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Off-Grid: Surviving Without Anything

A two-hour bushcraft survival session in real British woodland, led by a professional instructor. Work through the first survival decisions, get hands-on lighting a fire, and learn how shelter, water and direction really work when there is no shortcut.

  • WhenFri 21 Aug, 3:00pm
  • How long2 hours
  • WhereLlyn Clywedog, near Llanidloes, Mid-Wales
  • PostcodeSY18 6NU
  • Ages10 to 18
  • Connects toEngineering · Physics · Chemistry · Geography · Survival skills

About this experience

Your phone is dead. The light is going. What do you do first?

Every survival story gets to the same moment eventually. The signal drops. The map will not load. The torch battery is dying. The path back is less obvious than it was half an hour ago. Suddenly the useful person is the one who can stop, think and work with what is actually there.

Connects to
Engineering · Physics · Chemistry · Geography · Survival skills
A way into
Survival, fire, shelter, kit, maps, making and the question of what would actually work when the shortcuts disappear.
What they take away
A working memory rather than a souvenir: how fire actually catches, what a shelter has to protect you from, why clear water still is not safe, and how fast one small decision changes what happens next.

Who runs this

Forage Box

Every session is led by a vetted Forage Box instructor: a professional bushcraft instructor, insured to work with under-18s, first-aid current and experienced in safe outdoor delivery.

Why this is on Foxchaser: Forage Box runs the woodland sessions Foxchaser already trusts. Its instructors carry both the bushcraft craft and the safety standards that let a teenager handle real fire, shelter and tools in a working wood.

Meet your tutors

The specialists who will be with your teen on the day. Different tutors cover different locations and dates, so you will know who is leading yours before you go.

  • Gavin Ireland

    Gavin Ireland

    Bushcraft instructor and forager, Association of Foragers

    I came to this the long way round: former soldier, hill and moorland walking leader and bushcraft instructor. These days I run bushcraft and foraging workshops across Wales and the Marches, and I am a member of the Association of Foragers.

    Fire, shelter and knowing what to do when the shortcuts run out are the heart of it. The best moment is always watching someone coax their first spark into a flame. I look forward to seeing you out there.

What you will do

  1. You meet your instructor at the woodland site and start with the scenario: phone dead, light going, no obvious way back. What do you do first, and what would only make it worse?

  2. You work through the survival decisions in the order that actually matters: staying safe, getting out of the wind and rain, water, and finding your way or being found. This is the map of what to do when the shortcuts disappear.

  3. Fire is the part you do yourself. You work with tinder, kindling and a spark under close supervision, until it stops being a theory and properly catches.

  4. Shelter and water are shown and talked through rather than fully built: what a shelter is really for and where you would put one, and why clear water still is not safe to drink.

  5. You finish on direction and getting found: what to do with one minute of battery, when staying put is smarter than walking, and how to make yourself easy to find.

How this runs
  • GroupA group of up to ten teenagers, with a responsible adult alongside each booking.
  • One scenarioThe whole session solves a single problem from several angles: phone dead, light going, no way back. Shelter, fire, water and direction are the answer to it, not a list to tick off.
  • An overview, with one thing you doTwo hours is short, so the session maps out what to do first and next. Fire-lighting is the part you get properly hands-on with; shelter and water are shown and talked through rather than fully built.
  • FireFire is lit under close supervision, in small groups or a turn at a time, with the fire area, materials and weather controlled by the instructor.
  • Water and toolsWater is shown and discussed safely, not drunk, and no one drinks untreated wild water. Any knife or tool work is optional, instructor-controlled and confirmed before booking.
  • WeatherRuns in normal British weather, so come dressed for it. Only called off for genuine safety, with as much notice as the forecast allows.
Good to know
  • Two hours outdoors in real woodland. Expect uneven ground, mud, smoke, weather and some hands-on work around the fire.
  • Wear sturdy closed shoes or boots, long trousers and long sleeves (good against brambles, nettles, sparks and ticks), with layers and a waterproof for the day.
  • Bring a bottle of water, any personal medication such as an inhaler or antihistamine, and in summer some sun cream and a hat.
  • Fire is supervised throughout. Water is shown and discussed safely, and no one drinks untreated wild water.
  • Any knife or tool work is optional, controlled by the instructor and confirmed before booking. There is no axe or knife throwing.
  • The instructor brings all the specialist kit. Anything else for you to bring is confirmed before booking opens.
  • You will have the exact meeting point and directions the moment you book, never later.
If you need to cancel
  • Cancel 7 days or more before the session: a full refund, or a free move to another date of the same experience. Your choice.
  • Cancel less than 7 days but at least 48 hours before: your places move to another date of the same experience. No refund at this point, because the groups are small and a late gap is hard to fill.
  • Cancel less than 48 hours before, or not attend on the day: the places cannot be refunded or moved.
  • If we or the provider cancel the session, for example for unsafe weather or too few bookings: a full refund, or a free move to another date. Always.
Read the full booking terms
How booking works
  1. Choose teen places Book one full-price place for each teenager coming.
  2. Add the adult coming with them A responsible adult stays for the session at a reduced rate.
  3. Bring a friend if you like One adult can bring more than one teen, so a friend can join the same booking.
Read how it works

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