Navigation Skills
Understanding Maps – Level 1
A map is a pictorial representation of the land in two dimensions. You can get maps in a number of
different scales depending on the size of area you want to cover and how much detail you need.
The smaller the scale the more detail there is but the less area is covered. The maps used by
walkers need to be sufficiently detailed to help you find your route in all conditions, while covering a
large enough area so you don’t have to keep on changing maps. The most common scales used
for hill walking in the UK are 1:50,000 (OS Landranger maps, normally with red covers), and
1:25,000 (OS Explorer or Pathfinder maps, with orange or yellow covers).
A 1:25,000 map has a great amount of detail, including field boundaries, terrain and vegetation
details which may be very useful in navigating in complex landscapes but may not cover a
sufficient area for long expeditions. On a 1:25,000 map, 1 cm represents 250m on the ground.
A 1:50,000 map has much less detail, but covers a much larger area, and is great when covering
long distances in less complex landscapes. On a 1:50,000 map, 1 cm represents 500m on the
ground.
1:25,000
1:50,000
1km
4 cm
2 cm
500m
2 cm
1 cm
250m
1 cm
5 mm
100m
4 mm
2 mm
OS maps are all orientated with North at the top, with grid lines running north/south and east/west
Map symbols – Level 1 – Recognising basic map symbols
On a map structures on the ground are represented by symbols. Different makes of map use
different symbols, but it is worth getting to know the basic OS symbols used on 1:25,000 maps,
these can be found on the key on the side or bottom of the map. It is well worth spending time
examining these so you don’t have to keep on referring to the key.
Learning the basics: Make sure you can recognise the following symbols on a map:
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Roads, tracks, paths and railways
Rights of way – footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic
Rivers, streams, lakes and ponds
Woods
Field boundaries
Contour lines
Buildings, churches and chapels
(see separate sheet of map symbols for 1:25,000 maps)
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Contours and Gradients – Level 1
Contour lines give a two-dimensional representation of the height and shape of the land. A contour
line connects points that are at the same height. On most maps the vertical distance between
contour lines is 10m, while every 5th contour line is marked in bold (index contour), showing a 50m
height difference. For a quick way of calculating the height on steep slopes count the index
contours remembering they represent 50m of height gained. The height of the contour in metres
above sea level is marked on the contour line. To tell which way is uphill on the map, look at the
numbers on the contour lines. These always face downhill i.e. can be read from the bottom of the
slope.
When planning a route, contours can tell you if you will
be going up or down hill and how steep the slope will
be. The closer together the contour lines, the steeper
the ground. If a hill is very steep the lines may even
merge into each other.
With a bit of practice you will be able to tell from a map
how steep a slope is and how difficult it will be to walk
up it.
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Locating your position on the map (Grid References) – Level 1
OS maps are covered with a series of numbered blue grid lines, running south/north and west/east.
To identify your place on the map, you can give a ‘grid reference’ made up of 6-10 digits,
depending on the accuracy you want.
To identify a grid square, you read the numbers along
the bottom first, then up the side (x- and then yaxes), e.g. the central square in the diagram would
be square 18 44. Each grid square on the map
represents 1 km 2.
To pinpoint an exact place or feature on a map
imagine that each grid square is further divided into
a 10x10 grid. You can now calculate a 6-figure grid
reference. Each square now representing an area
of 100 m2.
Finally, locate the two letter identification code found
printed in light blue in the corners of OS maps.
The full grid reference for the red dot would therefore be
SW 185443.
It is important to understand that a grid reference describes an area not a point; the more digits in
the grid reference the smaller the area. Modern GPS systems can give you a 10-digit grid
reference, representing a 1m2 . However their margin of error may only be +/- 20m.
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In the field, use the romer scale on your compass to give you an accurate 6-figure grid reference.
