Beginners Navigation Course

As a novice we recently undertook the beginners navigation course. We had a good day learning how to use a compass, map reading and make use of the sights around us. It was a fun and mentally challenging day as i struggle with differentiating my left from my right! Paul, our guide was incredibly patient with me as I seem to have my own particular logic in understanding the natural landscape and points of a compass! I would recommend this to anyone who wants to feel more confident when out for a walk or thinking of going on the fells. We put our new found skills into use throughout the rest of the week in the Lakes and we didn't get lost once! (Posted on 01/09/2024)

Had a great day on our beginners navigation course. Our guide Mark was extremely knowledgeable and very patient , given it was our first time attempting map reading. We covered all the basic techniques needed to navigate a route and had plenty of time to practise. The weather was perfect and the views from the route were fantastic. A really enjoyable day all round! (Posted on 19/05/2024)

My wife and I did the beginners navigation course last week and had a great time learning new skills with our instructor Simon. He tailored it perfectly to our skill levels and the route we navigated was both stunning and suitably friendly given the bad weather. Simon's love for the mountains and navigation was apparent and it was a pleasure listening to him share his skills and tips with us. We were in the Lake District for a week and did this course on our second day there. The rest of the week we practiced our newly found skills and felt much more confident in the mountains following the course. Can't recommend highly enough. We'll be back for the advanced one on our next trip. Thanks again! (Posted on 25/02/2024)

Neil was excellent in what turned out to be really wet conditions. Patient and providing very clear instructions, we all benefited from his extensive knowledge. I've managed to "get by" with map & compass over many years, but now feel far more confident in applying the skills more accurately. Would really recommend this to anyone who enjoys walking the fells. Great day, thank you. (Posted on 15/11/2018)

Thanks John for a fabulous autumn adventure, I had a great day navigating using a range of tools and techniques. This course has given me renewed confidence and inspired me to return and practice these skills. Thank you for giving me the confidence to build on personal experience and explore beyond this to discover new places and experiences. (Posted on 05/11/2018)

Neil was our very patient instructor on Sunday 21st October for beginners Orienteering course - what a useful day spent learning how to read maps, use a compass and understand how to navigate our way around whilst out on the fells - although a lot to take in we feel a lot more confident finding our way around without getting lost! Neil gave us lots of tips and helpful advice and we would recommend this to beginners or anyone new to hiking/walking. A thoroughly enjoyable day thank you Neil Rod & Janice Palmer (Posted on 24/10/2018)

Myself and my son did the Beginners Navigation course on Sat 13th Oct. Weather was a mixture of low cloud and lots of rain before Storm Callum hit the following day! We did the course with John who was a diamond - very patient and very informative. It was great to do the course "in the field" rather than in a "classroom setting" so we were able to put all the instructions/information to immediate use. Thank you so much John. Very highly recommended!!

All the best

Aidan (Posted on 15/10/2018)

Beginners navigation course on Sunday 9th September was really good. Our guide Neil was very patient with us novices and I’m looking forward to getting out in the mountains with a map and a compass! (Posted on 17/09/2018)

Great day with james.even i can read a map and use a compass now
Would definitely recommend. ! (Posted on 28/08/2018)

I attended the beginners course, even though in truth I was the beginner( my son in law was at instructor level but still enjoyed using the day as a revision exercise). The training was given at a slow and steady pace and there was no problem in repeating it if I requested it. The day went to plan, even down to the cloud coming in and really testing my ability.I am looking forward to future courses ( Striding edge up next - Eeeeeeeek ) I would have no hesitation in recommending anyone to attend courses such as these. (Posted on 08/08/2018)

The beginners navigation course led by TJ on 15th July was excellent. Small group of friendly people and a fun way to learn pitched at just the right level. I would highly recommend! (Posted on 20/07/2018)

Just completed on 10.06.18 with Paul.
I can highly recommend this course as it was both interesting and enjoyable and has given me enough confidence to use a map and compass for walking myself. (Posted on 12/06/2018)

We’d like to thank Tom for a wonderful day of instruction!! We enjoyed every minute of our ‘Navigation for beginners’ course. Having only used circular walks books prior to this course we just felt we needed to know a bit more about map reading, using a compass and to generally improve our (Basic) map reading skills! Tom was very knowledgeable and patient with our attempts at ‘having a go!’ We can thoroughly recommend it both for the confidence we gained by the end of walk and of course the great views! Just contemplating our first compass route and what course we can try next! (Posted on 31/05/2018)

Having benefited hugely from Neil's patience and wisdom as a guide up Scafell Pike last year we decided to go on a beginner's navigation course with him this year. We had a fantastic day out learning a huge amount about maps, compasses and how to observe the terrain around us to find our way. Neil was hugely knowledgeable, long-suffering as we jumped around with our questions, and great fun to be with. We loved it and felt vastly more confident as a result of our day. The next three days' walking around and about Derwent Water were even more enjoyable as as result. Thank you! (Posted on 15/05/2018)

Really enjoyed this day and learned a lot. Now I have the skills to navigate my way around the fells by map and compass rather than relying on the Garmin. Well recommended even for experienced walkers (Posted on 15/05/2018)

I did the beginner's navigation course with Neil on Sunday 15th April and had a very enjoyable day. The weather was horrible (mist in the morning, heavy rain all afternoon), but that just emphasised how essential it is to be able to know where you are with confidence when you can't necessarily see an awful lot around you. By the end of the day I felt confident that, while certainly no expert, I'm now in a position to be able to go out and practice for myself the skills I've learnt. I'd recommend this course to every walker!
(Posted on 17/04/2018)

This is just to say that Coralie was a brilliant teacher/leader for our course. She was very helpful and explained things brilliantly. Thank you to her for such a good day (Posted on 10/04/2018)

I am writing to say what a brilliant day I had yesterday on the Navigation Course. Tom the trainer could not have been more helpful and can not praise him enough on his training technique, I really did not expect to gain as much knowledge over such a short period. Having never used a map or compass before I have now purchased them and it is going to open a whole new world to me. Tom was also a most charming companion for the day. (Posted on 13/03/2018)

Please thank Neil for me for today's navigation course. Absolutely brilliant. I now feel confident to get out there and explore.
Lindsay (Posted on 30/10/2017)

Hi to all at The Lake District Walker.

