Navigating at night is a demanding challenge and if you find yourself needing to do it in an emergency situation (or you need to get off the hill in darkness to prevent an emergency developing) having some experience to fall back on is invaluable. Between late autumn and Spring, reduced hours of daylight, combined with more testing weather conditions than summer provides an additional challenge. This often slows groups down and there’s an increased risk of spending unplanned time on the hill as darkness falls.Our sessions are squarely aimed at giving you the opportunity to safely and comfortably gain experience and skills operating in these conditions, so if you do ever need to do it ‘for real’ you’ve got the knowledge and experience to draw on to handle the situation.
What will I learn about?
- Navigational strategies in darkness
- Key tools and techniques
- Gaining experience of night navigation in a controlled situation
To get the most out of this course, you will already have experience of map reading and navigation in the hills. You may have undertaken other navigation courses or have developed skills yourself, but you haven’t yet got experience of navigating in darkness. You may be a hill walker who wants to extend the hours that you are comfortable being out in or you may be preparing for a challenge event where travelling through hill or mountain terrain at night will be essential.
Night Navigation Sessions will last between 3 and 4 hours, ending around 9pm. We generally run these sessions from the end of October through to the end of March (coinciding with clock changes). If you need a session outside of this period, drop us a message and we’ll try to arrange something suitable.
Our Night Navigation Sessions take place within the Far Eastern Lake District, but we can develop other venues to suit your needs. Please drop us an email or give us a ring to talk through what you’d like to do.
Group size and instructors
To ensure you get the most out of the experience, there will be no more than six course participants to at least one fully qualified Mountain Leader and we will often use additional instructors where possible.
What about equipment?
Included in the cost of the course, we will supply Maps & Compass and head torches (if you have your own, you are welcome to bring these).
Equipment you will need to bring along for the course:
- Sturdy waterproofed boots
- A waterproof top and trousers and a warm layer
- A pair of gloves and a hat
- Water bottle – (If you also bring a flask, we’ll be happy to provide free tea or coffee)
- Snack food
- Personal medication
Course Price
£35 per person (Sessions are reduced to £25 where tagged on to the Advanced Navigation Course) –
This covers:
- Course fee
- Use of any equipment provided by us including head torches
- Detailed course notes (and photographs where applicable)
- Free email enquiry service for 12 months after the course
These special sessions are available between October and the end of March- just drop us an email and we’ll get back to you – contact page
Full details and instructions will be provided when we receive your course booking