Pure Outdoor News

17th October: Teaching Trad Climbing

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:58:00 +0000

Great day out with Skye and Zora from High Peak Climbing (Sheffield Uni) at Tremadog. Zora ended up with a nice pitch up BooBoo slabs

17th-18th October: Last Minute Places Available

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:50:00 +0000

3 Places available, last minute.

Lake District Silver NNAS Training & Assessment

Phone Guy on 07894213548

8th-9th October: Gold NNAS, North Wales

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Just 2 on board over this couple of days meant we had loads more opportunity to get through the Syllabus.

Thursday involved a navigation afternoon and night nav over the Pinnacles, near Capel Curig. Friday we went up behind the Pen y Gwryd for some really intense navigation!

Well done Steve and David who passed the Gold NNAS!

7th October: Climbing, North Wales

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:27:00 +0000

Climbing with David & Steve.

Firstly we went to Bochlywd (5 Pitch Route), followed by a short walk and a trip up Milestone Buttress (Pulpit Route)

Pics to come

3rd-4th October: Bronze NNAS, Peak

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:26:00 +0000

Wow! A windy day up on the Peak moorland! 5 of us went out for a Bronze NNAS Training and Assessment.

Geoff took day 2 and a great time was had by all.

Thanks to Martin for the photo! There was a permanent rainbow (in the background)

Windy Day!

27th-28th June: Silver NNAS, Lakes

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:56:00 +0000

Sweltering heat made life quite tough this weekend.

Day one took us eventually up to the Old Man of Coniston after feeling our way around the top of levers water up to Swirl How with a contour only map!

A difficult descent was made all the better with a cold drink in the Black Bull in Coniston!

Day two, we made our way to Tilberthwaite where the group had planned their route for the day. Nobody else in sight!

Feedback:

Very enjoyable, practical approach and tailored to the attendees.

Great weekend on the silver course learning new skill and reinforcing self learn skills in a relaxed atmosphere. Guy's patient, taking time to clearly explain various map reading/navigation techniques and we all had a good time while we where doing it. Well recommended. Have already booked on the Gold course.

Very intuitive, building on skills learnt on the bronze course. I was fortunate enough to stay on in the Lakes for a couple of days to consolidate the training. I left the Pictorial Guides in the car and used my new skills very effectively. Guy has an excellent manner and I can thoroughly recommend the course

26th June: Scrambling Day, Lakes

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:54:00 +0000

And off we went up Pavey Ark, a group of customers from previous courses getting together for a free day out!

First scramble for some people, first chance to go for Jack's Rake for others.. a great day out

20th-21st June: Silver NNAS, Wales

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:51:00 +0000

A couple of nice days out in the hills here with a group of 4, all of which have previously completed a Bronze Course.

We spent the first day adventuring around Tryfan Bwlch and Tryfan Bach, the second day took us from Pen Y Pass over and around to the Horns, then back to the car park.

Course Feedback

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We both thouroughly enjoyed the silver NNAS course. The instructor, Guy, is a pleasant, patient, easy going person and has a range of teaching techniques to help facilitate learning. In our small group there seemed to be a varied level of knowledge between the students, but Guy was able to accomodate our different learning paces to enable all group members to successfully complete the course.
At the start of the weekend we recapped on our somewhat rusty bronze level skills and were suprised how easily we regained our confidence with these techniques. Then it was out into the wild wet Welsh hills where we were soon learning new skills. On the assessment day, we found that we were confident in route planning to reach our set objectives, and we felt extremely pleased with ourselves when we successfully completed them with little prompting required.
After completing the course and receiving our certificates we had a satisfying sense of achievment which left us feeling motivated to go on to try other outdoor activities, and we are looking forward to taking up the opportunity of a hill scrambling taster session in the future.
We also took the opportunity whilst staying in Wales to make the climb to Snowdon summit, the fantastic views on a sunny day are well worth the up hill toil.

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This was the first course in Wales so everyone was feeling their way around. We probably now have a better knowledge of good cafe's, slopes to climb, non-existent paths, youth hostels etc. I believe I learned more on the first day although it may not have appeared so. The knowledge was swishing around in the litte brain and on the second day things started to click and I felt more confident as exercises reinforced what I had been holding onto tenuously on the first day. As with all courses, I know it is just the start and I really need to get out there practising to become slick at using aspect of slope (If I can find any besides Box and Leith Hills in Surrey!)and using back bearings at the drop of a hat to pinpoint my position.

10th June: Rock Climbing, Peak

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Rock Climbing..... With about 80 twelve year olds.....

Then it rained!

Rock Climbing Taster sessions now available, please get in touch for more information.

