Five Senses is a true eco-holiday, sharing what we experience, caring and nurturing the planet. We go beyond ‘leave no trace’. We take an active role in making the world a better place – one step at a time.

We all want to kick back and relax…but often don’t feel we have the time.

Five Senses is all about helping you get that time and confidence to be at one with nature, yourself and life ahead.

We teach the skills needed to be self-sufficient, to survive outdoors in the wilds and in the city. You can learn outdoor skills you will use every day to better your life, even if you think you hate that cold, wet outdoors.

Five Senses is all about being fully aware, using all your senses, being fully alive and in control of our life. It is about having the practical skills, to look after yourself, skills past down from thousands of generations.

Five Senses is also about an attitude, a way of being, of not only surviving, but thriving.

We are Malcolm Handoll and Rachel DuBois, based in the beautiful Orkney Islands in the north of Scotland, surrounded by the ocean and fields full of ancient civilisation – a land of fresh air, open skies and clear waters, and a people of a strong community, self-reliance and heritage.

Malcolm also travels around the country, learning and sharing his skills and knowledge as he goes. His life is an adventure and he is keen to share this with you, young and old. It is not only what he teaches – fire making, natural navigation, survival and bushcraft – it is how he does it, and why.

Five Senses is a way of living, with a passion for nature, and solving modern day problems by looking to ourselves and inspiration from the past.

We visit the World Heritage sites such as Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar, to connect with the Stone Age builders of these megalithic wonders and get inside their lives and thus learn how we might live better in our world of technology.

Malcolm Handoll and Rachel DuBois

We savour and dwell, whilst tourists would rush on. We slow down, consider and learn from these moments. The lichen on the rock, the skylark high above, the seal in the loch. These all matter to us because they are part of life – as we are too.

Come to Orkney to learn, experience and enjoy! Five Senses is way more that just a holiday or an outdoor experience – it is a way of life.

More about Malcolm in FAQs

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