Plan your route in advance. Filling in a route card is a great way of establishing whether your planned route is achievable. It may look like a nice walk on the map, but by filling in a route card you may realise that the walk will actually take you 15 hours, and in the shorter winter days this may be problematic. Using OS maps online can also give you an estimated time to complete. Don’t forget Naismith’s Rule (adding time on for going uphill) if there are lots of contours to climb.
Use a map case. If you’re using a normal map then make sure it’s in a waterproof map case, or alternatively print the map from OS maps online and laminate it. Just remember though that you should only be printing maps for personal use and not for commercial use. Harvey Maps are already printed on waterproof paper and they’re not as bulky as the OS maps.
Know your scales. Most of the OS maps we use are either 1:25K or 1:50K scales, or 1:40K scale for the Harvey Maps. In simple terms this means that on a 1:25K map, every 1 mm on the map equates to 25 metres on the ground. On a 1:50K map, 1 mm on the map equates to 50 metres on the ground, and on the 1:40K Harvey Map 1 mm on the map equates to 40 metres on the ground. This knowledge can be crucial if pacing out a section on a mountain top in reduced visibility. Therefore, if measuring distance on a 1:25K map, then using the mm scale on the edge of your compass can be slightly more accurate than using the Romer scale which is only broken down into 100 and 50 metre increments.
Know about contours. Again depending on the type of map you are using contours can be at 5 metres, or 10 metre intervals, with Harvey Maps having something completely different at 15 metre height intervals. With a bit of experience you will be able to identify various land forms from looking at a map, and contour interpretation is a key navigation skill for any good map reader.
Know your colours. What I mean by this is, that when trying to find your location on a map (relocating) then the brown contours are
generally the first thing I will look at, these never change. Water courses, rivers, streams, lakes, i.e the blue stuff on the maps are
the next colour that I look for when relocating, these can change but very rarely. The next colour I’m looking for is black i.e. boundary
features, footpaths etc, these can regularly change, and in fact there are many examples of where a boundary is on the map but not on the ground and vice versa. The next colour I’m looking out for is green, i.e. woods, forests, these change regularly and if it’s a forestry commission then they’re always chopping plantations down and replanting. Remember - BROWN, BLUE, BLACK, GREEN
Have a complete tool box. Pacing, timing, back bearings, half bearings, full bearings, aspect of slope, resection, boxing etc, are
all tools in a navigator's tool box, and the more tools you have, the more complete a navigator you will be. If you can see the route laid out in front of you to that next summit, then you may not need to get any tools out of the tool box, but it’s always a good idea to practise with them for the time when you do need it, i.e keep them tools sharp.
Orientate the map - Whenever you get the map out, its always good practise to orientate the map, i.e match it to the features on the
ground. This makes route finding, planning, etc so much easier. You can orientate the map visually by looking around you and matching the ground to the map, or use a compass with everything pointing North.
Walking on a bearing - First of all always try to take a knee when setting your compass this gives you a bit of stability in strong winds
but more importantly your compass is flat on your knee. Then hold the compass out in front of you, again ensuring that the compass is level, put red Fred in the shed and pick a distant object (never use clouds, sheep or people though). I always use my right hand as my wedding ring and watch are on my left hand and wrist, so there is no interference from any metal objects. In thick fog or mist and with a group then leapfrogging is an option, and again it's always good fun to practise this technique.
Look after your compass - Keep it away from other compasses and mobile phones. I always keep my phone in my left pocket, with my compass in my right pocket. The compass is on a piece of string attached to my right pocket zip, so I can’t inadvertently put it in the wrong pocket next to my phone or keys, and because it's secure I can't lose it. When you store the compass keep it away from anything electrical or metal. Once when planning a route on my kitchen worktop, I was using the mm scale to measure a distance on a map, but when I put the compass onto the map I noticed that the magnetic needle moved off about 90 degrees, this was due to metals in the kitchen worktop, so just be mindful of where it’s stored and the environment where you’re using it.
Practise makes perfect. Try and get out as much as possible to practise your map reading skills, using different maps, scales etc and
challenge yourself. Harvey Maps do a contour only map of Kinder Scout, and I would argue that if you navigate on Kinder using only that, then you could navigate anywhere. If you’re not sure then book onto one of our NNAS (National Navigation Award Scheme) courses. I try to get out once a month when possible to practise my navigation skills, and anyone that books onto any of our navigation courses can join me for free on any of my navigation practise days. (Plus we plant a tree for everyone booking onto one of our courses
