Are you baffled by maps? Would you like to have the whole process of map-reading and navigation de-mystified? Would you like to have better days out, confident in being able to find your way about? Read on!
I'm happy to run informal tuition in map reading and navigation, one-to-one or for very small groups. What we do depends on...
- what you already know (which might be quite a lot, or nothing at all, or somewhere in between), and...
- want you want to do ( for example, walk on well worn footpaths, or make your own routes away from footpaths), and...
- where you want to go (for example, beauty spots with well-marked paths, mountainous areas with well-defined features, or moorland with ill-defined features), and...
- in what conditions (for example, fine weather, foul weather, fog, night)
We might start by sitting in a café with a map of an area you know well, or a map of the area where we are, spread out in front of us. We will look at the symbols that go together to make the map, and what they mean, and we will have a look scale (the relationship between distances on the paper and on the ground) and contours (the squiggly brown lines), and perhaps do a bit of work on bearings (straight lines measured with a compass). We might look at different types of maps of the same area, and have a clear-headed look at them in terms of you and your needs.
Then we might go out into an open area, not necessarily somewhere wild, and relate the features on the ground to the features on the map. I will show you how to locate yourself on the map by looking at the features on the ground around you, and you can to start get to grips with using a compass.
After that, we might go for a hike somewhere together where the walking itself and weather are not difficult, so that we can concentrate on navigating. In addition to the skill of locating ourselves, we can practise navigating from point to point, learning to measure distance, estimating the time required, and knowing when we have gone wrong (too far, or in the wrong direction) and what to do about it. And if you are interested, I can show you how to use the contours to navigate with exquisite precision.
Have I forgotten to mention grid references? Don't worry about them: we'll deal with them as we go along, but they're not that useful day-to-day, really.
And if you need to take things further, we can go out in more difficult conditions, such as in fog or at night.
Two things I would like to point out:
- This is not professional-level training. I can pass on to you my knowledge and skills as a navigator and help you to become a competent navigator in your own right, but there is no qualification, certificate, or anything of the sort at the end.
- I cannot teach you how to use a GPS set. No, really, I can't. I do have a very basic GPS set (Garmin eTrex), but I use it only to give me grid references in an emergency, and not for planning or navigation.