can anyone recommend a couple of good allround instruction books on walking/mapreading for an enthusiastic but inexperienced novice
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 You'll be deluged with titles... but... I've never favoured that approach. I'd always recommend a novice to go out with someone LOCALLY who's already a reasonably good mapreader, and who can literally talk them through it. If you can see that your mapreading works with features that you're already familiar with, then you're more likely to trust it in a strange area where you don't recognise anything. You can't get that from a book.
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This Ordnance Survey Guide is a decent, free guide to basic map reading. And here is Silvas guide on how to use a compass.
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| Edited: 30/10/08 13:51 |
 A big warm welcome there to the forum, jazzman. 
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| Edited: 30/10/08 20:10 |
 There are lots of good online map reading skills courses, free for the reading, too don't forget. Just Google and they will come up! 
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  Most good basic guides to hiking/backpacking/outdoors survival too carry sections on basic map reading skills as well.
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Possibly a bit aged by now, but Eric Langmuir's 'Mountaincraft & Leadership' used to be the standard text for manymany years - with good reason. Has the lot, inc navigation.
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  New updated edition is available still, Neil. I have one in fact, of the these great books. Welcome to the forum there by the way, in case I missed welcoming you here before to OM. 
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 You could try looking at some of the Outward Bound books. titles like Trail Walker's Handbook, (good inductrey book), Navigation Skills, Planning a walk, etc. but as others have said, if you can go with someone more experanced, at least for your first few times, will be enourmously helpful. H excuse spelling 'spell-checker' not working
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| Edited: 01/11/08 02:05 |
  There are no shortage of good navigation and map reading books out there for surely! There is one book upon this subject in just about every series of outdoors pursuits books out there on the market. Like the Outward Bound one and the NOLS one and the BOLS one too.
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| Edited: 01/11/08 02:17 |
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 http://www.pickabook.com/9781852843946.aspx Best bet here though, might be the Cicerone guide to 'Map and Compass - The Art of Navigation' though maybe, by Pete Hawkins. Another very good book indeed on this important subject.
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 By the way, put into the search engine pickabook.com or pickabook.co.uk, and it all gets you to the same right place there, ok. 
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thanks lads,i've been interested in walking for a long time but haven't done agreat deal.I'm looking to get more involved so i need plenty of good,sound advice, cheers, jazzman.
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  Stick around then!  There's plenty to be had here you know!  I still learn new things on here practically every day for sure.
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| Edited: 02/11/08 16:01 |