Planning your Route – Level 1
Where can I walk? – Public Rights of Way, Open Access Land
In lowland areas most land is enclosed, and you can only walk on ‘public rights of way’, which
include public roads, tracks, footpaths and bridleways. All public rights of way are ‘highways’. This
means that anyone can use them, at any time, just as they can use public roads. If you keep to the
line of the ‘right of way’ you are exercising a legal ‘right of passage’. On 1:25000 OS Maps rights of
way are shown in green
Footpath
Bridleway
Byway open to all traffic
Restricted byway
Other routes with public
access
Long distance routes
pedestrians only
pedestrians, horseriders and cyclists
pedestrians, horseriders, cyclists, horse-drawn
vehicles, motorists and motor-cyclists
not for use by mechanically propelled vehicles
You may also come across permissive paths, which are not public rights of way, but designated
paths for which the landowner has given permission for people to use. This permission can also be
withdrawn at any time. Permissive paths are marked in orange on OS 1:25,000 maps.
Many paths also have waymarks and finger signposts to help people find their way.
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Footpath waymark
Bridleway waymark
Byway Waymark
In upland areas and heaths certain land is designated as ‘open access land’ under the Countryside
and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000. On open access land you can walk without having to stick to
paths. Open access land is marked on OS maps by areas with a cream tint, and orange border.
There are times, however, when this access may be restricted due to farming or conservation
reasons. Look out for signs that restrict access. Although open access land is open for walking
there is no right of access to other forms of transport.
Open Access land is often indicated on gates and stiles at the entry points to the access land by
the following signs.
Open Access
No Open Access
Measuring distance from a map – Level 1
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To give a very rough estimate of distance from the map you can count the number of blue
grid squares you will cross. Remember each grid square is 1km wide, and the diagonal is
1.4 km (or 1.5km when making rough calculations).
If the route has lots of twists and turns, you can measure it by using a strip of paper or
piece of string, and then measuring the paper / string against a ruler.
For more accuracy you can use the cm scale on the compass. Remember every 1 cm =
250m and 4 cm = 1 km. For smaller distances use the ‘romer scale’ on your compass to
measure accurately down to 25m (4mm = 100m; 1mm = 25m).
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Estimating Journey Time – Level 1
Once you know how far you are going to travel you can work out how long it is going to take. A
good rule of thumb is to allow 15 minutes for every kilometre, plus 1 minute for every 10m ascent
(one contour line). This will be affected by a number of factors, including the fitness of the group,
how tired you are, how much equipment you are carrying, the type of terrain and the gradient of the
slopes.
Practical Navigational Skills – Level 1
Keeping the map under control – Level 1
On a wet, blustery day you don’t want your map flapping about in the wind. Keep the map folded
so that the area you about to walk is clearly visible. As you follow your route you will probably need
to refold the map several times. You can keep the map in place with elastic bands if necessary. If
you don’t have a laminated map, you will need to keep the map in a map-case, but this can make
folding and refolding more difficult.
A good way of keeping track of where you are on the map is by ‘thumbing’ the map – keeping your
thumb in position on your last known location.
Keeping in touch with the map – Level 1
A fundamental skill for map-reading is noticing things – being aware of what is around you and
recognising structures on the ground that will be visible on a map. The majority of errors in
navigation can be put down to lack of concentration. It is so easy to be walking along talking to a
friend and miss the important turn in the path, or find yourself completely lost. We have all done it.
Get into the habit of noticing key features as you walk along, path junctions, walls and buildings,
major landform features, and changes in slope. Frequently look at the map to make sure you are
still on track. When you stop check-in with the map and identify a number of features that tell you,
you are where you think you are.
The more you notice, the better the navigator you will be.
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Setting the map – Level 1
When navigating it is important to be able to transfer information from the map to the ground, and
from the ground to the map quickly. To make this easier you need to constantly have your map
lined up with the features in front of you on the ground – this is called ‘setting the map’.