13th-14th June: Bronze NNAS, Peak

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:34:00 +0000

What a belter. Turned out to be a sunny and dry weekend. With 4 on the course this weekend we headed out and practiced heaps of skills over the weekend, explored some top cafes and fine pubs!

Thanks everyone. Course report attached.

Hopefully see you all back in October for the next stage.

Course Feedback:

Si and I had never done anything like this before and we were quite nervous before meeting up on the first morning. But as soon as we met with Guy and the rest of the team the excitement set in. Guy was really patient and explained features, facts, figures really clearly so within 10 minutes i had learn't loads! Throughout the weekend Guy was on hand to give advice, answer questions and to have a chat about his amazing life! We really lucked out with the weather, hot, hot, hot all weekend in the Peaks which made the scenery even more spectacular. This course was ideal for us beginners and it has now given us the taste for achieving Silver and maybe one day Gold! We'd recommend campers to the North Lees campsite too for a well earned rest in the evenings.

Hi Guy i feel i gained some valuable experience in how to use a compass and map read ,this i hope in the long term will lead to me gaining my wgl award possibly next year.

8th-9th June: Silver NNAS, Peak

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:17:00 +0000

A Mid-Week course this time and the agenda was a Silver Training & Assessment on which everyone managed to pass the syllabus. We went up onto Kinder on the Tuesday and practiced loads of Slope Aspect, everyone leaving pretty confident!

Thanks Sue for the pictures

Thanks everyone!

Guy

Course Feedback

Really enjoyed the course and was made to feel very comfortable. Guy, our course leader, was very positive, encouraging and a good laugh!

I had attended a bronze course, but lacked a lot of practise - told Guy this, and he made sure we had lots of practise. Great location, great company, great course, great leader! Sue

6th-7th June: Bronze NNAS, Peak

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:10:00 +0000

With a full course on this weekend we were bound to be in for a good time adventuring out into the Peak District. It rained most of the weekend which made life difficult but we made the most of it and had chance to put things into practice throughout the weekend!

Thanks Everyone!

Guy

Course Feedback

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the course this weekend - even the bad weather didn't dampen my spirits. Normally I'd never venture out in such weather!

I joined this course with some basic knowledge of navigating which I'd learned from books. I wanted to cement what I knew as even the best book can't beat proper face-to-face instruction.

I'd decided that if I came away from the weekend with just one new skill I'd be happy. I came away with several and, just as important, the confidence to use them.

Each topic was explained clearly with ample opportunity to ask questions and put it all into practise. The big bonus was the friendly personable style of instruction where everybody felt at ease even if we got it wrong (which we did).

I'm looking forward to putting my new skills to the test out on the hill and can't wait for the next course in 3 weeks.

30th-31st May: Bronze NNAS, NYM

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:52:00 +0000

A very pleasant weekend in the heat of the North York Moors. A pristine weather weekend meant we had good opportunities to learn ways of getting around the hills by looking more thoroughly at the map and thinking about ways of using a compass.

Good work all round!

Course DeBrief should be on its way!

Course Feedback

Enjoyable, useful, + hope to put it to use soon + in future on my many Motorhome trips planned THANKS +++

Last Minute Availability

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:46:00 +0000

There is last minute availability on the following Navigation Courses. Please note - the 10% discount on Silver courses is still available.Just type in 'silverspring' at checkout.

13th-14th June, Bronze Navigation Course in the Peak District - 2 Places

8th-9th June, Silver Navigation Course in the Peak District - 3 Places

20th-21st June, Silver Navigation Course in North Wales - 3 Places

27th-28th June, Silver Navigation Course in the Lake Distrcit - 2 Places

Thanks!

Guy @ Pure Outdoor

10% Discount @ Cotswold Outdoor to all customers

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:28:00 +0000

www.cotswoldoutdoor.com

This discount is available to all customers, either in-store or online.

Please let me know if you are interested, if you have a course reservation - I can forward the code to you!

Guy

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk

Only 6 places on Silver Courses 10% Discount!

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Spring Season Discount!

There are currently 8 places remaining on silver NNAS courses this spring. Just as a little reminder that NavTraining.co.uk is still here and that courses are more fun when they have more people on board I am offering 10% discount on the remaining 8 places! There is also a price increase in Autumn, so make sure you take advantage of this opportunity..

Just type in 'silverspring' when you checkout after booking online and £9.50 will be knocked off your order. If you are booking for more than one person, just let me know... or book online twice!

Its raining really hard here.... roll on June!

2009 Courses available for online booking

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:55:00 +0000

Lots of courses based in North Yorkshire, North Wales, Lake District and the Peak District now available for online booking.

http://www.navtraining.co.uk/dates.htm

6th-7th Dec: Silver NNAS, Peak District

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:25:00 +0000

A bit of a change this week, a write up from a course participant. Thanks everyone for another great weekend.

