MOUNTAIN RESCUE in England and Wales report in 2022 that the main callout reason was ‘Human Error’ – referring to navigation mistakes. In Scotland, ‘lost’ and ‘navigational error’ were the second and third most common callout reasons (after ‘slips and trips’).
It follows that a map and compass are included in lists of essential gear for hillwalkers, and we need the skills to use them. Being able to plan and follow a route not only keeps us out of trouble, but also makes exploring more fun. Here’s some of the basic skills for finding our way around.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE: MAPS
Maps
A map is a plan of the ground, scaled down to a manageable size. The mapmaker chooses what is useful to include, and maps for walkers display information such as paths and rights of way, watercourses, woodland, rocky ground and contours to represent height gain and gradient. Ordnance Survey and Harvey Maps are the two brands of map favoured by hillwalkers. Ordnance Survey maps come in paper and laminated versions, whilst Harvey maps are waterproof.
Ordnance Survey Explorer (1:25:000)
The scale means that 1 millimetre on the map represents 25,000 millimetres on the ground (1mm
