where do I learn to read a map
 

May sound stupid but the only map reading I have ever done is on roads, albeit all over europe.
I've been looking in bookshops for a while and even bought a couple of books but all a bit vague and unstructured (sort of school ref. bookish)
Can anyone reccommend a book, course or anything where I can actually learn to learn more off piste direction skills from using a compass properly to identifying stars.

Might help - all my navigation skills were based on walking/mountain biking stuff.

This seems highly recommended by the British Mountaineering Council

Navigation for Walkers
Author: Julian Tippett
Paperback - 121 pages (March 2001)
Cordee; ISBN: 1871890543

This was the book I used to borrow to swat up for my exams. Really good.

Mountain Navigation
Peter Cliff


This one will probably have too much info on other stuff but the navigation material is the bible of the outdoor world. These last 2 you should be able to get at a library as they have been out Years!! in one form or another.

HTH. T.
Mountaincraft and Leadership
Eric Langmuir

I would be really interested in this as well! I think it would be really useful since I don't want to use GPS, like to stick to the more traditional, hands-on approach to things myself.
Problem with technology is that if your fancy gadget breaks, you're stuffed if you don't have older techniques to fall back on.

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My website

Thanks Tony, will check them out at the local library first.
Paul, I will use both. The gps will halve the work by telling me exactly where I am but I still need map skills to decide which way to go and yes, in case of gps failure.

Paul,

For the sake of a friendly argument, a printed map is still a relatively new technology, compared to the ancient art of navigation using sun, stars and land features. I'm sure there is a source for teaching this as well, as it would be even more useful knowledge to fall back to.

Rgds,
Roman (UK)

quite right Roman!
That would be the ideal way to navigate. I would love to learn to navigate by the sun and the stars alone. I reckon the matarial I will be reading (possibly the recommendations above) would cover nagigation with map and compass as well as by sun and stars. I would imagine that reading the sun and the stars would be really useful for directional purposes...but what about for knowing where you are? If you don't have GPS or a map, that would be a tough one! (I suppose you could just read a sign or ask someone haha!)

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You could try enrolling on an evening class in nautical navigation. Features don't come much less featureless than the sea! this will tech you about GPS use,'dead reckoning' with map and compass, star navigation etc.

You can download “Map Reading and Land Navigation” from the reading room of my site at:
www.oasisphoto.com/readingroom
It’s pretty good even though it teaches navigation from a military point of view. Note that the UTM coordinate system described in the book is the US Military / NATO version that differ from the Global UTM that the rest of the world uses.


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A.B.

OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.
ShortWheelbase.com – Jeep preparations.

Look up a local orentering (sp) club near you and talk to them about learning to navagate. As far as using the sun it rises in the east and sets in the west. If it is morning and the sun is on your right you are facing north etc.Use this referance while walking around town or other areas where you live. After a while you will just check automatically.

Learn to use a map and compass first. Navagation by stars is much harder, so learn to walk before you run. Take care and I hope this helps

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John

the territorial army in the UK used to be pretty good according to friends who enlisted.

sun is fun: as a northerner (N51deg), I always get confused when I go to southern hemisphere, but I really enjoyed crossing the equator and seeing my GPS flip from S to N. another fun thing in the tropics is when the sun is directly overhead - you can even tell the date +/- a week!

northern pointer and southern cross are worth knowing about, but I have few who know them. for us northerners, the pointer is the most useful: Orion's belt is the shaft and his scabbard is one side of the head of the arrow that points north. best get familiar with orion before guessing which constellation he is when you're in the sahara! that said, knowing where north is at night from the pointer is only really useful if ever you had to walk out as riding/driving at night is very silly.

One book worth reading, and is comprhensive about celestial navigation is from the RYA (royal yachting association) by Pat langley-price. have a look at their website or type into Amazon books to check out the various titles.

For reference I use a GPS but always have a map to compliment it. And, a compass stored under the seat in case of technology failure.

One question, where are you planning to use these skills when you have leanrt them??

I bought 'SAS Navigation & Tracking' handbook - very easy to read and very useful for all sorts of things (incl. basic GPS). Bought it on ebay for £5.

Has tips on tracking too, which proved very useful for me recently when I was following 4WD tracks but needed to know whether they were travelling in the same direction as me. Remembered reading that you can tell by looking at stones - they are pushed away from the direction of travel by the wheels. Book has that sort of stuff in it - great!


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Barry
3AJ Tenere