Hillwalking with GPS

2 days on the hills with a GPS expert

Includes 2 nights B&B and dinner on the Saturday night

and 2 fairly energetic walks with a GPS expert on the Northern Fells.

£225 pp

(single room supplement £10)

Due to circumstances beyond our control this course

has been cancelled

We have just one Hillwalking with GPS dates at Denton House, Hesket Newmarket in the North Lakes in this years programme: it will be on 19th/20th May 2012

The courses will be held at Denton House which is a great venue with easy access to the Lake District Northern Fells; offers comfortable walker friendly accommodation and one of the best pubs in the lakes virtually next door.

Each course includes 2 days tuition on the hill from a GPS expert, 2 nights B&B accommodation (Fri/Sat) and dinner with the rest of the walking group on the Saturday night, Tea & Biscuits each day when you return to Denton House after a day on the hills.

During the two days you will learn how to navigate in the hills more safely with GPS, Map & Compass whatever the weather giving you the confidence to be more adventurous & plan your own expeditions to our hills & mountains.

Learn all the hills skills; GPS, Map, Compass the course covers Map skills, Grid Refs, Compass Bearings & Headings, Map to GPS, GPS to Map, Map/GPS to ground, GPS use on the hill, Route Planning and much more. This is a non-technical course; it simply presents all the hillskills and allows you to use the option that suits you and the circumstances best.

Our course includes:

  • Saturday - Brush up on your GPS & Hillwalking Skills - High Pike
  • Saturday- Which GPS & next days Route Planning (Late Afternoon)
  • Sunday - Develop Hill & GPS Skills - Bannerdale Crags & Bowscale Fell
  • Compass & GPS Loan if required
  •      Waterproof Maps covering training area
  • NB. Expect to be on the hill from 9.30am to 3.30pm approx each day; our walks will be fairly energetic as Bannerdale Crags, Bowscale Fell area both of which are Wainwrights. The final decision on the days walking will be weather dependant at the discretion of the lead course tutor.
  •   
  • Who should come on this course?
  • If you have travelled to areas like Snowdonia, the Lake District or the Highlands of Scotland and looked up at the hills and thought “I wish I had the confidence to go up there”, then this course is for you. Maybe you have been happy to venture up a well-trodden track on a bright summer’s day, but now want to explore ‘off the beaten track’, and get away from the crowds, perhaps when the weather is not quite so good. Basically if you want to go higher and wilder than you have ever been before, then this course will give you a solid grounding in the essential skills of GPS navigation and give you the skills to be safer in upland areas of the UK and abroad.

What does it cover?

We firmly believe that there is no single correct way to navigate your way around the hills. Every situation calls for a different approach and you may or may not have the backup of a GPS device. So our aim is to give you a portfolio of effective techniques - using the map on its own, using the map in conjunction with a compass, and using a GPS if you have one. The bulk of the course takes place ‘on the hill’ so you will practice these techniques and learn how and when to apply them in real situations. Then, to squeeze as much into the short time we have, we combine this with small group sessions ‘back at base’ looking at preparation and planning, using both paper maps and digital mapping applications, equipment and clothing, and what to do in an emergency.

What will you be doing?

People learn best by doing. So you will spend the two days in a small group, probably of six or seven, with an experienced tutor. On the first day after introductions there will be a short session covering the essentials of GPS, map and compass navigation and the equipment and clothing you need on the day. Then you and your group will be out ‘on the hill’ practicing those skills and learning the basics of using a GPS (you will be supplied with map, compass and GPS if you don’t have ones of your own). That afternoon we will look back over the day, cover any issues raised and then plan the next day using both a paper map and a digital mapping application. Out on the hill again the next day you and your group will execute the route you have planned, this time with you making more of the decisions, but always under the guidance of your tutor. Back in time for tea and biscuits, we will once again debrief and follow up any questions you may have.

What navigation skills will you learn?

This is not an advanced GPS course; but it is an opportunity to improve all the hill skills and in particular GPS use in a practical environment on the fells just where you need them most.

Will it be hard work?

Yes, you will learn a lot and the outings will be fairly physically demanding, because it is so much more effective to learn in a real situation than in a classroom or on a flat field. But it will also be good fun. We have picked a great venue for you to stay and eat where you will be well looked after. We know that your tutors and hosts are congenial and we trust that your fellow participants will be too!