Survival Skills in Plymouth: A Former Commando's Guide to Getting Started

Plymouth is one of the best places in Britain to learn survival skills. Dartmoor sits on the doorstep to the north, the coast wraps around the city, and there is proper woodland within twenty minutes of almost anywhere. I built South West Survival here for exactly that reason. If you want to get started with survival skills in Plymouth, this is where I would begin.

Start with skills, not gear

The outdoor industry will happily sell you a rucksack full of kit before you can light a single fire. Skip it. The order that matters is shelter, fire, water, navigation — learned with your hands, in real weather. A £5 ferro rod and the knowledge to use it beats £500 of equipment you have never tested. Kit fails. Skills do not.

Practise close to home

You do not need an expedition to build capability. Practise fire prep in the garden, learn to read an Ordnance Survey map on a Sunday walk, and build your first shelters on a day out — always with the landowner's permission and with fire only where it is safe and legal. Dartmoor's access rules make it one of the best training grounds in the country, and it is on our doorstep.

Train with people who have been tested

When you book a course, ask one question: has the instructor ever had to rely on these skills under real pressure? I served 23 years in the British Army, including 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, and I have been tested on screen on Discovery's Naked and Afraid, Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse and BBC's Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning. That is not a boast — it is the standard I think you should hold any survival instructor to.

What your first course should look like

A good beginner course covers shelter, fire, water and navigation in one progressive package, with enough repetition that the skills stick. Our two-day Commando Survival Foundation course in Saltash does exactly that — one night out, civilian-friendly, ages 16 and up. We also run She Survives women's weekends, family events, school programmes and corporate team-building across Devon.

The mindset is the real skill

Everything above can be taught in a weekend. What takes longer is composure: the ability to stop, think and make a good decision when you are cold, tired and out of your comfort zone. That is what military training builds, and it is what we pass on. It shows up far beyond the woods — at work, at home, anywhere pressure finds you.

Ready to start?

Have a look at our upcoming courses on the Events page, or send us a message through the Contact page and tell us what you want to get out of your training. We will point you at the right course.