Terms & Conditions

GENERAL TERMS

1.These terms & conditions form the basis of the contract between Folk School Ltd (trading as Wilderness Folk School) and 'the client' upon booking, and can only be changed by Folk School ltd in writing. Within these terms and conditions, 'course' refers to any course, event, activity or any other service offered by Folk School Ltd and paid for by 'the client'.

2. For all adult courses (all courses unless clearly stated in the course description) all clients must be 18 years of age or over 16 years of age if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

3. Any knives or tools given to clients during a course are, after the course, entirely the client's responsibility and all current UK knife law must be adhered to.

4. Parents booking course places for unaccompanied children under the age of 16 give consent to Folk School ltd staff to be the duty carers of said child for the duration of the course.

5. Folk School ltd will make an effort to obtain consent to use photographs of clients obtained during a course, but upon booking the client gives presumed consent for such photos to be used for marketing unless explicitly stated verbally to a member of staff or in writing prior to the course.

6. No dogs or pets are permitted on any courses

BOOKING TERMS

1. Contract. The client accepts Folk School ltd's terms and conditions outlined here in full and enters into a contract when they:

Pay either the course deposit amount or full course balance using our online system or by requested invoice and fills in our booking form. The monies must have cleared in Folk School ltd's bank account and we must acknowledge receipt of booking and funds. We reserve all right, even after booking, to cancel any booking - in which case we will return all monies back to the client (unless the cancellation is for extreme weather, see below)
The legal jurisdiction of this contract will be in Scotland only.

2. Tranfers. Course places (and the contract agreed) are not transferable to any other person or course unless agreed in writing by Folk School ltd.

3. Fitness. Clients must have a good standard of general fitness (a stated on the course info page) and must disclose all medical history/allergies requested at the time of booking. Folk School ltd will not be held liable for any health related issues (during or after a course) which occur as a result of medical history not declared on the medical history form.

4. Late arrival. Any client who arrives late or does not attend a course after booking is not entitled to a refund.

5. Payment terms are as follows:

A non-refundable deposit will be paid to secure a course place. The full balance must be paid 8 weeks prior to the start of the course.
If a client does not pay the remaining balance 8 weeks prior to the course start date, even after paying a deposit, we will deem this a cancellation by the client and we will retain the deposit.
If we cancel a course for any reason except in exceptional weather circumstances deemed unsafe by us (see extreme weather cancellation below) or global/national threats such as (but not limited to) pandemic, terror attacks or any government advice, we will refund you 100% of your course fee or offer you a course voucher to the same value as the booking. Refunds will not be given in the event of cancellations due to factors outwith our control such as (but not limited to) global/national threats such as pandemic, terror attacks or any government health advice or warnings.
If you can not attend a course due to illness, travel disruption or any other reason which prevents you from attending you will not be liable for a refund. In this event we will attempt to transfer you to another course or may offer you a voucher as a good will gesture but this is not always possible.
Deposits are non-refundable (but at our discretion can be transferred to another course).
If you cancel more than 8 weeks before the course start date and have paid the full balance, we will refund you minus the deposit amount. If you cancel 8 weeks or less before the course start date, we will retain 100% of the course fee paid. We may be able to transfer you onto another course date or course, but this must be agreed in writing with us and this is not always possible due to the nature of our work. This cancellation policy is in place due to upfront costs and organisation which take place in advance of a course.
All deposit or course fee refunds, for whatever reason (excluding if we cancel a course), are subject to a 3% transaction fee to cover online payment costs to our provider plus a £20 administration fee. All returns paid in £ sterling at the current exchange rate.

6. Course fees may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances. In this case we will inform you as far ahead as possible and give you the option to change or cancel the booking.

7. Course Content. Every effort will be made to run course in accordance with the course description advertised. There may be circumstances out-with our control (eg. weather), which mean we have to modify the course content, change the venue or postpone a course. In this case Folk School ltd can not be held liable for these changes and therefore will not be financially responsible for any costs incurred to clients for any transport, accommodation, loss of earnings or other costs incurred as a result of these changes.

8. Extreme weather. It is impossible for us to predict the weather. On the days running up to the course start date we keep a close eye on the weather but it is usually not clear what the weather may be until 2 days minimum before the course starts. Even then, weather reports are only an estimate. We will not cancel a course due to weather unless we consider there to be a risk to course participants/instructor safety. To help us make this decision we will use the UK Met Office weather warning system. Here is a guide to our methodology and terms;

