Home > Youth Leadership Programs > Where the Dead Poets Roam
World Bound: Scotland to Ireland: Where the Dead Poets Roam
A Fireside Journey for the Brave, the Curious, and the Becoming
We are thrilled to announce one of the boldest and most imaginative teen travel experiences ever created by Fireside Adventures. It’s wild, raw, and unfiltered. It’s something Mr. Keating himself (keep reading…) would have stood on a desk for.
World Bound: Scotland to Ireland (2026) is not a retreat. It’s a rebellion. A two-week creative odyssey through landscapes that have birthed poetry, protest, and beauty that cannot be tamed. This journey is led by Jeff “Willy” Willis, Fireside’s founder and eternal student of experiential education, alongside Noah Tyler, Fireside alumnus and Irish-Canadian guide. Together, they bring 30+ years of Fireside’s spirit into a new kind of expedition, one that unites literature, adventure, and self-discovery into a living story.
The Spirit of Mr. Keating
“I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way…”
If you’ve ever watched Dead Poets Society (and if not, do yourself a favour and get caught up), you’ll know Mr. Keating wasn’t just a teacher — he was a spark. He lives on through this journey as our spirit guide: daring us to see differently, think freely, and live deliberately.
DATES: Aug 08 –21, 2026 (15 days)
LOCATIONS: Ireland and Scotland
AGES: 12–17 (co-ed)*
*Also available for 18+. Contact us if you dare to keep learning.
PRICES (CAD)
Regular Price: $5,299
*Includes non-refundable $1000 + GST deposit
Includes:
– Pre-course virtual orientation
– Duke of Edinburgh Award Centre integration
– 24/7 instruction and mentorship by Jeff Willis and Noah Tyler
– All accommodations (tents, glamping, dorms, homestay)
– Most meals and private ground transportation
– Group equipment and activity admissions
– Access to something intangible: perspective, voice, and courage
Flights and personal items are not included, but we will help coordinate flights to make your and our lives easier.
Does not include: Anything not mentioned above.
More info: office@firesideadventures.ca
Mr. Keating Meets the Climate Generation
If Mr. Keating were alive today, he’d be telling you, “Carpe diem isn’t about taking selfies on mountaintops. It’s about taking responsibility for the world beneath your feet.” Part of protecting the natural world is celebrating the beauty and awe it has inspired through countless generations of poets.
But this experience isn’t just about memorizing poems; it’s about living them. It’s about taking Seamus Heaney’s muddy realism, Robert Burns’ unshakable pride, and Mr. Keating’s call to “seize the day,” and turning them into action: rewilding land, protecting coastlines, challenging greenwashing, and finding your voice when silence feels easier.
In Ireland and Scotland, you’ll stand in the same winds that carried revolutions — literary, cultural, and political — and realize they’re not over. You’ll hike, write, argue, sing, and create. You’ll see that the fight for a livable planet isn’t new; it’s just our verse in humanity’s long poem of resistance.
So yes, put your phone down. Pick up your pen. Stand on the metaphorical desk.
Wake up, rebel wisely, and write the next chapter.
The Journey Itself
Arrive in Edinburgh; explore Old/New Town, Royal Mile, Arthur’s Seat, and themes of voice, courage, and creativity.
Travel to Glencoe for valley hikes, memory, and story-based learning.
Move into Aviemore and begin a three-day Cairngorms trek, including the dramatic Lairig Ghru crossing and leadership in real mountain conditions.
Train to Glasgow, then fly to Ireland, settling in Killaloe/Kincora along the River Shannon.
Explore Brian Boru’s fort, Clonmacnoise, Cliffs of Moher, and the Burren.
Finish in Dublin with the Book of Kells, Joyce’s streets, the Abbey Theatre, and a farewell dinner.
View the full itinerary ↓
Meet Your Guides… in all things World Bound, Wisdom & Wildheartedness
Noah Tyler: Guide, Creator of Ireland & Scotland World Bound, Fireside Alumnus & “Local Lad”
I had the opportunity to join Jeff and the crew on the very first Japan World Bound experience — and it completely changed my life. It taught me to think freely, stand up for what I believe in, and take chances.
After that trip, Jeff Willis invited me to join the Fireside team, and over the past summer, I worked as junior staff on several expeditions, learning what Fireside is all about — growth through challenge, connection, and real experience.
That time inspired me to create Ireland & Scotland World Bound — a program that brings together the adventure and discovery of the Yukon and the reflection and culture of Japan, all in the landscapes where I’ve spent much of my life. With Jeff’s help, I’ve shaped it into something that ties the places we visit to the voices of the poets and people who lived through them — exploring how their words still reflect who we are today.
Jeff “Willy” Willis: Fireside’s Founder, CEO & Adventure Architect
Since 1991, I’ve been cooking up camps and expeditions across Canada, Japan, Germany, Colombia, Ecuador, Fiji, Yukon, Europe, and even the Arctic. My recipe? A big scoop of outdoor experiential education, a dash of youth and family work, and a whole lot of passion for environmental education and social justice. That mix became Fireside Adventures. Becoming a dad turned up the heat. When I realized my kids weren’t getting climate change education at school or camp, I built the World Bound Climate Change Courses series. Then I supercharged Fireside’s Explorer Series and added the Salty Express, Ocean to Mountains, and Earth Roots experiences for schools— because the next generation deserves both adventure and answers.
When I’m not scheming up new expeditions, I’m also the founder of Vancouver Outdoor School. With Barnsy, me, and the Fireside crew, we create outdoor learning that doubles as life and social skill training—because climbing trees and building fires can teach you way more than just, well, climbing trees and building fires.
Why Scotland and Ireland?
Because these are lands that never stopped speaking.
Ireland’s moss-covered ruins and Gaelic rhythms remind us that language is survival. Scotland’s wild highlands remind us that rebellion isn’t a trend, its heritage. This is where stories were weapons, where poets were warriors, and where music carried the fight for freedom across generations.
Scotland
Bagpipes once rallied rebels, today they call youth to climate marches from Glasgow to the Highlands.
The Scottish Declaration of Arbroath (1320) inspired freedom movements worldwide — and now Scotland leads Europe in renewable energy goals.
Writers like Robert Burns and musicians like Runrig and Mogwai turned pride, protest, and place into power — voices still shaping how Scots protect their land and seas.
Ireland
Ireland’s poets and songwriters once resisted oppression with rhythm and rhyme — from rebel ballads to modern protest anthems about land and freedom.
Seamus Heaney’s poetry still inspires environmental movements, reminding us that “hope and history rhyme.”
The spirit of Irish resistance lives on through young climate activists leading rewilding and green justice projects across the Emerald Isle.
Fireside Adventures: 20 Years of Honouring of a Youth ReWilding
For two decades, Fireside Adventures has designed programs that teach through challenge, community, and wonder. From the Yukon River to the jungles of Ecuador, and now across the Celtic frontier, every experience carries the same purpose: to help young people learn what textbooks can’t teach. Following in the footsteps of pioneers like Kurt Hahn, we are dedicated to helping youth grow into young adults who are courageous, empathetic, curious, and a little wild.
There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less. There exists within everyone a grand passion, an outlandish thirst for adventure, a desire to live boldly and vividly through the journey of life. - By Kurt Hahn
