A start

Contrary to popular opinion I must confess to knowing absolutely bugger all about 'the great outdoors'. Indeed, if you were to press me to identify more than a minuscule of Great British flora and fauna you would discover that my knowledge is limited to cow (big black & white thingy), sheep (I'm welsh after all), rabbit, buzzard maybe oak at a push, if it's still in leaf and has acorns upon its boughs and conker trees (horse chestnut if I'm not mistaken). OK perhaps I am exaggerating a tad but the basic truth is that for somebody who spends some considerable time walking local trails I have a poor knowledge of what I observe and, to be blunt, I'd be stuffed if I had to survive for more than one day if left, in the outdoors for more than twenty four hours, to my own devices. When I say "stuffed", I do not mean repleat with the natural bounty of nature! Oh no sir or madame, I mean to say that I would be up the proverbial creek with a distinct absence of any basic form of propulsion.

So, swallowing my pride, here is the deal: I am going to learn the basics of outdoor survival with the aim of being able to live on my own, wild camping for a week in the great Scottish outdoors. To achieve this I am going to have to learn some basic skills long forgotten from boyhood. Such as building shelter, making fire for heat and for cooking upon, safe water provision, foraging etc. with the stipulation that after the week there should little or no sign of my ever being there. Upon this journey I shall be asking for help from every quarter and in return I shall, via this blog, impart any knowledge that I have gleaned and bare here a record of the successes and failures of my journey, for you to follow and probably smirk at.

Therefore the objective is that from twelve months from now I'm hoping to have learnt enough to spend one week surviving in a remote part of Scotland with nothing more than some basic items and hopefully a bucket full of knowledge. Perhaps to some you more capable outdoor folk out there this may not be a great deal, but for this rotund suburbanite it is a massive step and a huge leap of faith. So I hope that you will follow me upon this journey and enjoy the ride.

John

P.S. I wont be totally alone on this journey, Bramble is coming along for the ride too.