Testimonials

'The guys at Wilderness Survival Skills are great, and we always love having them at our River Cottage events. Spending time with them is a fantastic way to learn new outdoor skills and discover more about the living environment around you. You'll be having such a good time you'll barely notice. They are brilliant with children as well as adults - my son Oscar had his 10th birthday party in the woods with his friends, doing bushcraft led by Joe and Glenn, and it was a huge hit - 'one of the best days ever' he said. We joined them for a good part of the day and had a pretty fine time ourselves!'

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

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'Dear Joe,

Just a note to say thankyou SO much for putting on such a good show.

We all enjoyed ourselves immensely. When we got back to the house you could tell that everyone felt like they'd achieved something special and there was a great atmosphere. I hope you all have a cracking Christmas and New Year. Please thank the boys for us.'

Perry Haydyn Taylor, www.bigfish.co.uk

'Get to grips with meat' - Mat Follas, 2009 Masterchef winner and restaurateur (The Wild Garlic, Beaminster) recommends our Deer in a Day course in the April issue of Olive Magazine.

Mat follas calls tutor Joe O'Leary the UK's unsung wild-food hero.

‘His course is brilliant. It’s all out in the woods. You each get to skin a whole deer then cut it into easy-to-cook joints, as well as prepping venison jerky and burgers to take home'

Click here to view the whole article

'Hi Joe,

I just wanted to say a huge thanks to yourself and Glenn, who made the whole experience fantastic, the team have not stopped talking about it since, you were both friendly and approachable, and a bloody good laugh too !!

Thanks again to you both.'

Sue, Body Shop Foundation

24 hour survival team challenge September 2011

'Thanks Joe,

The course was great! it was really well structured, relaxed and a laugh, all of which contributed to a good learning environment.

You could have easily convinced us that Max and Glenn had been running courses together for years, with their felicitous cooperation and coordination and well humored banter that served to not only make the course educational but also very enjoyable.

I had also never realised quite how versatile the humble 'cherry bakewell tart' is and its key role in tracking.

I have yet again found myself thoroughly enjoying another Wilderness survival Skills course and I'm really looking forward to the Wilderness awakening 'combo' in the summer.'

Martyn, Tracking Course

'Ohhh thanx for the pic such a great memory!! We had a very very good time!!!! Though I was beyond tired and virtually incoherent by the time I drove off, total miracle we got home!!! Glenn was the perfect host - top blokey and obviously Max is brilliant too.

All in all right up there in my top ten weekends plus all the epiphanies that went on as well. Must say the group was very really fun - regards to the lovely Zoe.
Elliot said on the way home 'mum I get what you're going on about now!' think he was expecting a bunch of hippies!

We'll be back for more soon !!
Big stuff to wilderness survival x'

Paula, Tracking Course

'I'd like to take a moment (probably a few by the time I've finished) thank you formally for the amazing course.

Why was it so amazing? well... firstly your friendly banter creates a relaxed, light hearted and enjoyable atmosphere. Also the food was GREAT! I have done a few bushcraft courses with various companies and if I were to compare the quality (and quantity) of food on a scale of ten you would score 10 and the closest would be around 6!

I eat a lot of venison and what you cooked in the pit was fantastic, possibly some of the nicest venison (certainly the nicest Roe) I have had. It is nice to see that you are far from stingy with the serving size. I felt very well fed!

What also adds to your course is that if a relevant topic pops into conversation that would normally be featured in another of your courses you are keen to expand and describe the technique or concept where as others will withhold the information saying it is covered on another course. This adds to the learning experience and I feel adds value to an already good value for money course. An admirable quality.

You also unknowingly fulfilled one of my ambitions by having a flint butchering tool handy. I really wanted to butcher a deer with a flint tool, now that I have, my life is a little bit closer to being fulfilled (yes sorry, I am a simple lad) and unexpected bonus. All I need to do now is to make my own bow, arrows and buckskin suit and harvest a deer using my creations.

