
5. A bug out plan.
6. A bug out bag.
7. First aid training, first aid kit, first aid book and some medication.
8. Ability to map read/navigate. Road atlas for the country and OS maps for your larger general area.
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However one achievable win initially is to have a full year’s food supply/general supply laid up, stored somewhere clean and DRY, with attention paid to danger of damp and vermin.
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You could start easy; such as an approx year’s supply of soap, washing up liquid, toothbrush+toothpaste, plasters.
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In terms of tinned food, each week on your weekly shop, you could start buying a single slab of tins. This is an inexpensive way of doing it. Ideally pull-tab lids, and decent food like beans/peas/tomatoes/potatoes.
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Basically 1 tin equates to 1 meal per person, enhanced with wild forageables. So this time of year you may be adding dock leaf, nettle, plantain, younger bramble leaf to your pan of food.
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I plan to run some two-day or three-day Prepper Courses this coming year, 2025.
More details soon or email me to register your interest on info@outdoorsireland.com

Thanks, Nathan

Main Blog Moved To Our Website

Main Blog Moved To Our Website These Days, Which Is Here And Here

Thanks, Nathan