In good visibility you may be able to set the map by eye, using handrails and prominent features. In
poor visibility set the map using the compass. Use the compass to find north then turn the map to
line up with the north arrow on the compass.
1. Looking around the landscape, find a linear feature such as a road, street, path – anything
which has length and direction and is marked on your map, and other prominent features
such as hills, major buildings etc.
2. Then, hold the map horizontal and check that the features on the map is oriented in the
same way as the features on the ground.
The important part is keeping the map set when you change direction. As you turn to face another
direction you must also turn the map to keep it correctly set to the landscape. Think of it as you
moving around the map. The writing on the map may end up being upside down or sideways but
this is OK - having the map set is far more useful in finding where you are than being able to read
the writing.
With the map properly set, you should easily be able to:
 Tell the direction of north, south, east and west (remember the top of the map points north)
 The direction you need to take on your route
 Choose between alternate paths
 Identify features in the countryside using the map
 Locate features in the landscape which are marked on the map.
Knowing where you are going – Level 1
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Whenever you are setting out on a leg of your journey always think about the 3 Ds – Direction,
Distance and Description
Direction – What direction am I going in?
Distance – How far is it to my destination?
Description – What will I see along the way?
Using handrails – Level 1
A ‘handrail’ is any linear feature (a path, road, boundary, stream) which you can follow or ‘hang on
to’ along your route. These could include man-made features such as roads, paths, tracks, hedges
or walls, or natural features such as rivers and streams, ridges or slope changes. Be aware that
man-made features may change over time, paths disappear through non-use, hedges are
scrubbed up and walls get broken down.
Using tick features – Level 1
Tick features are easily recognizable features visible on a map that you can ‘tick off’ along your
route. Looking at the map, if you mentally move along your route make a note of all the things you
are going to pass. You may cross a wall, pass a tarn and end up at a sheepfold. All these points
are tick features. Identifying tick features and mentally ticking them off as you walk past them is the
key to fair weather navigation. Be careful though as the wall may have fallen down the tarn may be
dry and the sheepfold may have been dismantled. As you get more proficient at navigation, more
and more features may become recognizable as tick features.
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Using Catching Features – Level 1
A Catching Feature is something in the landscape that will tell you if you have overshot your target.
For instance if you heading for the top of a hill in poor weather, if you start going downhill, you
know you have gone too far. The down slope is the catching feature. Catching Features should be
identified before you set off for your target. Timing and pacing can also be used as mental catching
features.
Using a Compass – Level 1
Note that a compass has three directional arrows
 The magnetic compass needle in the centre of compass which always points to magnetic
north
 The orienting arrow on the compass housing which can be rotated
 The direction of travel arrow on the base plate – this indicates the way you should be
travelling
Taking Care of your Compass – Level 1
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Keep it clean
Keep it accessible. Attach it to you or your rucksack using a string leash
Keep it away from mobile phones, and other electronic equipment, and metal objects
containing iron. They will affect the readings from your compass and eventually will demagnetise the needle.
Finding the Direction using a Compass – Level 1
It is very simple to find the principal directions of North, East, South and West using a compass
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Hold the compass flat and turn the housing until the ‘N’ on the orienting arrow is lined up
with the ‘direction of travel’ arrow.
Now turn yourself around until the red part of the compass needle is also pointing to the ‘N’
on the housing.
The principle directions can then be read off the compass.
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Finding your direction – Level 1
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Hold the compass flat in your hand
Point the compass in the direction you want to travel
Rotate the compass housing so the North on the orienting arrow is in line with North (red)
on the compass needle.
Read off the bearing from the index along the direction of travel arrow (in this case 320o)
Setting your map using a compass – Level 1
1. On your compass align the direction of travel arrow, the orienting lines on the compass
housing, and the compass needle so that all three are pointing North.
2. Position the map under the compass so that the top of the map (North) points in the same
direction as the compass needle and the orienting lines are parallel with the north-south
gridlines.
