Something that I must have been aware of at some level for years, but that only arranged itself in my mind as an idea yesterday was 
the difference between the observations of characters in travel stories. There is a marked difference between what a character notices depending on the viewpoint that the author has chosen. First person travel characters seem to notice more natural detail. It must be easier to convince a reader that the subtle way a tree branch bends is relevant if the character is portrayed in the first person. Something that I had not previously given much thought to is that this seems to apply equally to fiction and non-fiction. This has probably organized itself into a coherent idea at the moment because I am having to concentrate my research for the book I am writing. It is a non-fiction book, but I am simultaneously doing some…
The natural Navigation: The Right Course, Naturally
Travel Stories, Viewpoint and Accuracy
28 March 2009 by Tristan Gooley
Never Ending Story
19 October 2008 by Tristan Gooley
The incestuous relationship between the stars and mythology is nothing new, but we often overlook how constantly the relationship is rekindled or how fresh some of the stories are. The following paragraph is from Emily Winterburn’s entertaining new book, ‘The Stargazer’s Guide‘.
‘In Orion these [stars] are Rigel, Betelgeuse and Bellatrix; in Canis Major there is Sirius – and even Canis Minor, which essentially consists of only two stars, has the very bright Procyon. These are familiar names, but not perhaps for astronomical reasons. Bellatrix and Sirius are probably better known now as characters in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, while Betelgeuse was the title of a Tim Burton film, albeit with a different spelling [Beetlejuice].
Welcome to the home of natural navigation on the Internet.
The Natural Navigator is the school set up by Tristan Gooley to research and teach natural navigation. It is also the title of his book on the subject.
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, sea, plants and animals.
If you would like to know more about natural navigation you can browse the website, read about Tristan’s natural navigation book, or listen to a BBC Radio 4 interview with Tristan.
beach birds book cloud compass contrails courses dawn direction east equinox full moon gps horizon jupiter land rover latitude lichen mist moon moss natural navigation nature navigate navigation navigation course north orion polaris royal geographical society sea senses shadow shadows Sirius south south downs southeast stars sun sunrise sunset trees venus walkers wayfinding west west sussex wind wind direction
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