In the late 70's and 80's when I used to, had to, do a lot of navigation in the hills the Magnetic Variation was around 6 degrees.
If you ignored it then, you could get yourself in a whole load of bother. But like you say Travs, other skills are also important and nowadays unless micro navigating MV is probably largely ignored.
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
Here are some navigation hints or maybe not from wayback when the forum had a sense of direction.
https://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/show...ght=navigation.
Loads more here :-
https://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/sear...earchid=513249
A lot of names there that are certainly missed on the current forum
The older I get the Faster I was
Last edited by anthonykay; 29-10-2021 at 03:28 PM.
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
Never bothered with magnetic variation in UK, till I went to New Zealand. It currently stands at 23 degrees (this is not a typo, it really is 23). It was doing my head in then, as I was so aware that one mistake could send me to the wrong mountain range,never mind missing a trig by a few yards.
Don't roll with a pig in poo. You get covered in poo and the pig likes it.
We had capers in our sauce tonight, along with chives, tarragon and gherkins, ( I call it Sauce Tata) went lovely with our allotment veg and salmon. We navigated it perfectly.
I got so lost in a race once that I brought a new compass - It didn't help: A bad workman blames his tools..
6hrs in to my first LDMT, i was so fatigued that i couldn't operate the compass... was absolutely convinced the needle was pointing south. It was so vivid that i got the compass out again the next day to check it.
Amazing what tiredness can do to your ability to operate.
Surprising how easy it is to convince oneself the compass is wrong, when tired. I want to go this way, I know I must go this way, the compass is wrong telling me I must go that way.
Blame resulting c***k up on magnetic rocks, damn things are hiding all over the country waiting to pounce.
Don't roll with a pig in poo. You get covered in poo and the pig likes it.
I first came to know Ilkley in 1963 and have actually lived in Ilkley for over 10 years.
One night on its moor, cold, wet, miserable, I was dutifully following my compass south to get home and then, having wondered why Ilkley had not appeared, remembered that Ilkley actually lies north of its moor - and has done since Roman times.
Last edited by Graham Breeze; 29-10-2021 at 09:19 PM.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".