SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 08: Navigate Using Landmarks

It’s easy to become so focused on following a path that you stop paying attention to the place that you’re actually walking through. Learning to recognise landmarks helps you build a better picture of your surroundings, making it easier to keep track of where you are and recognise when something doesn’t look right.

In the previous challenge you learned how to cook a simple meal outdoors. For this challenge, you’re going to plan and follow a short route using landmarks to guide you. You don’t need to head into the wilderness or cover a great distance. A local park, public footpath or familiar walking area can provide everything that you need to practise.

Your Challenge

Can you follow a short outdoor route by identifying and using landmarks?

Choose a short, safe route that passes several recognisable features. These might include a bridge, a distinctive building, a path junction, a signpost, a stream or a clearly identifiable bend in a trail.

Your task is to identify at least three landmarks along the route and use them to help you navigate from the starting point to your destination.

You can use a map to plan your route, but try to pay attention to the landscape around you rather than simply following a line on your screen. The aim is to understand how the features around you can help you stay oriented.

Before You Start

A landmark is a feature that helps you identify your location or recognise where you are along a route. Good landmarks are easy to distinguish from their surroundings and are unlikely to be confused with several similar features nearby.

A large footbridge, a church tower visible from a distance or a distinctive path junction may be more useful than a small tree or an ordinary bend in a track. Think about what you will be able to recognise when you reach it, not just what looks noticeable on a map.

If possible, choose landmarks that appear in the order you’ll actually encounter them. This helps you build a simple mental picture of the route and gives you something to check as you go.

If you need help planning your route, use a suitable map and read the relevant SGUK navigation guidance before setting off.

What You’ll Need

For this challenge, gather:

• A suitable map of your chosen area
• A notebook and pencil, or somewhere to record your landmarks
• A phone for emergencies and checking your location if necessary
• Suitable footwear and clothing for the conditions
• A camera or phone for your challenge photograph

Choose a route that is appropriate for your experience, the available daylight and the conditions underfoot. If you’re completing the challenge with children, make sure the route and surroundings are suitable for their age and abilities as well.

Take the Challenge

Start by choosing your route. It should be short enough to complete comfortably, but include at least three landmarks that you can identify before setting off.

Write down the landmarks in the order that you expect to encounter them. For each one, make a brief note of what makes it recognisable. For example, you might look for a wooden footbridge after a path junction, followed by a signpost near a gate.

Before you start walking, take a moment to look at your surroundings. Notice the direction of the path, any obvious junctions and the features that will help you recognise your progress. You don’t need to memorise every little detail, but try to understand the route rather than relying entirely on a phone.

Now follow your planned route.

As you approach each landmark, check that it matches what you expected to find. Look at the surrounding features as well. If you reach a junction, for instance, notice which paths meet there and which direction you need to take next.

If something doesn’t match your plan, don’t simply keep walking and hope that it becomes clear. Stop somewhere safe, check your map and work out where you are before continuing. If you’re uncertain, retrace your steps to a known location rather than taking an unfamiliar shortcut.

When you reach your destination, think back over the journey. Which landmarks were easiest to recognise? Were any less useful than you expected? Did paying attention to the landscape help you understand the route?

Check Your Results

Once you’ve finished, review your landmark list.

Did you identify all three landmarks correctly? Did they appear in the order you expected? Could you use them to explain the route to someone else?

If a landmark was difficult to recognise, think about why. Perhaps it looked different from the angle you approached it, or maybe there were several similar features nearby. This is useful information for planning future routes.

The best landmarks are not necessarily the biggest. They’re the ones that help you recognise your location clearly and confidently.

Complete the Challenge

Now it’s time to share your navigation experience.

Take a photograph of one of the landmarks you used on your route. Choose a feature that helps demonstrate the challenge, such as a bridge, signpost, path junction or other recognisable point along the way.

Then share your evidence through your SGUK member profile.

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 #SGUKChallenge08 to your post.
5. Share your activity.

You can include a short description of the landmark and explain how it helped you follow your route. Avoid sharing private information or details that could compromise your safety.

Challenge 08 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 08 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.

Want to Push Yourself?

Try planning a different route in an unfamiliar but safe public area. Choose landmarks that are easy to identify and see whether you can follow your route without constantly checking your map.

You could also write simple directions for someone else to follow, using the landmarks as reference points. For example, instead of writing “walk for five minutes“, describe the feature they should look for before making their next turn.

This is a useful way to discover whether your route description is clear enough for another person to follow.

What’s Next?

You’ve now practised using the landscape to help you navigate, rather than treating the route as just a line to follow. The more you notice the features around you, the easier it becomes to build a picture of where you are.

You don’t have to complete the challenges in numerical order. Explore the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge collection and choose another challenge that interests you.

Learn the skill. Practise it. Then show us what you’ve done.

Learn. Practise. Master.

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