Skip to main content

Beginners’ navigation course Eryri (Snowdonia)

By 27th July 2020July 12th, 2024Navigation

Introduction

Join us for a beginners’ navigation course or GPS navigation course in Eryri (Snowdonia) and you will learn the golden rule of navigation – and much more besides.

Navigation using a map and compass is not some irrelevant skill from the past. GPS and smartphones have not made map reading redundant. For any number of reasons it’s still the number one skill to learn before venturing out into remote hills and mountains in the UK. We discuss these reasons on our courses. The root cause of many accidents and mountain rescue call-outs is a navigational error. Sure, they may be called out to rescue a walker with a broken leg. But when you trace back along the chain of events that led to the accident, it so often stems from ‘taking the wrong turn’ or ‘not being sure of the way.’

Booking and Prices

If you’d like to know more about our beginners’ navigation and map reading courses or GPS navigation courses in Eryri (Snowdonia), then see our main page for more details and prices or see what our clients say about us.

When you are ready, then get in touch to make an enquiry or a booking.

We also run navigation courses in the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.

You can read our article with lots of tips on how to improve your map reading and navigation skills.

A student checks their map and compass on a beginners' navigation course

Beginner’s Navigation Course in Eryri (Snowdonia)

These courses are ideal for anyone who is terrified by map reading or thinks that they simply can’t do it. The emphasis is on demystifying the whole subject and making it accessible to everyone. Simple language. Simple concepts. Everyday comparisons. In addition, we have a whole ‘toolbox’ of techniques and tips to help you to understand in a way that makes sense to you.

On a beginners’ course, we emphasise the foundation blocks for all successful navigation. You will learn all about these and get plenty of practice:

  • Matching the map to the surrounding ground, with and without the use of a compass.
  • Understanding your ‘journey’ – the details about where you are going.
  • Interpreting the shape of the land – are you going on the flat, uphill or downhill (and how steeply).
  • Measuring distances on the map and the corresponding distance on the ground.
  • What to do if you think you are lost.
  • How to use a dedicated GPS navigation device (such as a Garmin).
  • How to use a mobile phone with GPS for navigation.

As with many things, you don’t need to learn or even understand everything on Day One. You just need to know enough. Once you have practised what you have learned and it is becoming embedded, then it’s time to move again. This is how the courses are structured. They give you the opportunity to learn progressively at your own pace, regardless of what others might be doing.