Preparing for your HML or ML Assessment?
Working towards your NNAS Gold Award?
Competent Navigator who wants to perfect your skills?

This 1-day Advanced Navigation Skills course in the Yorkshire Dales is ideal for experienced and accomplished hill-walkers, who wish to develop and hone their skills so they can deal with complex terrain and challenging conditions.

During the course, we will move progressively into more challenging terrain and conditions, and we will actively seek out poor visibility and complex landform. This course will introduce you to the advanced skills needed to navigate across complex and challenging terrain, far away from paths and tracks, using contours as the prime method of navigation, backed up with appropriate compass use, good distance estimation and sounds strategies.

This course is suitable for accomplished hill-walkers with good navigation skills, who have attended previous navigation skills training such as NNAS Silver or Gold Awards, Hill & Moorland Leader (HML) or Mountain Leader (ML) training, or are working towards these awards. It is also a great refresher day for HML, ML or NNAS Gold Award holders.

DO YOU WANT TO..?

• Learn skills for navigating across complex and challenging terrain.
• Use contours as your prime method of navigation.
• Learn navigation strategies for open hill country.
• Learn appropriate use of the compass.
• Distance estimation on the hills – visual, timing and pacing
• Understand the upland environment.
• Explore further, with confidence.
• Stay safe on the hills
• Leave feeling inspired and ready to do more!

COURSE CONTENT

• Planning ahead – weather forecasts, clothing and kit for the hills.
• Navigation skills, strategies & techniques.
• Poor visibility and night navigation strategies.
• Micro and macro navigation.
• Appropriate compass use, including ‘quick’, ‘full’ and ‘back’ bearings.
• Use contours and landform as your prime method of navigation.
• Continuous location and relocation skills.
• Accurate distance estimation over challenging terrain
• Route planning, route selection and route finding.
• Sound decision making & human factors – changing plans on the hill.
• Recognise error quickly and relocate.
• Understand the upland environment and how this affects route choice, speed of travel and physical discomfort.
• Use of different map scales: 1:25k, 1:40k and 1:50k
• Legalities – access legislation, personal responsibilities and the Countryside Code.

The topics we focus on will be determined by weather & ground conditions, group needs, visibility, terrain and landscapes, so we may not cover all aspects of this course content in equal detail.

Learning outcome: plan and follow routes in any area of open country, far away from paths and tracks. 

OUTLINE OF THE COURSE

Pre-course: Unlimited access to our online video tutorials. Watching these videos before the course will allow us more practical time outdoors, and allow you more time to absorb concepts and skills.

• Understanding Contours
• How & When to Use a Compass
• Navigation Strategies
• Weather Forecasts & Conditions
• Essential Kit & Looking after Yourself

9:30am: Meet at a village car park in the Yorkshire Dales (with facilities)

9:30am – 4:30pm: Full day’s Advanced Navigation Training course in the Howgill Fells or Yorkshire Dales. The walk will usually cover between 6 and 8 miles over the course of the day, with plenty of rest stops and time to practise skills and ask questions. The terrain will be complex, challenging and rough hills and moorland. We may experience poor visibility (mist and/or darkness).

4:30pm – 5pm: De-brief back at the village.