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Checking the direction of a path using a compass – Level 1
1. First, point the direction of travel arrow on the compass along the path. Then, turn the housing
until the needle is parallel with the lines on the housing and the red end of the needle points to
‘N’.
2. Next, place the compass on the map with the direction of travel arrow pointing in the required
direction along the path on the map.
3. If it is the correct path, the lines in the housing will be within a few degrees of the N/S grid lines.
Understanding Maps - Level 2
Map symbols – Level 2
Keep on adding to your understanding of maps by learning all the other map symbols
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Vegetation
Terrain features
Special features
(see separate sheet of map symbols for 1:25,000 maps)
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Contours – Level 2
You can also tell the shape of a slope from the
pattern of contour lines.
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On a concave slope (hollowed out) the
contour lines are closer at the top i.e. the
slope becomes steeper as you go up.
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On a convex slope (bulging): The contour
lines get further apart at the top, the slope
flattens out.
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On an even slope: The contour lines stay the
same distance apart.
Which slope would be easiest to walk up?
It is hard to overstate the importance of contours when navigating using a map. It is often said that
they are the only thing that you can really rely on when reading a map. Walls deteriorate and
become overgrown, footpaths move, tarns are sometimes dry. Contour lines can form recognizable
shapes, creating contour features which can be used as tick features, handrails and catching
features.
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Hills and Summits - A hill is shown on a map by contour lines forming concentric circles.
The inside of the smallest closed circle is the hilltop often indicated by a spot height or trig
point.
Knoll - is just a small hill on an otherwise flatter area
Saddle – is a dip between two summits, characterized by contour lines coming closer
together, but not touching
Ridge – an area of high ground joining together a number of summits, characterized on a
map by parallel contour lines. These contours usually get further apart as the elevation of
the ridge rises and get closer as the elevation of the ridge falls.
Spur – is a sloping ridge which descends from a summit, characterized by V- or U- shaped
contour lines open at the top
Valley – a valley is characterized by V- or U- shaped contour lines open at the bottom; and
is often indicated by a stream or river running down its length
Re-entrant – a re-entrant is a small valley or gully usually created by water erosion often
indicated by a small tributary stream that runs down to the main valley.
Cliff – when contour lines crowd together and appear on top of each other, then the ground
will be nearly-vertical. This is often indicated by rocky outcrops signs showing a cliff
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Whenever you are looking for features to describe your leg on the map, include some contour
features. For example, when walking along your handrail think what the shape of the land will look
like. It may be fairly flat for a kilometre then a steep drop appears on the right followed by a ring
contour to the left. When looking at a contour pattern on a map try and picture what the ground
would look like – how high? how steep? what shapes? Some people take to interpreting contour
lines really easily, for most it takes a very long time. Expect to spend the next couple of years
honing your skills.
Planning Your Route – Level 2
Identifying Hazards & Route Planning
When planning your route you should be aware of potential dangers and consider ways that you
can minimise risk. Some things, like farm houses with ferocious dogs, you can’t really foresee,
others you may be able to identify on the map and plan your route accordingly. Some dangers you
may wish to acknowledge and go there anyway, accepting an increased risk, others you may wish
to avoid completely.
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Water (rivers, streams, fords, stepping stones, lakes).
If you are crossing a stream you should use a bridge. Under no circumstances should you
be wading through water. As a rule, if the water is deeper than the ankle of your boot
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then it is too deep. Wading through streams and rivers is never safe. You may have chosen
a route that involves stepping stones, these should be treated with caution (especially when
they are wet).
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Falling down something (Shake holes, cliffs, mines).
On your map you may see cliffs, old mine workings, pot holes and areas of shake holes
marked. Pay attention to these and under no circumstances decide to go exploring old
mine workings.
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Roads.
