Navigation on the fells
A phone GPS will get you out of most situations. A map and compass will get you out of all of them.
The basics
An OS Explorer (1:25,000) map gives you the detail you need on open fells. Learn to read contour lines — the closer together, the steeper the ground. Cols, ridges and summits all have characteristic shapes you can learn to recognise.
Using a compass
Set your bearing by aligning the map with north, place the compass on your intended line of travel, rotate the bezel to match the red needle with north on the compass housing. Walk the bearing. Simple compass work is a skill you can learn in an afternoon.
When the clag comes in
Reduce your pace. Take more frequent bearings. Use timing — at walking pace, 100m takes roughly 1 minute on flat ground; add roughly 1 minute per 10m of ascent (Naismith's rule). Handrail features: walls, streams, ridges run in known directions and can guide you.
Phone GPS
Useful but not infallible. Batteries die, screens crack, phones overheat or freeze. Download your route offline before you go. OS Maps app with a downloaded tile set is reliable. But learn to navigate without it.
If you get properly lost
Stop. Don't panic. Work out where you last knew your position. Think about what you've crossed since — streams, walls, fences, changes in gradient. Most people are closer to a path or road than they think. If genuinely stuck and conditions are deteriorating, stay put and call for help.
In an emergency
- Call 999 or 112 → ask for Police → then Mountain Rescue
- No signal? Text 999 — pre-register first: text "register" to 999
- Coastal routes: ask for Coastguard instead of Mountain Rescue