SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 01: Find North Without a Compass

Your first SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge starts here.

This challenge is all about taking a skill you’ve learned and actually using it outdoors. You don’t need specialist equipment or somewhere wild to begin. All you need is a safe outdoor space, a little patience and the confidence to make your own decision before checking whether you were right.

For Challenge 01, you’re going to see if you can work out which way is north without using a compass.

Your Challenge

Can you find north without a compass?

Head outdoors and work out which direction you believe is north using natural clues.

You can use the Sun, shadows and anything else you’ve learned about natural navigation, but you cannot use a compass or your phone’s compass function while making your prediction.

Once you’ve decided where you think north is, mark or remember the direction.

Only then should you check your answer with a compass.

How close were you?

That’s your challenge.

Before You Start

If you’ve never tried finding north without a compass before, start by reading our guide:

How to Find North Without a Compass

You don’t need to be an expert before attempting the challenge. The idea is to take what you’ve learned and put it into practice.

What You’ll Need

You don’t need much for this challenge.

• A safe outdoor location
• A clear enough view of the sky to observe the Sun and shadows
• A compass for checking your answer afterwards
• Your phone or camera for your challenge photograph

Keep your compass and phone compass switched off until you’ve made your prediction.

Take the Challenge

Find a suitable outdoor location and give yourself a few minutes to observe what’s around you.

Look at the position of the Sun and any useful shadows. Think about what you’ve learned rather than rushing to an answer.

When you’re ready, decide which direction you believe is north.

Make your prediction before checking it.

You can mark the direction with a stick, point towards it, or simply remember where you believe north is.

Now check your prediction with a compass.

Don’t worry if you aren’t very close on your first attempt. Natural navigation takes practice, and making a prediction before checking it is one of the best ways to improve.

How Did You Do?

You can use this simple guide to see how close your prediction was.

The result isn’t really the important part. What matters is that you made a decision based on what you could observe, then checked it afterwards.

If you were a long way out, try to work out why. If you were surprisingly accurate, think about which clues helped you most.

Complete the Challenge

This is where your challenge becomes part of the SGUK community.

To complete SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 01, take a photograph that shows you’ve taken part. It could be a photograph of the location where you completed the challenge, your navigation setup, the direction you chose, or something else that represents your attempt.

Then share your evidence through your SGUK member profile activity wall.

How to Submit Your Challenge

1. Go to your SGUK member profile.
2. Open your Social Activity area.
3. Upload your challenge photograph to your activity wall.
4. Add #SGUKChallenge01 to your post.
5. Share your activity.

Your post should include your photograph and the challenge hashtag so your submission can be recognised as part of the challenge and verified accordingly.

Challenge 01 Checklist

Before you submit your evidence, make sure you have:

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 01 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.

Want to Try It Again?

One attempt is only the beginning.

Try the challenge again somewhere completely different. You might find that your accuracy changes depending on the location, the time of day and how much information you have around you.

See if you can improve your result without looking at your previous attempt.

The aim isn’t simply to get the right answer once. The more you practise, the more naturally you’ll start thinking about direction when you’re outdoors.

What’s Next?

You’ve completed your first SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge.

But you don’t have to work through the challenges in numerical order.

Choose another challenge that interests you, learn the skill, get outside and have a go.

Learn. Practise. Master.

That’s what the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge is all about.