News from Peak Navigation Courses

In the last few days, I have watched 2 couples out for walks in the Peak District struggling to follow a route using a mobile phone. The first was on a fairly isolated bit of moorland; the weather was not the best, and we had just finished talking with our 4 clients about safety and using a compass on the moor where people have got lost in bad weather.    The couple concerned spent a good 10 minutes looking at their phone, trying to work out where they were and then wanted to get to.    As we returned to our cars, we met them again on the road - they had presumably walked to the far side of the moor, then joined the road for a mile or so.    They could have had a lovely off-path walk round the moor, much nicer than the road, had they had the skills to work this out for the map. Today I met another couple in our village, looking for a footpath. They asked a neighbour where to go, but a few minutes later had hardly moved and still looking perplexed so I gave ...

BL***Y Foreign Maps Mike and Jane from Peak Navigation Courses spend the summer months guiding people in the mountains. This summer will see us in Spain’s Sierra Nevada, Swaziland, Mozambique, Scotland and Slovenia. As International Mountain Leaders we are trained and assessed at using all sorts of foreign maps.   We have a lot to be thankful for in the U.K. as our Ordnance Survey maps are perhaps the best in the world. It also makes navigation easier with good maps and makes for safer enjoyment in the mountains. Map extract - Spain's Sierra Nevada In the UK our maps show crags and rock features. This is especially useful as you wouldn’t want to take a line over a cliff.   The map above is from Spain’s Sierra Nevada.   From the contour lines it appears that these are nice rounded hills with no crags at all.    The cliffs at point A on the map The next pictures below show Jane climbing / scrambling at points A and B on the map! Not...

Silver National Navigation Award in a Weekend Learning to navigate in the snow Peak Navigation Courses ran a Silver NNAS course over the Easter weekend for Natural Born Hikers, a “Meet Up” group from London. Ten students in total attended the weekend which was staffed by Jane, Mike and Steve from Peak Navigation Courses.   Normally the Silver NNAS is just a two day course but being Easter the course was extended so that after the Silver NNAS, we included a night / poor visibility navigation session on Big Moor and looked at some more advanced navigation techniques on Kinder Scout. All ten students achieved the standard and had a great time. Night Navigation on Big Moor   Peak Navigation Courses have a programme of Navigation Courses, either 1 day or 2 day (NNAS) based in The Peak District throughout the year. Day courses are priced from £40 per person whilst the 2 day NNAS courses are £85 per person. The courses run by Peak Navigation Co...

A Glorious Night Out! The weather over the past weekend was one of forecasts for heavy rain and flooding across the country. Amidst this Peak Navigation Courses still managed to run a successful night navigation course that was acclaimed as brilliant by the students attending! “Thanks for last nights night nav session. Really enjoyed it!”   Ashley Dawson Night Navigation, planning strategies The night navigation courses are really designed for people who already have good navigation skills and are able to use a map and compass to cross open moorland. What they aim to achieve is to introduce the necessary strategies to cope in poor visibility simulating what happens should the mist come down or should you get caught out after darkness. Hopefully the course will leave students confident to get out and practice for themselves (practice makes perfect!). The course we run starts at 6.30pm during the winter months and involves a practical session of around three h...

Map Reading and Navigation Courses make great Christmas Presents! Peak Navigation Courses run map reading and navigation courses throughout the year.   Our peak demand season is the months of January, February and March. This is due to a variety of reasons: New Years resolutions to get fit or get out walking; people wanting to learn navigation ahead of a walking holiday planned as their summer holiday;   and people in receipt of our courses as a Christmas present. What a great idea giving a Map Reading and Navigation Course as a Christmas present! Map Reading and Navigation Course   Here’s a list of our courses: Introduction to Map Reading Course First Steps to Map Reading and Navigation    £40 A 1 day course, which will set you up with the basics of using a map and compass over easy open moorland. An Introduction to Moorland Navigation          £40 A 1 day course, designed for people wh...

Map Reading and Navigation Courses in The Derbyshire Peak District. Dark Peak Map and Silva type 4 Compass Being able to read a map and to navigate gives you the freedom to plan your own routes and give up using books of walks.   Scouring the map finding places of interest then planning your own route is so much more rewarding than following a book! Take for example Bamford Moor in the Peak District, it has two stone circles but no path marked on the map to either of them.   If you know how to read a map you can make a fabulous circuit from Ladybower’s Heatherdene car park and visit them with stunning views over the reservoirs, Win Hill and the Derwent Valley. Peak Navigation Courses run two introductory level Map Reading and Navigation Courses that will leave you equipped for planning and undertaking such a route: 1 st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation 1st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation Course A Day courses taking you from the very bas...