Natural navigation is the rare art of finding your way using nature. Natural navigators learn to read the sun, moon, stars, weather, land, sea, plants and animals. It is possible to navigate naturally on land or water, in the wild or in cities.
Tristan Gooley’s approach to the subject is unique in that he does not view it as a survival skill, to be used in bad times, but as a means to understand and connect with the world around us.
“Everything outdoors is a clue. Every plant, animal, cloud or star is a sign and part of our map.”
Tristan Gooley
Fortunately very few of us are likely to ever find ourselves in a genuine survival situation, but we all spend some time outdoors. This time can become fascinating if we take our eyes off the smartphone, GPS or map for a few moments and ask the simple question, ‘Which way am I looking?’
Tristan Gooley has written several books covering natural navigation, including:
The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs (The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs in the UK)
Steps in Learning Natural Navigation:
1. Have a browse of this website, explore navigating using the sun, moon, stars, water, plants and animals. I also post examples and puzzles on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Then head outside and see how many clues and signs you can spot.
2. The website contains lots of good stuff, but if I come across something really good I don’t always put it up here. I hold it back for my courses, books or email newsletter. You can sign up to the free newsletter at the bottom of the page and unsubscribe instantly at any time.
3. If you’re serious about learning how to read nature’s signs then I’d recommend reading one of my books and becoming a member, which will give you access to the online course as well as all the photos and videos in The Collection.
Natural navigation remains a little-known art and students are guaranteed to learn things that few others know. These are the things our ancestors once knew.
