Complete Wilderness Navigation
The Wilderness Wayfinder is our flagship navigation course. It is an in-depth six-day programme examining all aspects of land navigation. The course incorporates traditional wayfinding methodologies, natural navigation knowledge, map reading, compass skills, time and distance techniques, and even the integration of GPS.
The course aims to provide you with a fundamental understanding of what you are doing and why, rather than merely teaching you a series of tricks. This is particularly important if you aim to travel further afield and be able to apply your navigation skills, rather than use them relatively close to home.
Moreover, you will see that all the techniques – old and new – taught in this course can be integrated together in powerful combinations. For example, you can absolutely combine map and compass skills with natural navigation techniques; they are not mutually exclusive. You just need to a gain a solid understanding of each area and learn how to translate between these different, yet related realms.
This course includes forest navigation and night navigation, when visibility is low, as well as navigating in more open terrain, with higher visibility. We run this course at a time of year when night navigation can be undertaken without the need for staying up until the early hours! Sunset in early April is around 19:30.
The course leader has undertaken trips in many wild and remote parts of the world that require solid navigational skills. Further, the supporting instructors on this course normally include one or more of the multiple UK Mountain Leaders on our team.
Detail of What You Will Learn: The Syllabus
Wayfinding Fundamentals
- An exploration of abstract, or absolute, wayfinding systems
- An exploration of experience-based, or relative, wayfinding systems
- The home-based system of wayfinding
- Ariadne’s Thread
- The modified home-based system
- Geocentric vs egocentric orientation
- How traditional and modern wayfinding methods can be combined
- Awareness of cognitive biases that can hinder good wayfinding
- Understanding why people become lost
- Tactics, tips and understandings for diminishing the chances of becoming lost
- Relocation and being found
Natural Direction Indicators
- Understanding geographic north and south
- Orienting with the Sun
- Understanding how the Moon shows you direction
- Direction from the stars
- Additional constellations that will help determine direction
- Secondary natural direction indicators
- Working out sunrise, noon, and sunset times and directions
Using Maps and Mapping Systems
- Understanding map construction
- Understanding grid systems
- Understanding the relationship between maps and meridians
- Understanding the relationship between grid north and geogrpahic north for your map
- How to read UK maps
- How to read topographic maps from around the world
- Analyse what a map legend is telling you (and what it isn’t)
- Recognising important signs and symbols on maps
- Using map scales
- Measuring distance on a map
- Grid References
- Using Romer scales
- Interpreting contour lines and contour intervals
- Recognising the limitations of contours
- Methods of relating the map to the land
- Methods of relating the land to the map
- Orienting the map by eye
- Orienting the map with your compass
- Paper map-folding and map care
- How to set up a GPS unit so it is consistent with paper maps in different countries
Compasses
- Understanding different types of compass
- Compass parts and terminology
- Understanding the purpose of different compass features
- Understanding the Earth’s magnetic field
- Magnetic variation, declination and isogonic maps
- Understanding the difference between magnetic north and grid north
- Understanding the different between magnetic north and geographic north
- How to translate between grid bearings and magnetic bearings, without using tricks that only work in some places
- Easily avoided compass errors
- How to use your compass accurately
- Taking compass bearings
- Walking on a bearing
- Using back bearings
- Boxing around an obstacle
Navigation Techniques and Tactics
- Handrails and use of linear features
- Aiming off
- Attack points
- Collecting features
- How to keep track of where you are
- How to know immediately if you have gone too far>/li>
- Methods of working out your location, including resections
- Useful tactics for avoiding becoming lost
- Incorporating natural indicators
Route Planning, Route Finding and Route Logging
- Planning your route
- Calculating how long your route will take
- Visualising your route
- Tick-off features
- Using landmarks
- Navigation in low light or poor visibility
- Effective use of timing
- Accurate use of pacing
- Route cards
- Incorporating escape routes
All the Other Details You Need to Know…
Equipment
You don’t need to spend lots of money on specialist clothing or equipment for this course. What you will need is some outdoor clothing, outdoor footwear, a daysac and some basic camping gear.
A full kit-list is available here. The kit-list will also be e-mailed to you with your e-mail receipt after your booking has been accepted.
All specialist equipment – including compasses, maps and mapcases – will be provided for your use during the course.
Venue
This course will be conducted entirely outdoors, from a base camp in the middle of a large private estate in Sussex. This lays next to a large area of open access land, so the total training area is both very large and quite varied. It’s a great place to learn!
Within the base camp, there will be a covered communal area with a fire, kettle, tea, coffee, etc. We may have briefings in this area but it is available for you to use during any downtime in camp.
Food
Please bring your food of choice for the week. You will be able to cook on a fire. Alternatively you can bring a stove (or use both, if you’d like the flexibility). You won’t have to backpack with your supplies, so you can bring fresh food, including a cool-box, if you’d like to!
Also bring some lunch food suitable for packed lunches as we’ll likely be away from camp during the day.
Experience Required
No previous experience of navigation or camping is required to attend this course. Please note, however, this course involves you walking and being on your feet a good proportion of each day.
Availability and Booking: Wilderness Wayfinder
Duration: 6 days.
Price: £727
Deposit: 25% on booking.
Suitability: 14 years & above. Anyone under the age of 18 years must be accompanied by an adult.
Course size: 12 participants (maximum).
Location: East Sussex.
Course Meeting Time: 17:30 Day 1.
Course Finish Time: 17:00 Day 7.
Location: East Sussex
Course Leader: Paul Kirtley
Wilderness Wayfinder Navigation Course Dates:
06/04/25 – 12/04/25 New Date!
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