Why learn to navigate? Are you new to walking and want to put the fundamentals of navigation in place before you try anything adventurous? Alternatively, have you been walking for a while but rely on guidebooks too much and want do your own walks? Or maybe you’ve been navigating for years and just want to brush up your skills. Whatever route you have followed to this book, I’m confident that your navigation skills can be revitalised and improved.
The ability to use a map and compass correctly is an important skill for all walkers but sadly many don’t realise this until they need it! The usual excuse for not learning seems to be that there are plenty of guidebooks around that provide a route and a simple sketch map. One of the principal reasons for walkers signing onto my navigation courses is because they regularly get lost, despite, or maybe because, they have used a guidebook.
This book is designed to give you the skills necessary to head to the hills independently and with confidence. It will introduce the necessary skills to take you from a novice navigator to one able to cope with severe weather and tricky terrain. The first part of the book looks in detail at the map, what you need to know and what you don’t, before it moves on to considering the compass. It concludes by taking a close look at the world of GPS and digital mapping and considering the best way to incorporate these into your walking or other outdoor sport.
There are many reasons why good map and compass skills are important. Whether you spend your days on the high moors and mountains or on the lowland fields of Britain, there will be frequent occasions when these skills can make your day’s walk far easier. By following your map accurately throughout the day, you can avoid getting lost – even if the weather turns bad and the mist or darkness rolls in. If you know where you are, you can stay one step ahead of trouble. A thorough knowledge of map and compass skills also gives you the freedom of the hills and the confidence to explore the UK‘s large areas of access land.
