Learn what to do if you become lost outdoors, with practical guidance on staying calm, assessing your situation, navigating safely and getting help.
There’s a useful difference between walking a route someone else has marked and being able to mark a route for somebody to follow. The second takes a little more thought. You need to decide where a marker belongs, make its meaning clear and check that the next person can follow it without having to guess….
Knowing how to retrace your route is an important outdoor skill. You might need to do it if you take the wrong path while hiking, miss a turning while scouting, or become unsure about where you are in the countryside. Retracing your route means going back the way you came until you reach a place…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 45–60 minutesLocation: Suitable outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Navigation, route planning, situational awareness, map reading, decision-making, group management The best way to deal with becoming lost is to avoid becoming lost in the first place. Good navigation is not simply knowing how to use a compass. It means continually…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 45–60 minutesLocation: Suitable indoor or outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Emergency procedures, leadership, communication, headcounts, search planning, risk assessment A lost-person situation should be treated as an emergency that needs an organised response, not as an excuse for everyone to immediately spread out and search. The first priorities are…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 45–60 minutesLocation: Suitable indoor or outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Decision-making, navigation, emergency planning, situational awareness, risk assessment When something goes wrong outdoors, one of the most important decisions is whether to stay where you are or move to somewhere else. Moving may take you towards safety, help, shelter…
⚠️ SAFETY FIRST A whistle is a signalling tool, not a substitute for calling emergency services. If you are in immediate danger or someone is seriously injured, call 999 or 112 if you can. If you become lost, stay calm, make yourself as safe as possible and use your whistle to attract attention. Don’t keep…
⚠️ SAFETY FIRST Modern navigation tools are extremely useful, but they should not be your only navigation method in the outdoors. Phones can lose battery, GPS devices can fail, signals can be unavailable and digital maps can contain errors or outdated information. For walks where getting lost could have serious consequences, carry an appropriate map…
⚠️ SAFETY FIRST If you realise you’re lost, stop and tell someone if you can. Continuing to walk without knowing where you are can make the situation much worse. If you’re in immediate danger, injured, lost after dark or unable to find your way to safety, call 999 or 112 and ask for the appropriate…
⚠️ SAFETY FIRST If you become separated from your group outdoors, your first priority is to stay safe — not to find everyone as quickly as possible. In many situations, stopping where you are is safer than wandering around looking for the group. If you’re in immediate danger, injured, lost in hazardous terrain or unable…
⚠️ SAFETY FIRST Natural navigation can be useful, but it shouldn’t be treated as a replacement for a map, compass, GPS or other appropriate navigation equipment. Natural signs can be difficult to interpret and weather, season, location and local conditions can all affect them. When heading outdoors, especially into unfamiliar or remote areas, carry suitable…
