Spend a night in the woods with your family, learning bushcraft skills, building shelters, and lighting fires together. Guided by experienced instructors, you’ll enjoy hands-on activities, fun challenges, and opportunities to observe wildlife, making memories and gaining confidence in the outdoors. By the end of the course, you’ll all see the woodland from a new perspective.
The adventure begins with a woodland walk where you’ll learn to identify trees, plants, and animal signs while heading to your woodland camp. Once there, the group will light a communal fire and begin building shelters from natural materials, which you’ll sleep in overnight.
Lunch is prepared and cooked over the fire, followed by a session on safe knife use, where everyone will make a small tool or sculpture to take home. Firelighting practice includes traditional flint and steel, batteries and wire wool, and fire by piston. Dinner is cooked communally over the main fire and finished with hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows. After dark, you’ll take a guided night hike and, weather permitting, explore constellations, learn legends, and practice natural navigation.
Day two begins with a peaceful sit-spot in the morning sounds of the woodland before preparing breakfast over the fire. The course finishes with a creative session using natural cordage to make bracelets, necklaces, or keyrings to commemorate your experience. Private family bookings are available at both woodland sites for tailored adventures.
South London Woods, on the Surrey–Croydon boundary, provides accessible yet secluded woodland perfect for family bushcraft activities. Its mix of open grassland, coppice, and ancient tree plantations offers varied environments for shelter building, firelighting, and wildlife observation.
Private courses can also be booked at the South Wales woodland in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. This location offers more remote terrain and a larger area to explore, ideal for families seeking an immersive overnight adventure in nature.
Families sleep in the shelters they have built themselves, using tarps or natural materials, giving a hands-on outdoor sleeping experience. Sleeping bags and closed-cell foam mats are recommended to ensure warmth and comfort throughout the night.
The woodland environment allows for a full night immersed in nature, with birdsong and the sounds of nocturnal wildlife as your backdrop. Instructors provide guidance and support to ensure safety, making it a secure and enjoyable first overnight experience for children and adults alike.
No previous bushcraft experience is necessary. Families should be prepared for outdoor activity in variable weather and able to manage walking and practical tasks as part of the course.
All participants should bring personal kit as per the one-day course list, plus additional items for overnight comfort, including sleeping bags, mats, and suitable clothing. Guidance from instructors ensures everyone can safely take part in all activities.
The instructors bring years of experience in bushcraft and family outdoor education, offering hands-on guidance for all skill levels. Their expertise ensures that every family gains confidence in firelighting, shelter building, and outdoor cooking while having fun together.
Small group sizes allow personalised attention, ensuring children and adults alike get the support they need. Courses focus on safety, practical learning, and enjoyment, leaving families with skills, memories, and confidence to continue exploring the outdoors together.
About the centre
South London
We partner with Rewilding Britain to help protect our natural spaces for future adventures.
All centres are vetted for safety and quality. Your adventure is in good hands with adventuro.
