By SI Tony Burns, No 1 (Minden) Company
Saturday - Day One
The morning was glorious but somewhat fresh, this was spent going over some basic navigation techniques, consisting mainly of pacing, 6 figure grid references, taking bearings both from the map and from the ground and walking on bearings as well as trying to make it more challenging for the cadets with the use of dead ground to see how accurate they could be.
The afternoon consisted of a walk out, putting into practice what they had gone over during the morning as well as the use of Naismith's rule for time over distance, handrails, catching and collecting features, the use of map orientation and looking for features on the ground.
There were one or two minor hiccups but everyone enjoyed themselves and after a debriefing to ensure any issues that were noted whilst out on the walk, these were taken on board and corrected for the next mornings walk.
Sunday - Day 2
Another beautiful day and a shorter walk out covering just a few miles, the team were on the ball having taken on board what we discussed the day before, although we did throw in the odd emergency by changing the map reader part way through a leg, just to ensure the 2nd map reader (who was to the rear of the group) could pick up and take over instantly. This went smoothly and the group carried on their merry way.
The ground was a little treacherous in places with boggy patches down some of the footpaths, most of the route was fairly dry though and all the cadets had a turn doing their part in the navigation.
A great weekend had by all, with a lot learnt by the cadets.
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