Here goes,

An absolutely perfect weekend in the Peak District for this Silver Navigation Course. The weather was crisp, dry and sunny on both days which allowed two full days of practical learning and invigorating walking. Having briefly recapped on the skills acquired on the Bronze course, we set off on the Saturday for White Edge & Big Moor (White Peaks) applying components such as 'aiming off', 'attack points', 'collecting features’ ; how to employ simple relocation strategies when lost (aspect of slope) and numerous uses of the compass. As an added interest for us, the rock climbers old and young were out in force on Curbar/Froggatt Edge which provided a somewhat momentary distraction.

On the Sunday we headed for the village of Edale (Dark Peaks) and ascended some 600+ metres to Grindslow Knoll. We practiced all our new and very useful skills along the way and particularly focused on ‘being lost’ and confirming a definite position by taking bearings and studying and fitting the aspect of slope which, having now mastered, am sure will be an invaluable technique for the ever increasing navigation ‘tool box’. On reaching the summit we were met by a very strong and cold wind and a heavy dusting of snow and ice to negotiate which certainly made the training and walking very challenging and invigorating indeed!! We followed the top edge of the valley around to Upper Tor and Nether Tor in the direction of the very amusingly named (well we all thought so!) ‘Ringing Roger’. As the ground was frozen and the peaty mud was solid, walking was made slightly easier than it may otherwise well have been. The stunning views both down and across the valley were spectacular and a quick descent down Golden Clough to the village pub ended a very rewarding and instructive day.

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend in the very capable hands of a proficient and professional leader, so ‘thank you’ Guy.

29th-30th Nov: Bronze NNAS, Peak District

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:18:00 +0000

BRRRRRRRR! Even colder than last weekend! Here we have some really frosty photos from a great weekend out. It was very cold - but getting out of the inversion which kept Hathersage in the cold all day paid off with some spectacular views and a fantastic mid afternoon glow. Some photos from Sunday show the amount of frost which had gathered over Back Tor.

Thanks to all that came along and for Becky for helping out!

22nd-23rd Nov: North Yorks Bronze SNOW!

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:23:00 +0000

Wow - What an impressive weekend. I have added lots of photos to this blog just to show the amount of snow we had! In North Yorkshire!

This made for tough going over the weekend. Saturday started fine, not many people out but we took a little adventure around the 'Hole of Horcum'. There were several occasions when the howling wind and continuous snow allowed the sun to peek through and give some glorious views.

8th-9th Nov: Silver NNAS, Lake District

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:17:00 +0000

I have not got too much to write about this one. I certainly dont have any pictures. The weather was absolutely awful! Very Wet - Extremely Windy and all in all - Very Challenging.

The group, which has shrunk in size due to a few not able to make the course - did extremely well in the prevailing conditions and all passed the Silver Award with flying colours.

See you soon!

1st-2nd Nov: Silver NNAS, Peak District

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:35:00 +0000

With the weekends objective to advance the navigation skills we decided to go venture off the beaten track into areas of land recently made available by the CROW Act. We did not see many others and had some good opportunities to practice some essential skills. Sunday brought some worse weather and we decided to tone down our planned objective of Kinder to try out some testing navigation over the top of Back Tor. We had some really pleasing results following bearings over rough ground! Hopefully a big boost in confidence for all!

Some photos attached!

Unfortunately the bad weather meant a lot of the photos turned out very blurry! Maybe for the best!

18th-19th October: Course Report - Bronze NNAS, Peak District

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Some more pictures attached here from the recent Bronze Navigation course. Mixed weather but lots of opportunities to practice the techniques required! We also developed the 'all 4's technique' as you can see in the pictures!

Thanks everyone for a great weekend. See you soon!

20th-21st September: Course Report - Bronze NNAS, North Yorks

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:42:00 +0000

The sun came back to the coast for the weekend. I think this was one of the best weather weekends of the summer. Top stuff! With a top group we managed to pack in a load of essential navigation skills and enjoy the weather and great views. The bracken was pretty high in places as you will see in the photos!

Thanks Everyone!

P.S The really big 'Snake-Like' thing in the photo must be the biggest Adder I have seen in the North York Moors!

20th-21st July: Course Report - Silver NNAS, Lake District

guy@pureoutdoor.co.uk (Guy Wilson) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:32:00 +0000

Hello All, It is supposed to be summer - It is however England, so it rained for most of the day on Saturday and threatened on Sunday! Still, we managed to cover a whole lot of navigation skills in this weeks Navigation Course! Thanks to those who contributed photos, this week is witness to the 'Blog Video Premier!' Unfortunately the weather determined the quality of footage! Look forward to seeing some of you on advanced courses in the near future! Thanks to Dave for assisting on the Saturday!