NNAS Silver Award

The Silver National Navigation Award develops the navigation skills acquired at the Bronze level. It adds skills required to navigate to features and places some distance from paths and tracks. It teaches accurate compass work. It will also teach you to select the suitable navigational techniques to cross open country.

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Silver National Navigation Award courses are taught in areas with access to open country and involve periods where you’ll be navigating away from paths and tracks. This course will cover the following:

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• Utilise the skills and techniques of the Bronze Award in the context of Silver Award navigation strategies.

• Relate small hills, small valleys, prominent re-entrants and prominent spurs to their corresponding map contours. Use prominent hills, ridges, spurs and valleys as a means of navigation in good visibility.

• Use landforms and point features to orientate the map and as collecting and catching features.

• Use a compass to: Accurately follow a bearing; aim off; check the direction of handrails and other linear features.

• Deviate briefly from a compass bearing to avoid obstacles or difficult terrain and accurately regain the original line.

• Use back bearings to check route following accuracy.

• Measure distance on the ground in varied, open terrain using timing and pacing and make practical allowances for any discrepancies.

• Simplify legs using coarse navigation, attack points and fine navigation.

• Recognise dangerous or difficult terrain on map and ground.

• Plan and implement navigational strategies based on the above skills.

• Maintain route finding accuracy in poor visibility or darkness.

• Recognise a navigation error within a few minutes and apply appropriate relocation techniques.

• Understand how personal fitness and nature of terrain affect route choice both at the planning stage and on the ground.

• Understand the potential consequences of fatigue and physical discomfort in demanding terrain and/or extreme weather conditions.

• Select appropriate clothing, equipment and first aid items for walking in open country in all weather conditions.

• Demonstrate an understanding of the Countryside Code, current access legislation and the environmental impact of walkers on the countryside.

• Understand the responsibilities of walkers towards other countryside interests such as farming, forestry and conservation.