I have decided its about time I learnt how to navigate properly...
Now I have been a mountain biker & a lover of the outdoors for a very long time, but I have always been with other navigators, so now I want to learn so that I can go solo and away from way marked stuff...
My question is, how do I go about it ?
Books & online.
Courses.
One to one tuition.
Any/all of the above.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
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 Plenty of cheap and good books that cover the basics and also plenty of stuff online. You could do a one to one day course with someone like Iain from KMS It's not hard and doesn't take long to pick up the basics and then it's just a matter of keep practicing; easyish terrain/conditions to start with, building up to more challenging stuff as you become more confident.
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Thanks, looking at books at the moment, would you recommend any ?
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 Orienteering is, IMHO, the best way to get good at navigation. You get good because you get lots of practice, each event requiring you to both plan a route and execute it with a good number of chunks planned specifically to test you at an appropriate level (events have a selection of graded courses, start with the easy ones and work up, once you can do the most difficult ones slowly then try to do them fast...). Plus it's actually quite good fun in its own right  Start at BOF and work on from there, once you've seen what it's about look up a local club and see what they've got coming up. IME they're friendly crews who won't mind giving a hand to new folk. Stuff like a mapping GPS unit takes the uncertainty out of where you are, but what it doesn't do is help you plan the best way to get where you want to go by letting you get every last detail out of the map. Pete.
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For books, Peter Cliff's "Mountain Navigation" is pretty good IMHO. Pete.
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The only one I've ever bought is this Cicerone one. It does what it says on the tin
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 I've used Peter Cliff's book as well. I also did a couple of NNAS award courses when I was getting started - the Bronze at the very beginning (I have a certificate somewhere  ), and then the Silver when I was starting to wander solo off paths. I didn't bother with the certificate for that one! I've also done a winter nav course with Iain Gallagher whom Sean recommended - good choice!
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NNAS - I have been in touch with a guy who does this fairly close to my location.
I will get a book and have a read, but I really do like the face to face route, I think this will work better for me...
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but I really do like the face to face route Lots of faces in an orienteering club, and they'll not be charging you for their time either! Pete.
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Cheers Pete, just got in touch with local club too.
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 For books, Peter Cliff's "Mountain Navigation" is pretty good IMHO. Pete.
Yes, an excellent book.
It's a few years old but hills, maps and compasses don't change much.
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Keep off the mountains to learn navigation. The problem is that out of the clouds, navigation is relatively easy (too many rivers, valleys etc.) In the clouds is no place for beginners. I don't know where you live but find somewhere low down, safe with few features and an easy escape route if lost. I started off in the New Forest where every thinkg looks much the same which ever direction you face but I knew that I was always within a couple of miles of a road.
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 The MCofS arrange courses for their members including navigation. Maybe the BMC do something similar as I note you are south of the border. Slainte Lindsay
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 Mounty, I suggest books AND going out with an experienced person who has land nav experience to get the "hands on" feel of it all. As already expressed in this thread, there are good clubs that do land nav every weekend for every skill level. I live in the U.S. but the club thing is pretty universal in many parts of the world. Learn the basics well. They will get you out of a "pinch" more often than expected. There are probably two main trains of thought out there relative to land nav. 1. GPS 2. Map and compass I recommend learning the map and compass first and back it up with GPS. Again, the basics can be terribly important and in worse case scenarios, save your life. Good luck and have fun Mounty. It's a healthy addiction. Dan S.
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Learning navigation skills is fascinating! I've been doing it for more than sixty years and instruct others but I'm still learning! I was taught by my father using the old one-inch to the mile (1:63360) map before rights of way were depicted on maps.
I believe that it is a skill that you can learn from books and from your own mistakes. I urge my students to learn to navigate in lowland countryside before attempting the more hazardous environment of mountain and moorland. Hillwalkers often do not appreciate that navigation in fine weather is often more difficult in some lowland areas than it is in the mountains. Places in Surrey such as Leith Hill, Box Hill and the Devil's Punchbowl as well as large woodland areas throughout lowland Britain are so criss-crossed with paths and tracks that are not shown on OS maps that accurate navigation is very difficult. The advantage in learning basic navigation skills in lowland areas is that, even if you get lost - and you will, you are most unlikely to come to any harm. Sooner of later you will be able to relocate yourself without frightening yourself silly. An inexperienced navigator in mountains can get into serious trouble if the weather should close in.
I have a large collection of books on navigation and regard the following as the most useful.
Manuals covering navigation in both lowland and upland areas:
Keay, Wally. Land Navigation; Routefinding with Map & Compass.
Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
Tippett, Julian. Navigation for Walkers. Cordee.
Manuals covering navigation in upland areas:
Cliff, Peter. Mountain Navigation.
Hawkins, Pete. Map and Compass; the Art of Navigation. Cicerone.
Langmuir, Eric. Mountaincraft and Leadership.
Long, Steve. Hillwalking; the Official Handbook of the Mountain Leader and Walking Group Leader Schemes. (This, I believe is the best book on the subject.)
The subject is also covered in general 'how to' books on walking and climbing.
Good luck and enjoy!
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There are probably two main trains of thought out there relative to land nav. 1. GPS 2. Map and compass But I'd say while you may be correct in there being those two broad trains of thought, I also say it's a fairly unhelpful distinction. 1 and 2 above are both inherently reliant on maps and the need to get the most out of them. Compasses and GPS receivers are just ways to help you use the map. Some people get terribly hung up on GPS being "cheating", and others get terribly hung up on compasses being tools for luddites, but whichever you use the crucial thing is being able to determine from the map where you want to go and a good way to get there (knowing where you actually are right now is covered in that!). I believe that it is a skill that you can learn from books and from your own mistakes. I'd concurr. The great thing about orienteering for learning navigation is you get set up quite deliberately with lots of short challenges set by another party out to stetch you a little where you can make your own mistakes and learn from them in a safe environment. And the crucial factor is getting the maximum information from the map, for the whole of the event, so it really concentrates things. "Dander along this track up the hill towards the obvious summit for another 3 km" doesn't give you much to do, orienteering gives you lots to look for in short chunks so you get the most practice in. Pete.
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Effbee - that sounds great, thank you.
Thanks for all the advice, I am very keen to learn navigating so I will take a look at a few books and put it into practice as I live in a nice area, just on the Worcestershire/Shropshire border.
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There are probably two main trains of thought out there relative to land nav. 1. GPS 2. Map and compass But I'd say while you may be correct in there being those two broad trains of thought, I also say it's a fairly unhelpful distinction. 1 and 2 above are both inherently reliant on maps and the need to get the most out of them. Compasses and GPS receivers are just ways to help you use the map. Some people get terribly hung up on GPS being "cheating", and others get terribly hung up on compasses being tools for luddites, but whichever you use the crucial thing is being able to determine from the map where you want to go and a good way to get there (knowing where you actually are right now is covered in that!). I believe that it is a skill that you can learn from books and from your own mistakes. I'd concurr. The great thing about orienteering for learning navigation is you get set up quite deliberately with lots of short challenges set by another party out to stetch you a little where you can make your own mistakes and learn from them in a safe environment. And the crucial factor is getting the maximum information from the map, for the whole of the event, so it really concentrates things. "Dander along this track up the hill towards the obvious summit for another 3 km" doesn't give you much to do, orienteering gives you lots to look for in short chunks so you get the most practice in. Pete.
Well said Peter. I like to call what you described "navigating by terrain association". It can be invaluable. Have fun. Dan S.
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