COMMON MISTAKES: Don’t make them!

1. The group splits up and some members of the team get so far ahead that they can’t be seen. One part of the group might have the map/compass/first-aid-kit/tent/emergency shelter, leaving the others without vital equipment. This is a big no-no!! Stay together.

2. Instead of 4+ brains working together to minimise mistakes in map reading & compass work, the group relies on 1 person who may or may not be going the right way. Have fun, listen to your music if you like but don’t be a passenger. Take part, learn and be a good team member. As assessors and supervisors, we can tell who is working hard and who maybe isn’t. You never know when we’re watching and where from.....

3. The group guesses on a route/direction. Maybe they want to follow the road most travelled/ the obvious path but maybe that isn’t the direction recorded on the Route Card. The group try to rely on Google Maps and phoning fellow Scouts but maybe neither will work well in the middle of a forrest or on a hill-side. The group are not confident with the compass and don’t check the bearing.

1. POINTS OF THE COMPASS

2 THE COMPASS 

3. THE MAP

Get to know what the common features are, know what symbols/images mean.

North is always at the top of your map

ALONG THE CORRIDORTHEN  ➡️. UP THE STAIRS  ⬆️

1st - numbers along the bottom. 2nd  - numbers up the side

So....how to give a 6-figure grid reference.

1. Along the corridor = 625

2. Up the stairs = 333

625 333

>THE DARKEST SQUARE<

And finally .....

The 5 Ds

D direction - compass bearings and map grid references.

D distance - estimated by TIMING (how long it takes) and PACING (how many steps). D duration - how long will it take to get from checkpoint 2 to checkpoint 3?

D description - what you’ll see (forest/river/pylons) and feel (uphill) on your route?

D destination - how will you know when you’ve got there?

How will you know if you’ve overshot your destination (e.g. don’t go past the farm/cross the bridge over the river).

Walking speed varies and depends on many factors such as fitness, weight of rucksack, length of journey, weather, wind, conditions underfoot and slope angle.

• Generally, you’ll walk at 4 km per hour, meaning that in 15 minutes you’ll cover 1 km.

• And for every 10 metres (each contour line) you climb uphill, ADD an extra 1 minute.

Example : You walk for 8km and climb 100 metres. It will take 2 hours (at 4 km per

hour) + an extra 10 minutes (1 min for every 10m) = 2h10mins.

On a 1 : 25,000 scale map, gridlines are 4cm apart

and that equals 1km. Every square is 1km x 1km. Contours - walk along one (contouring) and you’re neither going uphill or downhill.

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