I’ve
done a navigation course!
Wow! What a fantastic couple of
days …
I had booked my navigation course after spotting an
advertisement in the mag and, assured by some friendly
emails I’d received from the training centre, felt
certain of an interesting time.
Bright and early, well, about 10am actually, Wil from
Hillwalking Wales (www.hillwalking-wales.co.uk), was
smiling his way towards me outside the onsite classroom.
Warm and welcoming, I felt immediately at ease, which is
just as well when you’re about to head off into
unknown territory with a complete stranger! We started by
spending time discussing contours, attack points,
handrails, ticks (not the bloodsucking kind!), true
north, magnetic north, grid north…phew! The old
brain was spinning faster than a compass near a mobile
phone. Actually, everything was explained clearly, slowly
and in easy to digest pieces and before we set off for
the hills – sorry – mountains – I felt I
had a good grasp of what lay ahead – literally.
Backpack and gaiters on and it was no rest for the wicked
– let’s get down to navigation. For the next 4
hours I was set a series of tasks using only an Ordnance
Survey Map, a compass, some toggles, a stopwatch and a
speed chart – oh, and a blade of grass or two! Wil
patiently waited for me whilst I set the map (got it the
right way round), took a bearing (which way to go),
estimated how long it should take and finally headed off
to the various ‘targets’. There is a cunning
system called ‘aiming off’ which comes in handy
if you happen to miss your mark – honest, Wil, it
was deliberate! No, seriously, throughout the day I
received what can only be described as top-notch
instruction which was also fun and insightful, just how
training should be. It was great fun working our way
towards the summit, taking time out to watch skylarks,
admire the dramatic, rolling landscape littered with
ancient cairns and burial mounds, and even do some
scrambling until we reached the trig point at the top of
Foeldrygon.
Although we joked about it being the top of the world
– to me it was just that. I’d just walked and
navigated my way through my first real hillwalk and it
was great. Windswept and sun kissed, it was fantastic.
Could have stayed up there for hours, but after a few
compulsory tourist-type photos we had to head down and
back to the van.
On the second day we headed off to Foel Cwmcerywn,
Preseli’s highest summit. From the start I was given
targets to navigate towards as we worked our way up
towards the trig point. It was another bright warm day,
and after spending the previous evening with a storming
headache due to excessive grinning and a spot of
squinting, I donned the sunglasses, grabbed the compass
and set off. We double checked our pacing and timing as
well as strategies as we meandered up the grassy slopes,
taking in the majestic skyline – dark shadows of the
hills silhouetted against the low autumn sun. Lunch was
taken at a disused quarry and the beauty of the landscape
was so overpowering that we sat, for the most, in silence
gazing at the peaks, watching kestrels riding the
thermals and wild horses running free in the distance.
Wasn’t often that we were silent throughout the
course, but at this moment, in this place, the hills
almost demanded it.
[Pic 4]
Lunch done we pushed on to the summit and that was almost
it for me and my navigation this time around. The rest of
the route was walking along the ridge path (sorry,
‘hand railing’) and although we took bearings
and worked out timings, it was plain sailing all the way
back. It was strange to be walking without having to
think about how many steps I’d done, had I re-set
the watch, were we about to walk over a ledge….? The
views were spectacular and we even had the good fortune
to walk near a herd of wild ponies, grazing on the
heather and mosses. Although we’d been on the move
for hours, I still didn’t want to come off of that
mountain, it just felt so good.
Before I started on this course I knew very little about
navigation and how to read a map. At the end of the
second day I felt confident that I could successfully and
safely plan routes, find bearings, reach targets and work
out where I am on a map in emergencies. I could estimate
the distance I wished to travel, how to take in to
account variations to pace and timings due to
ascents/descents but more importantly, I’d learned
that the best way to reach a summit (or a target point!)
isn’t always by taking the most direct route. If we
had done that heading out to Foel Cwmerwyn I would never
had experienced the beauty and tranquillity of the
quarry. So, when I’m planning future routes,
I’ll be looking out for those features in the
landscape and taking time to visit them. After all,
it’s not just all about reaching summits now –
is it?
Posted by Admin @ 9:19 AM :: (0) comments
Alone in the Preselis
Trying to remember my new nav
skills
Despite aching legs, I headed off onto the Preseli’s
on my own. It had been great having Wil’s company,
as well as tuition, for the past couple of days but now I
was back to being on my own and time to find out if I
really had taken in as much as I thought I had on the
course. My route was circular and would begin where I had
started out on Saturday, near the approach to Foeldrygon.
Taking the bridleway I headed off towards Carn Gyfrwy and
Carn Menyn, legendary source of the world-famous
Bluestones, as used at Stonehenge. This first leg of the
route was very straight and uncomplicated so I practised
my timing and target setting whilst ‘hand
railing’ (following) the boundary wall. As I moved
closer to my first ‘attack point’ I had to take
a few steps backwards in awe of the landscape that was
unravelling around me. Dark fingers of rock stretched
into the skyline like a starburst of granite as the
valley below stretched out under their silent gaze. To
the right of the bridleway, ancient cairns watched me
pass as I picked my way through the moss to the sacred
stones. Wil had told me about a special stone, known as
‘Aslan’s Table’ which could be found
nestling among the boulders, if you took the time to find
it - and find it I certainly did. There was something
about it that I felt quite drawn to and felt happy to
spend time just sitting in its presence, soaking up the
atmosphere of the place and enjoying the sense of space
and tranquillity.
But there was so much more to come as I took in Bwlch
Ungwr, Carn Bica, Carn Goedog, Carn Breseb, Carnalw, Carn
Ddafad-las and then back towards the original start
point. I was out and about for 5 hours and applied
everything I had learnt over the past couple of days,
including relocating when I became so absorbed by the
surroundings I lost track of where I was, and when the
dark rain clouds rolled across the rocky outcrops I knew
I’d be O.K. The only mistake I made was not taking
enough fluids and, probably, food at my stops because
when the rain did arrive I was feeling tired and a little
wobbly which did result in one brief encounter with the
ground as a heather root got the better of me. It
wasn’t serious and I had to laugh at myself, but it
could have been. I should have recognised my own signals
earlier on and drunk a little more water or eaten another
goodie from the fantastic lunch Jim at Clynfyw had
provided. As it was, I’d pushed myself and that was
the result. Diagnosis made, I took shelter in an ancient
cairn, pulled on the waterproofs, tucked into sandwich
and some dried fruits and had a rest until the heaviest
rain had passed. Feeling revived I checked my location,
took a bearing and headed back to the bluestones. I had
planned on finishing my route via the summit of
Foeldrygarn but knew I was tired, had had a great walk
and had nothing to prove by forcing myself up a final
summit just to say I’d done it. By my calculations
(I’m sure you’ll tell me if I’ve got it
wrong, Wil!) I had walked 9.3km, had taken in around 405m
of ascent and the highest point was Carn Bica. More
importantly I had enjoyed every minute of it. So enough
was enough and I happily bounced along the wet grass all
the way back to the car as the rain began to fall again
and a rainbow reached across the hill fort as I walked
away from one of the most magical places I have ever
been.
Posted by Admin @ 9:18 AM :: (0) comments
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