'I've always loved the outdoors ever since I was a young boy,' he said. 'I grew up in a rural area and I was always outside and always had an interest in bushcraft and living from the land. I got more and more interested in it and I think there's more interest in it generally, with greater exposure on television these days. 'People learn all sorts of things on the courses. When they first arrive we show them how to make a fire and to cook basic food like pigeon, deer or rabbit using minimal tools and they spend the first night under a quick bivvy made with a tarpaulin. 'The next day they learn how to build the shelter and they spend that night in a shelter they have made.
We also show them foraging skills and teach them about seasonal plants which can provide food, what plants are good for starting fires, all sorts of things.' Adam, who also works for Go Ape in Grizedale Forest, has a real enthusiasm for the outdoors life and recently returned from a busman's holiday to a remote area of southern Norway. 'It was an extreme environment and it really put my skills to the test,' he said. But in spite of his keenness, he can't persuade girlfriend Jemma to join him: 'I try to drag her out with me now and again but she's not having it. 'Plenty of other people are taking the challenge, though, and Adam added: ‘There are courses on offer all round the country, but the Lake District has got to be just about the best place to do it.'
For more information contact 0871 222 7304 or go to www.survivalschool.co.uk
FIRE - Essential for warmth, cooking and warding off inquisitive animals. Forget rubbing two sticks together and try to get sparks from pieces of flint to land on a loose pile of dry wood chips. Look out for crampball, a type of fungus which burns particularly well. Sensible alternative: All-weather matches and firelighters. Five essential skills If you do find yourself alone on a hillside remember these tips for survival
SHELTER - Protect yourself from the worst of the wind and rain by leaning fallen branches and foliage against a horizontal branch. Sensible alternative: A tent or, better still, a country pub with rooms.
FOOD AND WATER - Foragers will find a wealth of fish as well as edible fruits and leaves in the Lake District but remember to be ultra-cautious with fungi and watch other scavengers, too. Birds are likely to carcass before you do so watch and listen for them and you could bag yourself a feast. Sensible alternative: A packed lunch. there. Smoke is good but if you've given up on the flint sparking idea, use a piece of glass or shiny metal to reflect sunlight towards where people are or spell out SOS and hope for the best. Sensible alternative: A mobile phone.
FIRST AID - There are scores of readily available natural remedies out there if you know what to look for. Meadowsweet has medicinal properties and its roots smell like germaline so you'll know it's doing you good. Sensible alternative: A first aid kit.
SIGNALLING - Sooner or later you're going to want to return to civilisation so you'll need to let people know you're out.
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