Please note that as of 18/1/12 the Backwoods course has reached capacity and will not be offered as a choice to new applicants on the form. Spaces are still available on the Camping and Pioneering course.

On the success of Fota's first Adventure Skills Training Day the Centre will be repeating the courses on two dates in 2012. Both dates will cover Backwoods, Camping and Pioneering, courses will be held on Saturday 3rd March and Saturday 1st September 2012. On March 3rd we will be running courses covering material from Stage 1 to Stage 3 while the September 1st courses will cover Stages 4 to 6. Please click here to make a booking for the March 3rd course.

Congratulations to all 31 Scouters who took part in the Centres first Adventure Skills Training Day on 3rd September. Scouters came from as far as Dingle and Dublin to learn skills and techniques in Backwoods, Camping and Pioneering. At the end of the courses all Scouters agreed that the days training was excellent and will be encouraging others in their Groups to book into the next course to be run. Keep a look out on this page for updates on the next course which we hope to run next Spring.

No more hunting for the cheque book, reminding the Group Treasurer to send in the deposit for your booking. You don't even have to find a stamp or post box anymore. Fota now accepts payment of deposits through PayPal, your whole booking can now be made on-line from submitting the booking form to paying the deposit to secure the booking. Check out the Booking Information page for more details.

We now accept payment of deposits by PayPal. Please select this payment option if you have a PayPal account or a credit / debit card, a transaction fee of €1.50 for camping deposit and €3 for cottage deposit will apply. On receipt of your booking we will send a PayPal email payment request to the given email. Clicking on the link in the email will take you to the log in page of PayPal. If you have a PayPal account you can log in as normal to complete the payment. If you do not have an account then there is an option at the bottom left of the screen to pay by credit card. Additional charges may be applied by your card company if you choose to use the card option rather than directly through a PayPal account.  Due to limits imposed by PayPal we can only accept deposit only payments and not full camp fees.

Fota was delighted to welcome the Chief Scout and Members of the National Management Committee to the Centre on Saturday 27th August. The new flag pole was dedicated to the memory of Arthur MacAdoo (a Scout Leader from 2nd Cork (Cathedral) who had strong connections with Fota over the years). The three flags on the new pole were raised by a flag party of scouts from his old Scout Troop. The Chief Scout also took part in an investiture ceremony for new Scouts in the 2nd Cork Troop who were camping at Fota by presenting them with their Group scarves after they made the Scout Promise.

The Centre's first Skills Day is nearly here and we have had great interest in it. We are now full for the three courses but will be planning to run further Skills Days at later dates. Check back for further announcements.

We are now taking provisional bookings for the 2012 season (March - Nov'12). Confirmed 2012 season dates and pricing structure will be available in September 2011.

As part of Scouting Ireland's new ONE Programme Fota is offering training in the following Adventure Skills to Stage 5 qualification: Backwoods, Camping and Pioneering. Each of the three course will run on Saturday 3rd September 2011. Click here for more details and the on-line form

Currently all weekends are booked up through to September 5th with the exception of the weekends May 13th - 15th and July 15th - 17th. Please check the booking calendar for availability.