Everything Awesome

Finding Your Way: From Magnetic Magic to True Navigation Independence

When someone hands a child a compass, a fascinating thing happens. Almost instantly, the child tries to line up the spinning magnetic arrow to North. There are no navigation skills required, just an innate curiosity. It is a moment of pure discovery—watching an invisible force of nature pull a needle. It’s something we all did in our youth, and it is something children will continue to do forever.

However, the reality of the outdoors is rarely as simple as a straight line. If you were asked to walk across the open countryside, traverse a rugged moorland, navigate around swollen streams, or find that perfect, secluded spot to watch the sun go down, simply pointing the arrow North won’t get you there. In fact, blindly following a compass needle without context can lead you into bogs, off cliffs, or miles away from your destination.

The Gap Between “North” and Navigation

Real navigation requires a toolkit of skills that go beyond the arrow. To the uninitiated, these skills can sound incredibly complex. You might hear words you haven’t heard before—declination, contours, resections, handrailing—and encounter concepts that seem baffling. Maps can look like abstract art, covered in squiggly lines and confusing symbols. It is easy to feel intimidated and stick to the well-worn concrete paths.

We Make the Complex “Awesome”

We here at Everything Awesome are here to bridge that gap. We run “Awesome” navigation skills courses designed to strip away the confusion. We take you on a journey, moving from simply wondering which way is up on a map, to confidently working out your exact location on a remote, fog-bound moor plateau.

You might ask: “Why do I need to learn this in the 21st century? I have a smartphone and Google Maps.”

It is a fair question. But technology has its limits. Batteries die in the cold; screens shatter; GPS signals bounce off canyon walls; and rain renders touchscreens useless. Every year, Mountain Rescue teams are called out to aid people who are lost because their “blue dot” stopped working.

Confidence is Key

Beyond safety, there is a profound sense of reward in traditional navigation. There is an awesome feeling of independence that comes from being able to safely wander the countryside, away from the crowds, relying on your own brain rather than a battery. It changes how you see the world—you stop looking at a screen and start reading the land.

Join Us

We run Navigation Skills days tailored for everyone:

• Small Groups: For personalized tuition.
• Company Team Building: For getting your staff out of the office and working together.
• Open Sessions: Perfect if you want to come on your own, make some new friends, and gain a skill that lasts a lifetime.

Booking dates available on link

How to Find your way, All in a day.

Whats it all about?
Have you ever felt a little lost when out in the countryside?
Have you spotted little groups of folks with maps and compasses in handed and wanted to know how they use them?
Are you walking along with your phone or GPS in hand? or trusting your friends to know where they are?

Hopes and dreams
We aim to equip you with the essential skills to navigate using a map and compass, how to know where your going, where you have been, and most importantly, where you are now.
Your confidence is going to be sky high after one of our courses.

Details
A full day course, 9:30am, until 4:30pm, We meet at a parking spot in the central Peak District, and have a short introduction, to ourselves, and to the equipment, how to hold a map, and to the parts of a compass.
From there we head off walking, the day is a practical one, other than sitting for lunch, somewhere with a view we will be moving for the whole day.
We kick things off with a practical demonstration, giving you the chance to sharpen your skills before tackling tougher challenges. You’ll be amazed by the accuracy of the maps as you learn to spot and interpret clues in your surroundings. The afternoon is all about reading the land—teaching you to match the steepness and shape of the ground right back to your map.

Requirements
We will provide maps and compasses, although your very welcome to bring your own (OS MAP OL1)

• Clothing appropriate for the day, please carry waterproofs even if its not raining, the weather can change quickly.
• A rucksack you can comfortably carry for the full day.
• Good quality walking boots or shoes, preferably not brand new and unworn until the day, as those will almost certainly result in blisters
• Food and drink for lunch.
• If you bring your mobile phone, a waterproof case for it could save money should it get wet.

FAQ.

If we do not get 2 or more bookings, we will offer a refund, or move your booking to another available date.

We also run some awesome night navigation courses.