Ascend Interview
I’m always keen to try new ways of sharing the joys of natural navigation and outdoor clues and signs. I’ve done loads of long audio…
Tag: extreme
What is a Great Circle?
When I first learned about great circles, I found them to be one of the most eye-opening, head-scratching and strangely beautiful concepts in navigation. I…
The Nature Instinct
The Nature Instinct has been published in the US! “A captivating guide to finding one’s way in the wild.” —The Wall Street Journal “An imperative…
Natural Navigation with the Tuareg in the Libyan Sahara
The following article by Tristan Gooley was published in Navigation News in March 2010. My research to date has failed to uncover another soul who…
Spectator Reviews Wild Signs
The Spectator have just reviewed Wild Signs and Star Paths: “It’s a thoughtful, lyrical book about the hidden connections between flora and fauna, the landscape…
Proof Arrived, Contents Pages Snapped
The proof of ‘Wild Signs and Star Paths’ has just been delivered. I’m more than a little excitable – no coffee required this morning. If…
Newsletter Quiz
The following is taken from the last newsletter (subscribers received a fuller version of this a month ago, you can subscribe at the bottom of…
The Wedge Effect
My thanks to Malcolm Pinches for sending in these great examples of the ‘wedge effect’ from the Isle of Eigg in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.…
Beware the Beech’s Branches
This is a common sight in my local beechwoods. Beech trees have a habit of dropping large branches without much warning. They are not good…
How to Make a Compass Out of Sand, Snow or Dust
Whenever you’re on sand or snow, tune in to the direction the most recent winds have been blowing from and you’ll find yourself surrounded by…
White Out and Prevailing Winds
My thanks to Ginny Howells for coming on a course and for this wonderful email: “I just thought I’d share how I used natural navigation…
Toponymy in Oman
The Gooley family are just back from a week’s holiday in Oman. It was mostly sun, sand and swimming, but we did venture into the…
Snow Compasses
I’m just back from a week’s skiing in the French Alps. Whilst there I managed to track down one of the most seasoned local pros…
Saved by the Moon
Below is a short extract from Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s classic of exploration literature, The Worst Journey in the World. This passage contains several valuable and interesting…
The Procrastination of an Outdoors Writer
Today marks the start of the writing of a new book. And what better way to celebrate it, than by procrastinating! As writers go, I…
Extraordinary Winter Clues Competition
The outdoors can feel less exotic in winter and to counter this I thought I would run a competition to get us looking a little…
Prickly Lettuce, A Compass Plant
Prickly lettuce is known to some of its navigating friends as the ‘compass plant’ and to its Roman friends as ‘lactuca serriola’. In truth it…
Chankillo and the Solar Triangle
In the desert of western Peru there are the remnants of a civilization that still holds many mysteries. Archaeoastromomers are able to deduce a few…