Avoid roads completely if possible, they are rubbish for walking on anyway. If you do
need to cross a road or walk along a road for a short period then wait for everyone to
catch up and gather together. Make sure everyone knows where you are going, what tick
features you will pass and roughly how long it will take. Then cross in single file, as quickly
and efficiently as possible. Don’t chatter, concentrate. It is the reality that, even with all that
dangerous countryside around, fast country roads and cars are probably your greatest
threat.
Practical Navigational Skills – Level 2
Knowing where you are going – Level 2
When planning your route, you will probably have decided on a number of major check points
along the way. These are significant features, major path or road junctions, a summit, or a key
feature. You don’t really want to have more than 6 to 8 check points.
Between each check point break your route into a series of navigational legs no more than about 1
km in distance with an easily distinguishable feature as a target (in poor visibility you may want
even smaller navigational legs of 500m).
For each navigational leg work out a strategy of how best to get there. There may be more than
one way; choose the one that makes the navigation as simple as possible.
For each leg build up a description for yourself from the map detailing where you are going and
what you will see on the way (storyboard), based on the 3 Ds - Direction, Distance, Description
Direction -
What direction will you be going? Cardinal points / bearings
Distance –
How far is it? Measure distance from the map using your compass
Give a timing for when you will arrive.
Including pacing if necessary.
Description – Will you be following a linear feature? For how long, until when?
What will you see along the way? List of ‘tick off’ features, changes in slope,
changes in vegetation etc.
How will you know when you’ve arrived?
How will you know if you have gone too far? (catching feature)
Keeping track of where you are – Level 2
Keeping track of how far you have come is important
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Time elapsed: Estimate the distance travelled by checking on the time that has passed
since the last known landmark. If you have kept walking without stopping for 20 minutes,
you will have travelled between 1 km and 1½ km, depending on your speed.
This is why it is essential to check the time on your watch. Don’t keep walking if you fail to
pick up the next landmark. Stop and work out roughly where you are. Check you are still on
the right route. Work out how you can check your position – is there another landmark?
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Pacing: Counting paces is an important technique and can be very accurate. But it is only
suitable for short distances – say up to 300m. You must already know how many double
paces you take to walk 100m (a double pace counts one every time your right foot hits the
ground). For many people it will be around 65 double paces for 100m, but it will be more
than that when carrying heavy packs, going uphill or over difficult ground, or in bad
weather.
Using an Attack Point – Level 2
An attack point is an obvious and precise feature within a short distance of your objective from
which you can more easily locate your desired target. There's less chance of going wrong if you go
via an unmistakable feature to reach your target. e.g. if you are looking for a path junction that may
not be very evident on the ground, is there a clear feature that you can aim for, leaving only a short
distance to navigate to the path junction? In the illustration below we are using the corner of the
wood as an attack point to find the building 100m SE of the wood.
Aiming Off – Level 2
If your objective is on or close to a line feature, it is faster and safer to aim to one side of the
feature, so you know which way to turn if you don’t manage to hit it exactly in poor visibility. For
example, if you were trying to find a stream junction:
1. Using the map take a bearing 100m to one side of the stream junction
2. Calculate from the map the distance from the point at which you will reach the stream to the
junction.
3. Walk this bearing.
4. When you reach the stream use it as a handrail to find your target, pacing the distance as
calculated.
The added advantage of flowing water (rivers, brooks, streams, etc.) is that you can also work out
from the contour lines which way they are flowing, in this instance you would walk downstream. It
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might be worth noting that when you hit the linear feature you pace how far it is to your attack point
just in case you overshoot it.
Relocation – Level 2
Even the best navigators can get lost sometimes. But an expert knows how to relocate speedily.
Once you know you are ‘temporarily misplaced’:
 Stop, stay calm, have a break
 Gather as much information as you can from your immediate surroundings. Turn around a
full 360 degrees:
o Are there any identifiable features visible?
o Slope gradient and aspect
o If there are any line features, take a bearing on them
 Orientate yourself and the map to north using a compass – do any of the features
correspond to the map?
