News from Peak Navigation Courses

Peak Navigation Courses, Autumn programme 2014 1 st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation (Silver NNAS Day 1) Our “entry level” course suitable for the novice or those with plenty of experience who want to learn properly to navigate through fields and easy open moorland using a map and compass. (This course also forms day 1 of our Silver National Navigation Award Courses and is undertaken with “Moving onto Moorland” to complete the award).  Based from Foolow in The Peak District, a one day course costing £40. Dates: Saturday 6 th September Saturday 11 th October Saturday 25 th October Saturday 8 th November Sunday 23 rd  November Moving onto Moorland (Silver NNAS Day 2) This course is for more experienced navigators who already understand how to use a map and compass but want to progress onto moorland. The course introduces “micro” navigation techniques such as pacing and timing on a compass bearing. (This course also forms day ...

Hill Skills Courses in The Peak District Peak Navigation Courses have been accredited by Mountain (Leader) Training to provide the new Hill and Mountain Skills Courses. Learning Hill Skills on Eyam Moor Hill Skills will be run at weekends from our base in The Peak District, the weekends of 17 th & 18 th May   and   18 th & 19 th October. These are non-residential courses and cost £85, (though in addition you will need to register with Mountain Training for an additional cost of £20). The Hill Skills Course will teach you:   To read a map and navigate;  How to Plan a Walk; About equipment and clothing for hill walking;   The effects of weather in the hills; About the upland environment;  and   How to deal with emergencies. Learning Navigation Day 1             Saturday We meet at 9.30am in the village of Foolow, using the village hall as ...

Mountain Skills Course    – 2 nd May   Bank Holiday Weekend  24 th , 25 th and 26 th  May There’s quite a lot to cram into a weekend Mountain Skills Course, so we at Peak Navigation Courses are seizing the opportunity to spread the course over three days and ensure that course participants get the most from the course. Scrambling in Langdale Learning Navigation Based in Keswick, The Lake District, we have planned the following: Saturday The course starts at 10.00am with introductions and a indoor session about navigation. We then go out for a walk where we put our navigation skills into practice, identifying “contour” features, walking on a compass bearing and learn a bit about pacing and timing. We’ll move onto some steeper ground and look at techniques for safe movement on steep ground and easy scrambling. Mid afternoon we return to Keswick and have a session in a local equipment shop discussing and comparing different...

Hill Skills and Mountain Skills Courses Mountain Training (formally Mountain Leader Training) are about to launch two new awards: Hill Skills and Mountain Skills.   Peak Navigation Courses have been chosen as one of the first organizations to run these courses on behalf of Mountain Training. Unlike the other awards which are about leading others, Hill Skills and Mountain Skills are   about personal competence so that those new to Hill Walking and Mountain Walking can learn the basics of being safe in the hills or mountains, from qualified professionals . Mountain Navigation Both Hill Skills and Mountain Skills courses can be delivered over a weekend.   For Hill Skills, Peak Navigation Courses will run these in the hills of the Peak District.   For Mountain Skills, we believe that this course can only be delivered in genuinely mountainous areas so we will run these courses in The Lake District. Hill Skills and Mountain Skills a...

Learn Map Reading and Navigation with Peak Navigation Courses Silva Type 4 Compass Being able to map read and navigate well is not only a means to keeping safe on your walks but is fun too!   It’s great being set free from guide books and have the ability to plan your own walks. Peak Navigation Courses run a range of courses from those suitable for absolute beginners through to “ Navigation Master Classes” aimed at providing a testing day with useful revision for those already expert. There is something for everyone! Most courses are 1 day courses, usually on a Saturday or Sunday and there is scope for progression through the courses. 1st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation Course The 1 st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation Courses is a good foundation level course that goes through the basics of map reading and how to use a compass. The day starts with a classroom session then progresses to a short walk through fields before lunch.   ...

Our first Map Reading and Navigation course of the Autumn 2013 season got off to a successful start, with 9 participants, one of whom continued to our Intermediate Course the following day, and as a result achieved his Silver National Navigation Award . Despite an uncertain weather forecast, it stayed dry and mostly sunny offering great views from Longstone Moor during the afternoon, when we were able to put those new found skills of reading the map and using the compass to the test. There are plenty of places left on Peak Navigation courses during November, so if you know anyone who may be interested, do pass on the details.

New to walking and just starting out? Map and Compass Peak Navigation Courses run a course just for you!   “1 st Steps to Map Reading and Navigation” is a  course designed for the beginner or the person who has always left the navigation to others.   It takes you from the absolute basics and leaves you equipped to plan routes and navigate both through fields on paths and off path on easy moorland. This course can be combined with a 2 nd day to achieve the Bronze (NNAS) National Navigation Award. Map Reading Course Map and Compass Course Having the skills required to navigate using a map and compass gives you the freedom to move away from books of walks and to plan your own routes. An example of this is of Bamford Moor in the Peak District where I live. Here there are two stone circles and according to the map there are no paths leading to either of them. Peak Navigation Courses’ “Introduction to Moorland Navigation Course” will leave...