We are open for business once again and our 2020 Weekend Navigation Skills Training Course dates have now been updated for the latter part of the year.
Here is the updated list for our popular Navigation Skills Training Weekend to be run throughout Autumn 2020 - these are still priced at a very reasonable £80.00 per person. If you wish to arrange your own private Navigation Skills Training Course during dates of your choice, then the price starts at £160.00 per day for 1 - 4 persons. To enquire about your own private Navigation Skills Training Course - please contact us
Upcoming weekend Course dates
Following the announcement by the UK Government on March 23rd of lock down due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Lakes Outdoor Experience suspended all our weekend Navigation Skills Training Courses. We are now in a position to reopen - working with groups of a maximum of five persons whilst adhering to the 1 metre social distancing limit. We have rescheduled all of our Autumn 2020 dates and added many more in order to ensure that those booked on to courses cancelled earlier in the year can now receive their course. Please view the dates below which indicate available spaces on each course. These will be updated every time a booking is made.
- October 24th & 25th. All spaces filled/ course running.
- October 31st/November 1st. All spaces filled/course running.
- November 28th & 29th. One placed filled, four places available.
Please note - there are 5 places per course with a required minimum of four persons booked on in order for a course to run. Available spaces are indicated alongside each course date above.
These Navigation Skills Training Courses are ideal for anyone wishing to improve their map reading & navigation skills ability to allow them to venture into the mountainous regions of the UK with confidence . Some previous experience of map reading is useful, but not essential!
These courses are also suitable for those preparing for a Mountain-Walking Leader Assessment or a re-assessment and make ideal ML Refresher days. Lakes Outdoor Experience run their Navigation courses in the Kentmere area of the southern Lake District National Park.
The cost for our two day Weekend Navigation Skills Training Courses is still only £80.00 per person - that's incredible value for money!
The price includes the provision of laminated maps for the areas to be covered in both 1:25 and 1:50'000 scales. You will need to provide your own compass for the course and we strongly recommend the Silva Type 4 Expedition for this Map Reading & Navigation Course. However, if you do not wish to buy your own compass then we can hire you a type 4 expedition compass for £5.00 per day.
Course Itinerary.
We will meet on both days outside of Wilf's Cafe in Mill Yard, Staveley at 09:00 (LA8 9LR for Satnav purposes). At weekends, it is possible to leave your car in the car park at Mill yard and we do ask that peope car share in order to cut down the number of vehicles travelling to & from parking at each day's start point.
Please note - if you are going to be late, then you must contact your instructor to let them know - you will have been provided with their contact details prior to joining the course. A failure to arrive outside of Wilf's by 09:15 on either day will see the group depart without you and you will not be permitted to join another course without incurring an additional fee.
On Day one, we travel a short distance from Staveley to the nearby area of Green Quarter Fell to introduce basic Map Reading & Navigation Techniques - providing a progression throughout the day, regardless of your current level of ability. We return to Mill Yard for around 5pm.
On Day two, we travel further up the Kentmere Valley to park close under the east side of the Kentmere Horseshoe. Here we will consolidate the skills taught on day one as well as adding additional techniques not already covered. Day two will see you on more mountainous terrain and there is a real possibility of bagging at least one of two "Wainwright" summits - Shipman Knotts and Kentmere Pike. At the the end day two, we will once again aim to return to Mill Yard shortly after 5pm. People wishing to leave the course early due to extended travelling times will need to travel in their own vehicles separately from the rest of the group.
The following aspects of Navigation will be covered during the course.
- Orientation of the map
- Grid references
- Measuring distance on the map with the compass; and on the ground by pacing
- Tick off features
- Naismiths Rule (adding a timing element to your navigation skills ability by measuring distance and counting contours)
- Taking a bearing from the map and walking on a bearing on the ground (ie Grid to Mag), Back bearings
- Identifying features from ground to map using your compass (Mag to Grid)
- "Handrailing" using linear features such as streams, footpaths, roads walls or fences
- Aiming Off
- Attack points
- Resections
- "Boxing" around an obstacle
The emphasis throughout the course will be to give you as many opportunities as possible to progress to a high standard of mountain navigation capability. We run all of our Navigation Skills Training Courses to Mountain Training Association (MTA) Standard.
To get a flavour of what these courses are about then view some recent photos in reports from our Instagram page here and here.
Book Your Navigation Skills Training Course now!
If you would like to book on one of our Navigation Skills Training Weekends then please contact us or call Iain on 07761 483364 and we will be delighted to take your booking.
We hope you have all managed during what have been very tough times for us all! We look forward to getting back to work and to providing you with the courses that you have been looking forward to.
Iain Gallagher & the Lakes Outdoor Experience staff team.
Wednesday 8th of July 2020
