How to Read Church Windows
Church windows were never placed randomly. In medieval and later church design, their position, size, and style followed theological, symbolic, and practical logic. A medieval…
Tag: churches
What Time is It?
What time was this video taken? There are clues in the sun, shadows, church, trees, clouds, grasses and more. Answer below. Spoiler Alert… Answers below……
Which Way is the Wind Blowing?
The video above is taken from St Mary the Virgin’s church rooftop in the town of Rye, East Sussex, UK. Which direction is the wind…
Sounds Make a Map
A Guide to Exploring Soundscapes Sounds make a map. Here is an easy exercise to help you hone your understanding of sound maps. It is…
Which Way Are We Looking? Budleigh Salteron Edition
My thanks to everyone who joined me for my talk on The Secret World of Weather at the Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival on Friday. It…
Nature’s Clues & Signs – Polzeath
During a week’s family holiday in Polzeath, North Cornwall, we enjoyed a six-day heatwave (yes, a high pressure system sat over us). I slipped away…
Which Way Are We Looking?
Which direction are we looking in the picture above? Spoiler alert… answer next… Answer: 1 Point for W. 2 Points for WNW. The snow has…
Which Way Are We Looking?
This photo was taken in West Sussex, southern England. Which Way Are We Looking? Spoiler Alert… Here comes the answer… Traditionally… The highest point of…
Lichens are a Sign of Fresh Air
I can think of no other organism with the modesty of lichens. They add richness to every outdoor scene, yet seek little recognition and get…
Naturally Navigating Dartmoor
The Foggiest Idea by Tom Vanderbilt. Published in Outside Magazine December 2010. I’VE LATELY COME to the realization that my whole sense of direction has been slipping…
Weldon Church Lighthouse
Weldon Church in Northamptonshire used to be surrounded by dense woods that were hard to navigate and led to many poor souls getting lost. The…
Lateral Thinking
The other day a friend explained to me that they had a lovely neighbour, a dear old lady who always really entered into the spirit…
Church Alignment Research
My thanks to Leon Winnert – a double Natural Navigator course alumnus no less! – for taking the time to research church alignment in his…
The Shape of the Land
The week is already feeling full with the task of collating and writing up observations from the sail north. At the end of the month…
Snow Wonders
One of the most rewarding things about natural navigation is that it shuns any attempt by the seasons to quieten things down. There are many…
Churches and Nomads
It has been an interesting few days. I spent yesterday in the South Downs with Michelle Kosinski and the crew from America’s NBC network. Whilst…
Churches face East, don’t they?
There is a wonderful article on the orientation of churches, from a 2007 issue of Archaeology magazine. My thanks to Doug for making me aware…
Urban Treats
The past few days have seen me bouncing between meetings in London – pinging between Kensington, White City and Theatreland. Throw in a Tube strike…
Grave Lichens
Churches are well worth a minute of navigational inquiry. The church itself is likely to show a preference for an east-west alignment, with the altar…
Churches and Runways
I have found myself at airports a lot recently and it occurred to me that there is not very much to inspire those interested in…