Just a bit of feedback regarding my day on the basic navigation course with Paul Cannon.
Paul was very professional in his approach and I have to say I really did learn a lot.
I was always impressed by the OS Maps but Paul has made me look at them in a different light and now I am just blown away by the detail that I didn't even know existed on them.
This has reinforced the bit I did know and added whole new dimension to my navigating skills.
It has given me the confidence to go out with a map and compass and not be confused anymore.
I have already put the skills to good use the following day on a relatively simple route (Loughrigg Fell), I had the confidence to go up one way, trample across the tops and come down via a different route, and I knew where I was on the map at all times.
Well pleased.

Many thanks.

Chris (Posted on 11/10/2017)

Hi John,
home now after our few days in the Lakes. I just wanted to let you know how much we all enjoyed our day with you on the navigation course. You pitched it perfectly giving us lots of opportunity to practice. We all learnt lots and Chorley and Kinley loved it, as did Paul - so a great result. Thanks so much. Shame the weather wasn’t great for your day off this week. Hope to see you again, winter course maybe.

Thanks again John
best wishes

Gail (Posted on 31/07/2017)

Thanks for a brilliant day with Rachel last Sunday 9th July. I will definitely be back to do some guided walks! (Posted on 11/07/2017)

Thank you. I went on your beginners Navigation Course yesterday (Sunday) with Paul. I would like to compliment you on both how the course was constructed and what an enjoyable experience Paul made it (Posted on 14/06/2017)

I never expected to enjoy the day as I was forced into it by my husband, as he says "It might save my life one day". Thoroughly enjoyed the day, in a few hours I feel very confident that I could navigate my way out of trouble if needs be. When I started I was clueless but at no stage did anyone let on that they felt that might be the case. Loved it and planning to go to the next level once I have had a little practice. Many thanks (Posted on 14/03/2017)

What a great experience! A full day out on the fells led by a really lovely and informative guide who made it varied and interesting throughout. We learned so much and it was all backed up with very practical guidance and real examples rather than just pure theory. Highly recommended - I will definitely book with the company again. (Posted on 02/11/2016)

Mark made me feel comfortable for going out in the hills on my own using a a
map and compass. it was great to be refreshed on the use of the map as i had a very basic knowledge. also Mark gave some really interesting geography information about the local area as well as a really interesting walk. (Posted on 15/10/2016)

Have just returned back down south from my holidays up north. Just to say that your two guys were excellent and we all learned lots about navigation.

Kind regards

Stephen (Posted on 02/09/2016)

Met at the Britannia Inn, Elterwater; 10am Sunday 10th July by Ross, our navigation guide. He was friendly, professional and put our group at ease in no time at all. As the day progressed the delights of actually learning how to read a map and use a compass unravelled. Ross was genuinely passionate about his field of expertise and found a way to communicate all our individual concerns so we understood. Thank you Ross for a fabulous day out and excellent tuition. (Posted on 11/07/2016)

Good morning John.

Just a quick email to pass on my thanks for the course I attended with James on Friday.

James is a real asset to your company. The knowledge and information he passed over was very beneficial, and will assist me in reading maps and providing me with the confidence to go further afield on my own.

Thank you once again for fitting me in at short notice.

Regards
Nigel Bailey (Posted on 20/06/2016)

Took my Dad on navigation course with Ross, really good, both enjoyable and educational. Thanks (Posted on 15/09/2015)

Just to say thank you so much for an insightful two days. It was an amazing course! On Monday, I wore a groove in Nanny Lane on the way up and down to Wansfell Pike while practising my pacing. On Tuesday, I went to Grasmere and up to Lang Howe, Silver How, Dow Bank and back to Grasmere. And I was almost overcome with emotion that every blobble I walked to, fitted the map. And I didn't get lost once, thanks to your teachings. No precipices, no crags, it was all very easy underfoot. I have to admit, I was averaging only about 1km an hour, double and triple-checking etc., but with more practice, I will learn to trust myself more and get quicker. And anyway, the view is there to be admired. (Posted on 22/08/2015)

Hi

Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed and how useful we found the Beginners Navigation Course with Geoff which we went on last Tuesday 26th March. Having pre booked the day, we had to go despite the weather conditions. However once there we both felt it was probably the best conditions in which to test our navigation skills and my husband called it a “baptism of fire”. It was a bit daunting to see all that snow and not a path in sight. There were 4 of us in the group. I am ok with a map and my husband has done compass work before but as I outlined to Geoff I am losing my confidence in navigating and get a bit panicky that we might get lost even though we have been walking in the Lake District for the last 30 years. Geoff was very patient with us all as a group, offering expert tuition in a friendly but professional manner which we have since put into practice during the rest of our holiday in the Lakes. As a result of this day we will however be buying a new map as our map is quite old, the scale being 1 inch to 1 mile !!!. (Posted on 27/06/2015)