The natural Navigation: The Right Course, Naturally

Full marks to Radio 4′s Today programme for allowing even a few minutes’ discussion of the role of technology in our appreciation and understanding of nature.

Mike Saunders, Kew Garden’s Digital head, and I exchanged ideas and perspectives yesterday in a glancing and enjoyable way.  ‘Today’ is prime radio real estate and they could not have been expected to indulge us for much longer.

Of course there were many points that I would have like to have made, but could not, the effect being a rather truncated view, which appears to many to be fairly blunt. No wonder I was accused by a few of being a Luddite! My fascination and interest in technology might surprise them, but that’s not important.

If I’d had the opportunity, the point I would have loved to have shoe-horned into yesterday’s discussion was that I believe the best of both worlds is achieved…

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For the love of God, spare us from any more blog titles like that, you are thinking. But persevere, there is a point to it. Somewhere.

I have just spent a fun 24 hours near Abergavenny, on Sugar Loaf Mountain (to give the big hill it’s superior title). I was joining some of the BBC Wales team.

The day reminded me just how easy it is to avoid the crowds. If work and other more important things allow, then the start and end of the day are the times to be on mountains, up to a certain altitude anyway. I can remember cuddling a friend in the lee of an igneous rock outcrop a few hundred feet below the summit of Mt Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia. Not a twin bedroom, I hasten to add. We shivered violently in wet clothes praying that the dawn’s sun would get…

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Welcome to all BBC Radio 4 listeners who have just navigated their way to this website from the full moon ramble that I enjoyed with Clare Balding.

There are lots of places to explore on this website if you are looking for more information about the wonderful world of natural navigation, the courses that are available or my book on the subject.

It would be great to meet you so if you are within reach of west London tonight, I am giving a talk at The Travel Bookshop this evening (Thursday 17th) at 7pm. Details and tickets can be found on their website or by calling the bookshop on 0207 229 5260.

Hope you enjoy!

If you did not hear the Radio 4 Ramblings programme but would like to then you can by clicking here.

Details of some other natural navigation features on TV, Radio and…

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The title of this post is not, for once at least, a reference to my style of blog-writing, but to the BBC Radio 4 program hosted by Clare Balding.

On Wednesday night I joined Clare and the Ramblings team for a walk on the South Downs Way; we headed west from Amberley, finishing at the Bignor Hill car park. We were treated to stars, planets and a full moon. I’ll let you know when it is airing, but should be sometime in June.

I felt hugely privileged and honoured throughout the walk, as early on Clare revealed that she has been embarking on walks for the Ramblings series for nearly 10 years, but this was the first ever night walk.

Did you know that in the UK a full moon rises close to southeast in summer and nearer to northeast in winter? (If you find viewing the full moon…

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I went for a walk with Matt Baker and the ‘Open Country’ team from Radio 4 a few weeks ago. It was broadcast a couple of days ago but you can still listen to the programme, ‘Sussex Visions‘, using BBC iPlayer. We chat about flowers and the Tuareg and one or two other things.

Recovering from a full and fun day filming with Jules Hudson and the team from the BBC’s Countryfile program. We were out on the South Downs and I spent the first two-thirds of the day teaching Jules some of the methods for navigating using nature and then ‘released him into the wild’ with a tricky challenge. If you’d like to know whether Jules managed to find his way using nature then it is being shown on BBC1 this Sunday evening (03 May) at 7.30pm.

I learnt plenty on the day too, Jules was an archaeologist by trade and a passionate historian, before becoming a presenter and his view of the landscape is similarly analytical to mine, but his senses are used to scouring for slightly different details. I learnt about how Wellington used to read the land in front of him, about hill forts and burial methods amongst many…

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