You have impressed me greatly with your knowledge and also how you run your courses. If the dates are suitable and finances allow I will most certainly look to attend further courses with you.

Thanks once again for the high quality course. I hope to see you again in the future.'

Martyn, Deer In A Day Course

'Thanks again to you, Glenn & Antony for an excellent course and you all deserve a huge pat on the back. Even for someone who's been around the bushcraft block a fair bit before, it was a thoroughly worthwhile experience. Those six days learning and living in the woods are something I'll always treasure; somewhere to retreat to in my head when real life is being a bugger. I've therefore only got two gripes with the course; it wasn't long enough and I'll never get to do it again.'

Steve, Advanced Wilderness Awakening

'Thanks Joe, I had a brilliant time on the course, yourself & Glen did a great job and I'm really appreciative of all the effort you both put in to make it such a special and successful week.'

Fiona, Advanced Wilderness Awakening

'Overall I would definitely recommend the Advanced Wilderness Awakening course as the 6 days give the student not just the chance to learn some new skills but more importantly places them in a situation where they have enough resources of material, quality instruction and time to master the skill. I came away with a very positive feeling about the course structure, everything that was included and the manner in which it was taught.'

Tarquin, Advanced Wilderness Awakening

'We really enjoyed our few days and wanted to say thankyou for your hospitality and patience with everybody!'

David, Family Bushcraft Course

'Hello Joe, just a quick email to say a really BIG thankyou to you and Glenn. I guess I know how much effort goes in to making stuff look effortless and I truly appreciate it - you both had a wonderful coaching/training style. I learnt so much on the two days and could happily have done a third day.'

Julia, Family Bushcraft Course

'I would suggest a course with Wilderness Survival Skills to anybody. The instruction is spot on, the skills taught are a great foundation for those starting out and to those who have been honing their skills for many years. The instructors are approachable and friendly and their subject knowledge is top notch. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with WSS and I have used many of the techniques I learnt on the course since coming back home. If you opt for one of their other courses you will get value for your money beyond belief, I hope to get back one day myself.'

Phil, Wilderness Awakening Course

'Thank you again for a great weekend, the boys have all been buzzing on the
emails since the weekend which is a testament to Glen and yourself for
providing such a great experience. I can't believe how much we did and
learnt in 2 days.

Although I will say it took until Wednesday until I stopped smelling wood
smoke on me.

Thanks again and I will definitely have a look into some other courses in
the future.'

Matt, Private Stag weekend

'Hi Joe, just wanted to drop you a line to say what a great weekend we all had on our Wilderness Survival stag weekend! It came together really well , everyone mucked in, got involved, everyone was up for it and the stag and everyone had a lot of fun. We'll highly recommend you to anyone who asks.'

Mark, Private Stag weekend

'Just wanted to say thanks for a great weekend. I had a good time and really benefitted from your advice and knowledge.'

Helen, Bespoke training weekend

'Thank you very much for arranging an excellent day on Saturday. It was pitched at just the right level and everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves.'

Will, Private Stag day

'Unfortunately I've not found the time to thank you both promptly, the last two weekends have been rather busy!

Anyway, the wedding went really well last weekend and everyone talked about the great time we had with you. We all really appreciate the effort you made to give us such an excellent stag party. Hopefully we weren't too difficult to organise - you were very patient indeed with us and it felt like we managed to cram a huge amount into the 24 hours. Your 'catering' and general admin was superb and there was certainly no need for the cheese board we bought with us.

Thanks also for making sure we didn't leave any kit and for giving us the venison left-overs. Some of it is still in my freezer and it'll make a fantastic meal.'

Ed, Stag Weekend

'Dear Joe, Glenn and Anthony,

I just wanted to say a BIG thank you for a fantastic time during last weekend’s Wild Food Forage (Fri 8^th to Sun 10^th May ’09).

