… or a clue to direction. One of the challenges in natural navigation that never goes away is the need to constantly change our focus. Our eyes have a tendency to drift towards a middle-distance focus. This can mean that clues in the background and the foreground can be easily overlooked. The first photo of a field on the lower slopes of a volcano in La Palma is a good example of this. There is a temptation to look to the trees for help, and they do offer some, but better help can be found much closer as the second picture shows. The southern side of these flowers is opening up before any other side. When seen close up like this it is hard to miss, but we all walk past clues like this everyday and our eyes are so often drawn elsewhere. 
The natural Navigation: The Right Course, Naturally
A Scruffy Patch of Land…
26 February 2010 by Tristan Gooley
Great Lettuce!
25 January 2010 by Tristan Gooley
There is a good photo of the Great Lettuce, Lactuca Virosa, with its leaves aligned north-south on the Adur Wild Flower website. If you do use this to find your way then make sure you don’t eat too much of it as it is reputed to have psychotropic qualities. You are likely to head off in the right direction, walk in a circle and then find yourself back in the same spot, shouting something like, ‘Great Lettuce, Batman!’ I digress.
The Natural Navigator is the school set up by Tristan Gooley to research and teach natural navigation.
Natural navigation is the art of being able to find your way solely by using nature. It encompasses using the sun, moon, stars, weather, water, land, plants and animals.
The courses are designed for those who enjoy the outdoors. Who comes on the courses? Read the feedback from those who have been on the courses here.
If you would like to know more about natural navigation you can browse the website, read about my natural navigation book, or listen to a BBC Radio 4 programme.
beach birds book cirrus cloud coast compass contrails courses dawn direction east equinox gps horizon jupiter land rover latitude lichen moon moss myth natural navigation nature navigate navigation navigation course navigator north orion polaris royal geographical society satnav sea senses shadow shadows Sirius south south downs southeast stars sun sunset trees venus wayfinding west wind wind direction
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