Wild Trails Wales Guide: Learning to Navigate
Maps and navigating tend to divide walkers into different groups; those that see them as only for geeky hikers, those that are slightly intimidated by them, and those that love them, and will spend hours pouring over a paper map with a cup of coffee planning endless routes and adventures. I have to say I’ve been in all three categories at different points, but I’m now firmly in the third category. Does that make me a geeky hiker? Yes probably, and a happy one at that. In this quick guide I’m going to try to convince you why you should embrace the skill of learning to navigate, and how to go about it.
Why learn to navigate?
Have you ever wanted to go for a walk in the mountains, but the weather doesn’t look great and you’re worried about not being able to find your way if cloud comes in? Have you ever taken a wrong path and ended up miles from your car on the wrong side of a hill? Maybe you came across a field of aggressive cows and needed to find an alternative route? Or walking through the woods you had no idea which path to take? These are all scenarios that can usually be dealt with without drama if you can map read and navigate.
If you’re fed up of going along with everyone else’s plans just because you’re not really sure how to make your own, or if you don’t want to have to wait for a more confident map-reading friend or for a good weather day, learning to navigate means you’ll have more opportunities to get out when you want to, or when you have the time. Having the ability to go solo and look after yourself if the weather changes is empowering!
If you want to walk somewhere with no paths, no signposts, or begin to plan your own routes, being able to map read and navigate can open up so many more options to you - and the feeling of freedom that gives you is amazing.
Map or App?
This question furiously divides outdoors folk. A moderate view is that both have their place, and can be great used together. I avoid relying solely on apps for a few reasons., though plenty of people do use apps alone and cope quite well. Firstly, so much can go wrong with technology, especially if out in a harsh environment. Phone batteries are notorious for dying in cold weather. I’ve killed a fair few phones in the rain or by dropping them. My particular bugbear with the OS Maps app is that it randomly logs you out if you don’t have signal, meaning you can’t access your maps even if you do download them! Now that’s not to say maps are infallible or that I never use apps. Maps can blow away, and you could get half way up a mountain and realise you’ve brought the wrong map. For most walks these days, I’ll use my OS Maps app as a quick reference, especially when leading a group or in somewhere fairly familiar, as it saves me faffing about with a big paper map. However, I personally feel most comfortable always having my paper map and compass in my bag or pocket ready to use for the all-too-frequent failure of a phone or app. It’s my insurance policy and I feel so much freer with it. I make sure to give the old grey matter a frequent workout by regularly going on walks using just my paper map and compass. It’s probably worth mentioning that some apps are really not fit for purpose, following a dot on a line gives no information whatsoever about terrain and could lead you into some really sticky situations. Even if you do decide that apps are the only thing you need, learning to navigate can still help you to make the best use of them.
Hopefully you’re now convinced that learning to navigate properly would be a good thing for you. Now how to go about it?
A learning plan:
Learn the countryside code, and different rights of access. Here’s a link to the Countryside Code for Wales. You may also find this guide handy.
Get hold of an OS Map, preferably covering a familiar area (for walking, the 1:25,000 scale Explorer maps are most useful). On the cover and at the bottom of the map are keys. Use these to learn what the different symbols on the map mean.
Time to get practical. Get outside with your map in the area your map covers. Go for a walk you’re already familiar with and try to match what is around you to what you see on the map.
Plot yourself a route on the map for somewhere you don’t know that well. Try to stick to somewhere fairly straightforward at first. Using what you know about the symbols on the map, create a story of what you think the walk will be like; landmarks passed, hills climbed, type of terrain etc. Then after the walk, reflect how it was similar or differed to what you’d thought, and compare anything unexpected with the map again. This reflective practice is a really efficient way to learn.
If you can, invest in a compass. They don’t have to be very complex or specialised but a Silva Expedition 4 will cover most navigation scenarios. Learn the different parts of the compass and what they do. Learn how to relate the compass from the ground to the map and vice versa. Attending a course can be really helpful at this stage, though there are a number of books and online videos which can help if you’d rather self-learn.
Head out again in a familiar area and set yourself some compass tasks. For example, taking bearings along features, or walking on a bearing to get from A to B.
Gradually, once you feel confident, test yourself in more unfamiliar areas, venturing away from paths, walking in the dark or in poor weather etc. You can download maps using the OS Online App, and set yourself tasks, using the app’s location tool to confirm whether you are on course or not - remembering to reflect on any errors to avoid making them again next time.
As you get more confident with your navigation, and if you spend a good amount of time planning your routes before you head out, and have a good macro plan in place, you may find you don’t even need to get your map out at all. Don’t forget to get your head out of the map and enjoy your surroundings, after all that’s what we do it for, isn’t it?
It’s important to say don’t be disheartened if you find map reading and using a compass really difficult. It took me a long time and attending several courses, plus hours and hours of practice for it to one day suddenly ‘click’. Attitude is everything; once I’d decided to stop telling myself the story that I was terrible at navigating and would never be able to do it to the level I wanted to, it was if my brain relaxed and let me learn. Take your time and stick at it - you’ll never look back!
Wild Trails Wales offers map-reading and navigation courses at three levels, I’d love to talk to you about your needs so please get in touch if you would like some advice.