If a 'Red Weather Warning' is issued for the course location we will almost certainly cancel the course.
If an 'Amber Weather Warning' is issued for the course location, it is very likely that we will cancel the course.
If a 'Yellow Weather Warning' is issued for the course location the course will likely go ahead unless we are concerned about wind speed and the likelihood that it will cause a danger of falling trees/branches.
For watersports (eg. canoeing courses) we will only operate within the scope of practise of our instructors or any subcontractors. This means that we may cancel a course if the water conditions are unsafe or forecast to be unsafe. In this case we would look to change the schedule of the course to a safer location first, then cancel the course if this is not an option. We will try to reschedule a course to a later date, but this is often not possible due to our schedule of other courses.
Weather warnings issued for other areas of the UK outwith the course location will not be taken into consideration or trigger a course cancellation. This includes if you are prevented from travelling to the course location due to adverse weather in your location. In this case you will not be liable for a refund. In this event we will attempt to transfer you onto another course, but this is not always possible.
Wilderness Folk School ltd will not be held financially responsible for any costs incurred to clients for course cancellations or travel disruption due to extreme weather to include, but not limited to, transportation, travel, accommodation, food, loss of earnings etc.
It is almost always impossible for us to reschedule a course due to the nature of our work and so in the event of a course cancellation due to extreme weather, we will refund you 50% of the full balance paid for the course only. The remaining 50% of the course fee paid is non-transferrable unless confirmed in writing by Wilderness Folk School ltd.
We advise that all clients take out an adequate insurance policy to cover course cancellations due to extreme weather, illness or other disruption which prevents them from attending a course.

COURSE CONDUCT

1. Alcohol. No alcohol or illegal drugs are permitted on courses. On some courses the consumption of small amounts of alcohol may be permitted (wild foods courses for example) at the discretion of Folk School ltd.

2. Kit list. A kit list is provided for every course and it's the clients responsibility to ensure they are adequately dressed/prepared for the course.

3. Equipment loan. Clients must return all equipment issued by us in the same condition it was issued in. Clients are liable for any losses or damage to issued equipment.

4. Instruction. Clients must adhere to all instructions given by Wilderness Folk School ltd staff. We will not be held liable for injury/losses incurred as a result of not following instructions/unsafe behaviour.

5. Disruption. All clients have the right to enjoy the course and not be disrupted by the behaviour of other course members. We reserve the right to remove any client (at the client's cost) from a course for any behaviour which obstructs the enjoyment or safety of others; for example abusive behaviours, intoxication, disregard of safety instructions, disregard of the environment. Such clients will not be given a refund.

6. Smoking/vaping. Smoking must not take place in any shared areas of the camp.

LIABILITY AND RISK

1. Risk. Although through thorough risk assessment, experience, planning and safety procedures we aim to minimise risk to clients, no outdoor activity is without risks or hazards. Clients must acknowledge that there are inherent risks associated with taking a course and by booking a course accepts these risks. Wilderness Folk School ltd can not be held liable for risks out with their control, for example (but not limited to), natural hazards such as adverse weather and falling branches/trees, inadequate clothing or equipment supplied by client, illegal activities by other course members or members of the public, mistakes made by client, mishaps or accidents resulting from the normal activities of the course, risks from insect-borne diseases. Folk School ltd must be shown to be negligent for any liability to be acknowledged.

2. Client responsibility. Clients undertake the following activities on a course entirely at their own risk (not included in the course fee) - wild swimming, fishing, firelighting (when not part of the course), processing firewood (when not part of the course) drinking from natural water sources, walks out from the immediate course location or any other activity not offered as part of the course syllabus.

3. Possessions. We operate in outdoor settings where other members of the public are free to roam. Folk School ltd will not be not liable for any damage or loss to any clients personal possessions, clothing or equipment while on a course.

4. Dietary. Folk School ltd is not liable for any health issues that arise from clients consuming catered food if the client has not disclosed food intolerances at the time of booking. Clients are asked to supplement their own food if they have strict dietary needs.

5. Folk School ltd vehicle use. If we offer a complimentary car pick up service or lift in one of our vehicles there is no charge for this service.

6. Client vehicles. Typically a safe place on private land is offered to clients for parking for the course duration. Clients park vehicles at their own risk and Folk School ltd will not be held liable for any damage to vehicles while attending a course.

7. Teaching 3rd parties. Attending a Folk School ltd course does not qualify a participant to teach a skill or technique. In no way does Folk School ltd endorse a participant to teach a skill or technique taught to them on a course. Folk School ltd will not be held liable for any mishap occurring as a result of a participant of one of our courses teaching a skill or technique learned on a Folk School ltd course/event to a 3rd party.

INSURANCE & COMPLAINTS

1. Insurance. Wilderness Folk School ltd has public liability insurance. All clients are advised to have their own personal insurance to cover accidents, theft, damages, cancellation costs, travel delays, change of plans etc.

2. Complaints. Any complaints must be made in the first instance to the course instructors on the course, followed up, if necessary, in writing no later than 28 days after the course completion. If no complaint is made during the course, no corrective action can be taken and this is deemed unreasonable.

1. We collect personal information at the time of booking for all clients. We also collect personal medical history/dietary information which is relevant to safety while on our courses. We are required to keep this information for 6 years to comply with UK law - after which time it will be destroyed. We will not share any of this data with a third party - the only people that will see it are Folk School ltd staff (including volunteers) who are running your course, office staff, and medical professionals in the event of a medical emergency.

2. If you opt in to join our mailing list, we will not share any of your details with third parties and you have the option to opt out at any time.