Find Your Way with Sheep
It’s 8.15am this morning out on the Downs and this sheep’s shadow tells us that we are looking south. Her wool, or ‘sheep fur’ as…
Category: Sun
Contrails and Continents
This morning’s sun was a strong enough clue, but if we wanted to know which way was southeast then these aircraft contrails are pointing the…
Sunset Light
I can remember sitting at a restaurant in the small and perfectly formed fishing village of Trehiguier in southern Brittany last July. I had my…
The Dark Side of Sun Navigation
This isn’t about the Force, although I did read recently that a lot of Scottish policemen have put ‘Jedi’ down as their religion on their…
An Audience with the Almighty
My research into this subject constantly leads me, very willingly, back to the thin line that runs, curving between philosophy, religion, science and nature. If…
Wayward Wayfinding with the Moon
I’ve been experimenting over the past few nights, as we approached the full moon, with a technique that I’ve been working on that combines two…
Obama Furious with Brits after SatNav Embarrassment
President Obama was visibly furious with his British escort team after his secure cavalcade accidentally drove into the tiny Devon village of Clovelly. The armour-plated…
Moisture Compass
In this photo you can see the dew that the sun has not yet burnt off. The shadow itself is mostly moving right to left…
Equinoctial Sunrise
It is the morning after the equinox and not a bad one either. The sun rises due east on the equinox, but the daily difference…
The Great Shadow Stick Riddle
Although I occasionally get labelled as Mr. Anti-anything-modern-and-would-rather-eat-a-pair-of-hemp-pants-than-use-a-GPS*, the truth is different. I do use a GPS, quite regularly in fact and always take one…
The Patience of Stonehenge
The Gooley family spent Sunday afternoon mucking about at Stonehenge and then heating baked beans and pasta on the VW campervan stove. A modern, but…
Sun Patterns and Natural Randomness
Time for a bit of ramble. At the heart of natural navigation there is potential for conflict. If the sun did not behave with rational,…
Rosy Fingers or Urban Glow
Everyone who starts their day outdoors welcomes dawn, but for natural navigators it is an important time that should be both enjoyed and absorbed. Sunrise…
Navigator Chickens
The title of this post is a little misleading, but I like it and so it stays. It is that time of year when we…
Winter Solstice
Today is the winter solstice. I would love to give you a long blog entry, but unfortunately this is not possible as I am too…
The Glamour… The Romance… The Mud…
There are those that suspect the Natural Navigator’s life to consist of lying on the teak deck of a yacht musing about celestial bodies. It…
The Sun’s Shadow in Winter and Summer
The last course stirred up some healthy discussion about the difference between the sun’s summer and winter arcs in the sky. The arcs are actually…
A Rare Treat and a Slippery Friend
My wife and I spent nearly all the weekend on the water, which will be a rare treat until our boys are a bit older.…
Subtle shades
A fresh peach of a dawn this morning. The contrails in the first photo have a clear southeast track to them which is not unexpected…
Shadow Seeker
For the next six months the sun will always have some south in it when viewed from Britain. It will rise south of east and…
Equinox – lovely word.
At 15.44 (GMT) this afternoon the sun crosses the celestial equator. It is the autumnal equinox. What on earth has that got to do with…