The natural Navigation: The Right Course, Naturally

Welcome to the Natural Navigator

I took this picture a few minutes ago. For those of you interested in these sorts of cloudscapes then here is a good tip for finding them:

Take a really keen interest in the sky whenever bad weather is forecast after a good spell. Don’t wait for the change to become obvious though, the interesting higher clouds: the wispy cirrus, mares’ tails, mackerel skies etc. will all be found just before most people notice that the weather is changing, so you need to remain aware.

It works the other way round too of course, if you don’t have access to forecasts, or prefer to do your own, then this sort of sky after settled weather is a strong sign that a big change is on its way. More tips on weather lore here.

(There should be a great opportunity to see some moonlit cloudscapes tonight hopefully too.)

This photo, from my recent and gallette-packed French summer holiday, shows the distinctive orange lichens that have daubed a southern-facing wall of Suscinio Castle in Brittany.

Being a coastal region, Brittany is a natural home for these orange Xanthoria lichens, which can be both a blessing and curse when it comes to using them to understand direction. This is because conditions need to be close to perfect for lichens to thrive, but if they are too good then a lichen will manage well on more than one side, and occasionally on all sides.

This nuance creates a challenge for those new to the subject of natural navigation, including those who took part in the upcoming BBC2 series, ‘All Roads Lead Home’. Sue Perkins, in particular, was understandably frustrated that the lichens would not always obey a perfect rule in terms of the aspect they preferred. In the very short time…

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I’m just back from a week in Cornwall, where I have been helping the BBC with a new series called, ‘All Roads Lead Home’.

It has been an amazing experience and most excitingly it means that… natural navigation is coming to a televison near you soon!

The premise of the series is as follows: Alison Steadman, Sue Perkins and Stephen Mangan learn how to navigate naturally and then go on 3 journeys together, each one to a place that holds some important connection for them. (Sue Perkins loves and lives in Cornwall, when she is not inhabiting a tv or radio that is.)

There will be lots of walking in stunning locations, a little messing around in small boats and even some natural navigation in the air. I will be adding loads more detail here during the weeks in the lead up to the time the series goes out, in…

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A subject that I have blogged about in the past is one I return to today. I am increasingly delighted at the diversity of background interests of those who also take an interest in natural navigation.

I regularly give talks to specialist groups, only last Monday night I found myself at the Sandhurst Social Club, speaking to the knowledgeable and very likeable Yateley Offshore Sailing Club. Such specialized gatherings have a mutual interest that draws them together and so variety quite naturally gives way to experience in one area.

On the Beginner’s Guide courses that I run, however, there is no such need for a unifying interest and the backgrounds of those who come is a never-ending source of joy for me. On Friday’s course at the Royal Geographical Society, there was a mountain-marathon runner, an astrologer, a Duke of Edinburgh leader, an amateur astronomer, a nautical circumnavigator and,  not…

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I have been meaning to blog about whales for some time. My apologies to those who have gone without a good whale navigation blog for too long and who have doubtless suffered needlessly as a result.

A story about the way whales navigate made the news a few weeks ago. Having rushed to buy the academic research paper behind the story, entitled ‘Straight as an Arrow’, I can confirm that it is indeed a fascinating story. However, the fascination lies not in the research content but in its honest gaps. For the research a team tracked humpback whales over journeys of 8000km with great precision using satellite-monitored radio tags.

These researchers knew to expect impressive navigational abilities, but were shocked by quite how direct the whales were. They move in straight lines, which poses the obvious but wonderful question: How?

Going into the research, it was thought that the two…

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The Natural Navigator Pocket Guide is out now!

Who is this book for? How does it differ from the original book? How big is it? So many questions!

First the jacket blurb, then my take on the book:

‘Starting with a simple question – ‘Which way am I looking?’ – Tristan Gooley blends natural science, myth, folklore and the history of travel to introduce you to the rare and ancient art of finding your way using nature’s own sign-posts, from the feel of a rock to the look of the moon.

With Tristan’s help, you’ll learn why some trees grow the way they do and how they can help you find your way in the countryside. You’ll discover how it’s possible to find North simply by looking at a puddle and how natural signs can be used to navigate on the open ocean and in the heart of…

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Last week set a new record for restlessness… Thanks to all who came for the walk around the Long Man from Wilmington on Saturday afternoon and to Adrian Phillips who took the time to come for a walk for an article in West Sussex on Saturday morning.

The week leading up to this was spent exploring Cornwall with Zoe from the BBC. We found many familiar friends in the techniques we uncovered in Cornwall, but also a handful of totally new ones too. Our rarest discovery was at the private Tregothnan Estate and not strictly anything to do with natural navigation at all.

Tregothnan is home to what is believed to be the world’s only original Wardian case. These cases were designed by Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward around 1829 to allow plants that were being transported at sea, from Imperial posts in places like Australia, India and China, to…

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After an intense week of scouting in northwest Ireland with the BBC last week, I felt a little weary come Saturday morning. We had covered almost all of the largest island of the coast of Ireland, Achill Island in County Mayo, and then zoomed about Ballycroy and a few other places too. A couple of days mucking about would have been nice, but instead I had to get the first draft of my new book to my publisher’s by this morning. Tomorrow I’m off to Cornwall with Zoe Timmers from the Beeb again. One of those busy times, but all the small discoveries make the hecticness worthwhile.

In this picture we are looking east in Ballycroy National Park. Notice how the two sides of this drainage ditch look very different. The darker left side of the ditch, that is the south-facing northern side, is covered in a thick…

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The Natural Navigator has won the National Trust Outdoors Book of the Year competition at this year’s Hay Festival.

My heartiest thanks to all who took the time to vote.

I am spending a lot of time at the moment helping the BBC with a new series and have spent the last few days in North Wales.

When I was told that we were going down a slate mine in Snowdonia and that it would be great if there were some natural navigation clues to help us find our way in the mine, I was initially a bit concerned. Natural navigation methods can be used in a very wide variety of locations, including underwater, but I have not spent any serious time caving or in mines and so feared it might be a non-starter. It quickly became clear that I was wrong and that there is not only a method that works, but one that is beautifully simple and almost foolproof.

As is so often the case, the clue had been if not under my nose, then at least above…

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