 How long is it since you last knew your position? – This should give you the maximum
distance you could have travelled. Plot a circle on your map centred on your last known
position using the radius of the distance you travelled.
 What features have you passed along the way (collecting features) – have you been going
uphill or downhill?
 If there are some distant identifiable features visible do a resection.
 If you still can’t work out where you are, you may need to move to get a different vantage
point.
Using a Compass – Level 2
Taking a Bearing from a Map – Level 2
1. Place the compass on the map with the edge of the compass lined up with the starting point
and finish in the direction you want to travel
2. Holding the compass firmly in place, rotate the compass housing until all the orienting lines are
parallel to the map’s vertical grid-lines and they are all pointing North. Ignore the needle at this
stage
3. Read off the number marked by the index line in the direction of travel arrow, this is the
bearing.
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Walking on a bearing – Level 2
Once you have taken your bearing from the map
1. Hold the compass horizontally in front of you at waist height
2. Rotate your body around until the north (red) end of the magnetic needle is exactly over and
aligns with red north arrow in the compass housing (‘Red is in the shed’)
3. The Direction of Travel arrow now tells you which way to go.
4. Look directly in this direction and line up a distant landmark / feature and walk towards it,
checking periodically that the compass needle and the red orienting arrow are still aligned.
5. If you come across an impassable barrier – a patch of extremely marshy ground, a group of
large boulders – sight a feature beyond the barrier directly in line with the bearing, and walk
around the barrier to that feature, before taking another sighting in the direction of the bearing
you are following.
Magnetic variation – Level 3
Magnetic Variation can seem quite a complex idea, but once you get your head around the basic
concept, it is relatively simple to put it into practice. To understand magnetic variation you first
need to know about ‘the three norths’.
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True North – is the point on the Earth's surface around which the world rotates. It is where
the lines of longitude on the globe all meet up. However, because your compass needle is
affected by magnetic force it will point to the magnetic north pole rather than the true pole.
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Magnetic North – The earth has a magnetic field created by its molten inner core, making
the earth like a large magnet with magnetic poles. The precise location of the magnetic
poles changes ever so slightly every year due to fluxes in the earth’s magnetic field.
Magnetic North is currently located somewhat to the west of true north, but is gradually
moving eastwards.
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Grid North – As noted above, lines of longitude converge as they get closer to the pole, so
when you draw them on a two-dimensional map they create areas of unequal size. In order
to create areas of equal size, mapmakers superimpose a grid of equally sized squares so
that the north / south lines drawn on maps are parallel rather than converging. The direction
these lines run in is called 'grid north.' Grid north is only the same as true north at the very
centre of the grid.
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For map reading, we really only need to worry about grid north (the north on our map) and
magnetic north (the north on our compass). The difference between grid north and magnetic north
is called the ‘magnetic variation’. The amount of variation changes every year, so you need to
check your Ordnance Survey map to work out the most current value, or use the British Geological
Survey calculator at http://www.geomag.bgs.ac.uk/data_service/models_compass/gma_calc.html
Magnetic
North
Grid North
True North
In July 2014 the magnetic variation in East Devon was 0o 56’ west i.e. approximately +1 o and is
changing at a rate of -11’ per year. By 2020 the magnetic variation will be 0 o. This means that for
the next ten years until 2025 there will be very little need to make adjustments for magnetic
variation when doing expeditions in the South West. However, if you are travelling further afield,
e.g. Scotland or abroad, you may well need to make adjustments to your compass readings.
To adjust for magnetic variation, when taking a compass reading from a map to follow a bearing on
the ground add the magnetic variation.
From map to ground add
An easy way to remember this is “from little to big increase”; when moving from the little world of
the map to the bigger world on the ground, increase the bearing by the magnetic variation.
NB
Remember, compass readings are also affected by the presence of iron and steel objects, so be
sure to look out for – and stay away from – pocket knives, belt buckles, railroad tracks and so forth
when using your compass.
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