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…
Tag: lichens
Choose Lichens Over Mosses for Effective Navigation
Mosses get all the press, but lichens are the stars when it comes to effective natural navigation. In the video above I look at the…
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…
The Fine Art of Looking at Ugly Walls
Walls that start life looking the same do not stay that way for long. The sun hits exposed south-facing walls hard in the middle of…
Podcast Episode 5 – The High Seat – Out Now!
Episode 5 of my new podcast, The Pursuit of Outdoor Clues is out now and can be downloaded via most the usual places. Try this…
Natural Navigation in the Garden
My thanks to Nik Huggins for the following guest post. Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the way we interact with nature. In a few short weeks,…
Which Way Are We Looking?
Which direction are we looking in the photo above? Clue: how many colours can you see? Answer below. Answer: We are looking north. There is…
The Many Faces of Chichester Cross
Chichester Cross is a market cross – the building that symbolises the heart of the market square in my nearest town of Chichester, West Sussex.…
Wild Signs Spotted in Morocco
One of the things I enjoy most about my work is when other navigators get in touch with their own observations. In the early days…
How to Find Direction Using Tree Bark
The wind, rain and sun do not affect all sides of trees equally. This creates patterns on the trees’ bark that we can use to…
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…
Reindeer Lichen and Wild Feelings
I live in the chalk hills of the South Downs. On my daily walks over these hills I am always greeted by familiar alkaline-loving flora.…
The Truth About Moss
Moss is probably the best known natural navigation indicator in the world. It is also excellent at demonstrating how easy it is to go wrong…
Navigating Using Lichens
Golden lichens on south side of a staddle stone Lichens can help us to find our way, once we know how. Lichens are a partnership…
Naturally Navigating Dartmoor Part II
Naturally Navigating Dartmoor Part II Close to the Wind By Tristan Gooley (An edited version of the following article by Tristan Gooley was originally published…
A Sign of Fresh Air in Dartmoor
My thanks to everyone who came on the natural navigation walk with Emma Cunis (Dartmoor’s Daughter) and me on Thursday in Dartmoor. We saw many…
BBC Winter Wonderland
I did a short piece for BBC Inside Out that was broadcast on Monday evening. It can be viewed via this link (within the UK,…
Usnea Lichens and Moss Patterns
Just back from a family camper-vanning trip to the New Forest and Dartmoor. In Dartmoor I returned to an old favourite, Wistman’s Wood, where the…
From Top to Bottom
I usually encourage people to scan for outdoor clues by looking from top to bottom – astronomy, weather, ground – and the reason can be…
Using Lichens to Navigate
This is a photo of the top of a historical stone post, known as a ‘staddle stone‘. Staddle stones were used to build barns off…
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…