Learn natural navigation

Navigating using nature's clues is a rewarding way to explore the countryside. Here's how to ditch the GPS and nurture a more engaging bond with nature

- Mark Bailey

Paint a picture

Many people rely on GPS apps to explore new landscapes, but with natural navigation you harness clues from the sun, land, plants, weather and animals instead - especially handy if your phone fails. Before your next outdoor adventure, study maps to build a mental blueprint of the terrain you will be exploring, including any hills, rivers and place names. And pack a compass, map and phone to verify the natural clues you spot as you hone your new navigational skills.

Read the land

"In natural navigation, nothing is random," says Tristan Gooley, author of The Natural Navigator and The Secret World of Weather (naturalnavigator.com). Identify key landscape features and consider the forces that shaped them. For example, south-facing slopes in the Northern Hemisphere experience a wider range of temperatures resulting in greater erosive forces, so typically have milder gradients than north-facing slopes. "See the crops on the south face and the farm animals on the shady north - that's a compass too," adds Gooley.

Find your flow

"A navigator's joke is: nine times out of 10, a river will lead, if not to your home, then to somebody else's," says Gooley. Historically, settlements needed to be near water, so rivers are like roads. "If you know there's a river that flows down to the village you want to go to, find the river and you have a 'handrail': a line that will lead you dependably where you want to go."