Navigation Skills Training Day in The Lake District. October 28th 2016.

So, here's a report about our last bit of work in October - right at the end of the October Half Term Holiday.

As you can see from the view in photo one, Shams Khan and his daughter Shania had a very good day for their one day Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake District with us. In general, October was a very good month weather-wise and undoubtedly contributed to the amount of work we did during that month

Shams had been looking for a course that would allow him and daughter Shania the opportunity to learn some map reading & navigation skills, but the course needed to fit in with their plans and a one day course was what they wanted. Of course, we were able to fit this in for the pair when it suited them.

We met outside Wilfs Cafe in Staveley - our usual meeting point for our Navigation Skills Training Courses before heading off on to Green Quarter Fell.

There, we started off by discussing the various map scales used by the Ordnance Survey and the detail visible on each scale. We followed this by discussing orientating the map and then measuring distance on the map and pacing it on the ground. We then made our way up Hall Lane identifying "tick off features" on the map and locating them on the ground. Doing this exercise would keep us busy for several hours.

After a lunch stop at a bridleway cross-roads, we moved on to grid references. A grid reference allows one to find a specific location on a map using the grid lines.

Maps are divided up into 1 kilometre grid squares by lines of longitude (Eastings) and lines of Latitude (Northings). A grid reference is a point located in a grid square. A six figure grid reference will put you at the lower left hand corner of a 100 metre square within a 1 kilometre grid square. More accurate is an 8 figure grid reference putting you in the bottom left hand corner of a 10 metre square within a 100 meter square within a 1 kilometre grid square. Sound complicated? Well, it's not really; and Shams soon picked up the skill allowing him & Shania to find this rather small & insignificant pool of water - good skills!

By this point, we had also introduced the skill of taking a bearing using a compass - just as well because we had left the security of footpaths & bridleways and were now heading across open countryside.

We spent the rest of the day walking from grid reference dealing with any unexpected situations along the way such as avoiding obstructions such as walls and marshes. Walking through bracken (photo four) also presented a challenge for the pair  who performed very well during the day and leave with new skills to use in the countryside.

Shams paid just £160 for their Navigation Skills Training Day in The Lake District with Iain. our next Navigation Skills Training Weekend Course in The Lake District is running this coming weekend - November 26th & 27th. The cost is £80 per person for the two day course so grab yourself a skills training bargain, contact Iain & get booked on! Maps are provided, you just need your own compass (and please bring a Silva Type 4 Expedition Compass - nothing less will do the job properly!) and equipment for going walking in the mountains in what could be inclement weather; and don't forget your lunch.

We look forward to working with you!