We had a really really great weekend and thoroughly enjoyed everything we did. On looking through the photo’s we took, we packed so much into the two days that it’s impossible to say which was our favourite part. The knife skills and foraging knowledge were really valuable and we were pleasantly surprised to have remembered a lot more of the plant knowledge you gave us than we’d expected to. We also really enjoyed the food preparation & cooking and certainly didn’t go hungry!!!!!

All course tutors were really nice and we found all to be very knowledgeable, friendly and interactive. We thought pace of the whole weekend was spot on and whilst all the people attending the course were encouraged to take part, no one felt they had to do anything they did not want to which was great.

We have recommended Wilderness Survival to lots of people already and will definitely look to come on another course as soon as we can.'

Dominic and Clare, Spring Wild Food Forage

'Hi Joe, just wanted to let you know that I had an excellent time on the bushcraft weekend (4-5th April).

I was very impressed with the whole relaxed, nothing is too much trouble attitude from yourself and your fellow instructors Kev & Glen, which made the whole thing very enjoyable and appear as if it was One - to - one instruction.

I really want to visit on another trip so I will keep an eye on your web site for forthcoming trips.'

James, Bushcraft Weekend

'Joe, just wanted to thank you for the weekend, we both really enjoyed it and look forward to another course in the future.'

Karl, Bushcraft Weekend

'Hi Joe, the boys had a great time although learnt a valuable lesson in getting the right sleeping bag and thermals! Thanks for making it such a success. They barely moved for two days afterwards so failry shattered'

Estelle, Bushcraft Weekend

'Hi Joe, just writing to say thanks for a wicked weekend. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to do another. I'm going to have a go at making some char cloth tinder today and those cramp balls should be dry by now, may have a play with them too.'

Rob, Bushcraft Weekend

'Hey Joe

Top weekend, cant wait to put my new skills to practice at Easter – going on holiday with a bunch of mates and their kids so will get them cooking and gutting different animals, lighting fires by rubbing small children together and sleeping under pieces of kitchen towel.

Really enjoyed the weekend and thanks to you all for your hard work and great teaching – won’t forget the lessons learned.'

Jim, Bushcraft Weekend

'Dear Joe, you got there first!! I was going to email and say thankyou for such a great weekend. You and Glen are very very good at what you do and more importantly you are both incredibly good at putting people at their ease.

Looking forward to seeing you again sometime.'

Emma, Bushcraft Weekend

'Just a quick note to say thanks for a wonderful weekend in Wiltshire. Both Will and I had a great time and I finally got to skin a rabbit whilst reliving the “build your own shelter” fun I had in the Lakes as a nipper! The course was at a great pace and gave a taster of various aspects of bushcraft. I’d definitely recommend the course to anyone who feels increasingly distanced from our heritage in today’s sanitised, hi-tech environment.'

Stephen, Bushcraft Weekend

'Hi Joe

The boys all had an outstanding day on Saturday and went home tired, but thoroughly inspired by all that they’d done and learnt. Glenn and Antony were excellent and struck just the right pitch with a group where enthusiasm ranged from ‘relaxed-at-times’ to ‘bursting’. The camp was excellent, particularly the tent and camp fire combination. Everyone was really impressed by how lunch turned out. Thank you very much for laying it all on, and especially for offering libations to whichever weather God you communicate with – perfect result! Overall the day was a huge success.

Having spent a couple of winters in the Arctic and – like you, no doubt – learned to survive “in spite of” the environment, I find the whole notion of surviving “in harmony with it” a new and fascinating world. We would certainly be interested in venturing back into the woods again!'

Iain, Bushcraft Birthday

'Hi Joe,

We haven't edited the film yet, but the footage looks great. Thank you very much the course was very helpful, the woodlands were amazing, Antony was really helpful. We're currently planning the island, we'll be going there in a couple of weeks. We will let you know how it goes.'

Love Sam and Elin, Bespoke Training Day