Navigation Courses

Beginner Navigation | Poor Weather Navigation | Contour Interpretation | Night Navigation | Bespoke Navigation Courses

Mountain Navigation

Mountain navigation - especially in poor conditions - can be both daunting and challenging. Our courses aim to teach you everything you need to know, from the basics to get you on the hills, right through to more advanced skills, from whatever level your starting point is.

Mountain Navigation can include a variety of things:

• Map reading – We will teach you about different map types, understanding symbols, and interpreting them on your journey in the mountains.

• Mountain journey & relocation – Keeping track of your route as you move in the mountains and identifying your path without having to refer to a map at all times.

• Using a compass – On some occasions you may need to take a bearing, but your compass has more uses than that. It can be used both while on the hills but also as a route-planning tool.  

We want to help you have a range of skills to use for your navigation. As you progress you’ll gain a good understanding of how, and when, they are best deployed so you can enjoy your mountain days comfortable in the knowledge that you can guide yourself on and around them.

Which Course should I attend?

Our navigation courses are designed for all skill levels, whether you are a beginner who has never looked at a map before, or want to improve certain aspects of your navigation and learn extra tools to be safe in the mountains. We currently offer 4 set courses as well as bespoke days which are customised to you and your navigation needs.

Our 4 Courses are set out to help you at whatever level your navigation is. We divide the courses up to allow you to do as much as little as you need as well as allowing for maximum practice at each level. The next course then building on the previous, usually refreshing some skills before adding in a more. For example, the Poor Weather Navigation Course is designed to follow directly on from our Beginner Navigation Course, refreshing the basics, before adding in extra techniques specific to navigating in poor weather.

Beginner Navigation Courses

Everyone has to start somewhere and these courses are designed with those who have little to no navigation experience in mind.

1 Day Course – Pentland Hills

This navigation course will teach you the basics and starts from scratch, no knowledge is required beforehand. It aims to give you some tools to use in the mountains and covers a variety of skills. We will give you the time to practice these so that you are confident in your surroundings and are comfortable in using what you have learnt once the course is over.

As part of the navigation course we will aim to look at:

• Different types of maps so you are familiar with what is available.

• The symbols on the maps, what they mean and how to use them to navigate.

• Orientating the map to help you understand the journey as you go.

• Use of a Compass in a variety of situations.

• Taking Grid References

• Emergency procedures - Calling Mountain Rescue, Emergency Kit & Late back Procedures

Location: Flotterstone, Pentland Hills Regional Park

Meet: 8:45am

Finish: 3 - 3.30pm approx

Poor Weather Navigation Courses

When the weather is great, the UK hills can feel easy enough to navigate with the basics of map reading and navigation skills, but all to often – even on a good weather forecast – we are caught out with low cloud and poor visibility.

Knowing some extra navigation techniques can help you a lot in these situations and allow you to walk safely in the hills in poor weather.

On this course we will cover:

• Pacing

• Bearings

• Combining bearings & pacing

• Strategy - when & why we use our navigation tools

However, it is not just about knowing each technique, but when to use it. We will be looking at your navigation ‘tool box’ and start discussing navigation strategies. Not every tool is useful all the time so we cover the when and whys!

Who is this course for?

This navigation course is aimed at those who have done a beginner navigation course or have the basics of navigation.

Location: 9 Mile Burn, off A702

Meet: 8:45am

Finish: 3pm - 3.30pm approx

Contour Interpretation and Micro Navigation

Contours are King! You may have heard us say this is you’ve been on one our courses before and walking about the Hierarchy of map symbols. The more we can interpret the contours features around us the easier our life becomes in the hills and mountains in any weather.

On this course, we aim to improve your contour interpretation. Looking at the map and anticipating what you will see when you arrive at a destination, how can I use the features to my advantage when navigating and techniques for getting between them (Micro Navigation).

This course runs in a more remote featureless part of the Pentland Hills to really challenge our contour interpretation but also to show us even in that landscape there are plenty of features to use if you know what you’re looking for.

On this course we will cover:

• Contour features

• Refreshing & using Bearings, pacings, timings and other navigation tools

• Strategy

Who is this course for?

This course is aimed at anyone wanting to really improve up their map interpretation and navigation. Be that for personal use or if you’re working through the walking leader qualifications such as Hill & Moorland & Mountain Leader.

Location: Baddinsgill Farm

Meet: 9am

Finish: 3pm approx

Night navigation Courses

Looking to up your game! These courses are great for those who really want to be solid at navigating in the worst of conditions or in the dark. Great for those working towards qualifications such as Hill & Moorland Leader & Mountain Leader but that doesn’t mean to you have to be doing a qualification to join us.

We will be covering navigation techniques suitable for navigation in the dark & poor weather. For those days where you run out of light or the weather worsens & really aiming to hone in your skill set.

If you are unsure if this is suitable for you I'm happy to chat with you about it.

We will be running through & refreshing techniques such as:

Refresh bearings,
Walking on a bearing,
Pacing,
Attack points,
Relocation,
Strategy

You will require a good head torch as this course will run at least in part in the dark depending on time of the year. (please bring fully charge and/or with spare batteries)

Bespoke Navigation Courses

We also run bespoke navigation courses. Whatever your navigation skills and experience, be it starting from scratch and wanting to learn the basics or looking to advance towards qualifications such as Mountain Leader, we can help you improve your navigation and give you the confidence to get out in the mountains.

A great option for:

• Families & Friends groups looking to learn together without other people,

• Attended a course previously and looking to refresh what you learnt & build on the skills,

• Working towards qualifications, wanting to improve your navigation & consolidate,

• Small group tuition.

Contact us and we’ll happily chat through what’s best for you.

Price:

Full Day From £150

Navigation Practice Evenings

Practice is key to navigation. Getting out and using the skills consolidates what you’ve learnt. We’re really keen to help you practice and have created our practice evenings in the Pentlands to help you get out with us on hand to help.

Munro Navigation Practice Days

Take your skills to the big stage with us on hand. You get to practice, safe in the knowledge we are on hand. And if we’re lucky, we may even bag a Munro while we’re out!

Additional Information: