"Felt a massive improvement in skills
since the bronze course - much more confident, especially in the use
of a cpmpass, taking bearings, back bearings etc." 03-06-07
It's amazing how quickly the time has passed since
our course with you in December. Cath & I were thrilled that you
were willing to run the course for just the 2 of us after the others
had dropped out due to illness. You may remember we were so hopelessly
incompetent at navigation that were had been unable to find our way
back from the pub to the farm on our first night..
You were very understanding and helpful - and your early diagnosis
that our main problem was to do with not paying enough attention was
quite right. The strategies you taught us - estimating and checking
time, identifying features in the landscape, counting steps etc proved
invaluable and we realised that actually, it's easy to pay enough
attention and have a lovely time in the hills if you just do the basics
well. Your patient teaching of basic compass skills was brilliant
- particularly given that both of us suffer from maths phobia...By
the end of the weekend we were both feeling a lot more confident that
we could venture out on our own.
The following weekend, we set off one bright & sunny morning for
Alnhamoor and enjoyed a bracing walk across the moors to Little Dod
- a route that has defeated Cath many times previously because it
appears quite featureless for large parts. We were thrilled to discover
that we could work out where we were & where we were going at
every point. When the weather suddenly turned foul, we had to navigate
our way back over a foggy moor to find a narrow path to lead us back
down the valley. Using our newly acquired skills, we were able to
dismiss paths that seemed to be in the right place but weren't on
the right bearing when we checked (and would have led us deeper into
the hills had we followed them). Slowly, we made our way across the
moor, avoiding the worst of the bogs and arrived at the fence less
than 50 yards from the gate we needed to find. We were thrilled!
Since then, we've both succeeded in going off the beaten path into
access land and found our way out again. In early Feb, we're planning
a a few days walking in the Cheviots before deciding where we'll go
to try out our skills further afield. We may be in touch later in
the year if we feel we're up to the Silver course! Sue January 2008
"Enjoyed going up 'The Old Man' and second
day re-inforcing skills" 03-06-07
"The mystery of maps
was unveiled! Practical approach made it all clear and what patience
shown to the 2 group members who arrived late to day one because they
got lost on the way! - 11-03-07
"Very well organised, Don't
think we left a stone unturned in terms of navigation skills. Highly
Recommended" 28-04-07
"Excellent course,
found it very useful as well as enjoyable. Great tutor - patient and
takes time to explain things thoroughly but doesn't take it too seriously
- lots of laugh on the way! Thanks very much and all the best for
the future." Nathalie -
16/07/06
"Great Weekend,
Treated everybody as equals" - 16/07/06
"Guy Wilson Mountaineering
Course was a good start to map reading, I had no map reading ability
before and now i feel really confident to go off trail and trust it.
A really great weekend, nice weather, great company. Thanks Guy"
- 16/07/06
"More informative than I
imagined - well worth updating my skills from when Iwas a scout!"
- 16/07/06
"I was a comlete
novice - this course has given me more confidence to go it alone.
Guy is very instructive, he keeps you interested in the course! Very
Good!" - 18-09-06
"I have had a very enjoyable
weekend and very informative. I hope to complete the Silver Level
shortly also go on to the Gold!!" - 24-09-06
"Tailor Made - met
our needs, learn't what I needed to and enjoyed myself in the process!
Thank You!" - 24-09-06
"Venue in Coniston -Excellent. Ratio was
as good as 1:1 - Excellent Value. Can't wait till the Silver Course!"
- 01-09-06
"Very Professional - from the website
right through to the course itself. Guy shared excellent local knowledge
of the area we were walking in!" 01-09-06
"Guy is the sort of teacher who has the
knack of teaching so that you don't realise you are learning. We learned
by doing and later realised we had mastered a technique when he asked
us to demonstrate something and we could! - I would recommend Guy
to others (I already have done in the youth-hostel!) as a laid-back,
right-on, non-sexist, non-patronising teacher!" 01-09-06
"The course was excellent, I didn't
realise how much information was actually on an OS map until this
course - I'm now spending many happy evenings planning my own routes
- I just need more days off to implement them!" 11-03-07
Excellent tuition, Excellent Venue. Map
reading is now a pleasure as i can understand hot to read one correctly
after being on this course" 11-03-07
