Of all the skills a hiker can learn, navigation is the most liberating. It’s the skill that turns a dotted line on a page into a real-world adventure, giving you the confidence to explore new trails and the security of knowing how to get home safely.
But for a beginner, the world of navigation can seem intimidating. In an age of incredible technology, do you really need to learn old-school map and compass skills? Can’t you just use your phone?
As we head into autumn here in the UK, the days are getting shorter and the weather more unpredictable.
I’ve personally experienced that heart-sinking moment when a familiar trail vanishes into the mist on a Peak District moor, and it’s a powerful reminder that reliable navigation is the most important piece of safety equipment you can have.
This guide isn’t about choosing one tool over another. It’s about helping you build a smart, reliable system that gives you both the “what” and the “how-to” for staying found.
Part 1: The Foundation – The Traditional Map & Compass
A physical map and a magnetic compass are the bedrock of outdoor navigation. Their greatest strengths lie in their simplicity and absolute reliability.
The Case FOR a Map & Compass
- They Never Run Out of Battery: This is their single greatest advantage. No screen to crack, no software to crash, no battery to die in the cold. They just work.
- The “Big Picture” View: A map allows you to see the entire landscape at once, helping you understand the terrain and plan escape routes in an emergency in a way that’s impossible on a small screen.
- They Build Real Skill: Learning to use them connects you to the landscape on a deeper level. You learn to read the contours of the land and understand your surroundings.
The Case AGAINST a Map & Compass
- There is a Learning Curve: You can’t just pick them up and use them effectively without some basic knowledge.
- They Can Be Slower: For a quick “where am I right now?” check, using a map and compass is slower than glancing at a GPS dot.
How to Get Started with a Map & Compass
You don’t need to be an expert orienteer. Mastering two basic skills will cover 90% of your needs on a trail.
Skill 1: Orienting Your Map This means aligning your map with the landscape around you.
- Place your compass flat on your map.
- Rotate the map and compass together until the red magnetic needle on the compass lines up with the “North” arrow on the map.
- Your map is now oriented. The path heading left on the map is the same path heading left in front of you. This simple skill is incredibly powerful for confirming you’re on the right track.
Skill 2: Understanding Contour Lines The squiggly brown lines on an Ordnance Survey map are called contour lines, and they show elevation.
- Lines close together = STEEP ground.
- Lines far apart = GENTLE or FLAT ground.
- Reading these helps you visualise the hills and valleys around you. If your map shows a steep climb ahead and the path in front of you is flat, you might be in the wrong place.
Take look at this example. The first image is the classic Yorkshire 3 Peaks Route up Ingleborough with a steep section. You can see ahead with your eyes that it gets steep before the summit.
Now you can confirm this on the map. The brown contour lines get very close together as the steep part hits.
Part 2: The Everyday Tool – Your Smartphone
Your phone is an incredibly powerful navigation device. With the right app and the right technique, it can be your primary tool.
Part 2: The Everyday Tool – Your Smartphone
Your phone is an incredibly powerful navigation device that you already have in your pocket. But an app is only as good as the route you load into it.
That’s where we come in. Here at BaldHiker, our passion is providing inspiration, detailed guides, and downloadable GPX files for fantastic UK walks. Here are a couple of examples where you can download GPX routes on BaldHiker:
Your job is simply to choose the best app to load that route into and follow on the trail.
The Case FOR a Smartphone
- Accessibility and Cost: You already own it. The apps are affordable, and the best routes are right here on our website.
- Incredible Functionality: Modern apps make following a pre-planned route incredibly simple, with your position shown as a dot on the map.
The Case AGAINST a Smartphone
This is the most critical section to understand. Relying solely on your phone for navigation is a significant and unnecessary risk.
- Catastrophic Battery Drain: GPS is one of the most power-hungry functions on your phone. In cold weather—a common reality for hikers—battery performance plummets. A phone that goes from 50% to 0% in an hour is a common story in mountain rescue reports.
- Extreme Fragility: They are not designed for the outdoors. One accidental drop onto a rock or into a puddle can render your only navigation tool useless.
- Screen Issues: Touch screens are difficult to use with gloves or in heavy rain, and the screen can be almost impossible to see in bright, direct sunlight.
Choosing the Right App for Your BaldHiker Route
Once you’ve found a walk you love on our site and downloaded the GPX file, you’ll need an app to open it. Here are the ones we recommend for UK hikers:
- The Gold Standard for UK Maps: OS Maps App For any walking in Great Britain, the Ordnance Survey’s own app is unbeatable. It allows you to import a GPX file and view it on the iconic, incredibly detailed OS Explorer (1:25,000) and Landranger (1:50,000) maps. You’ll see every footpath, bridleway, and contour line exactly as it is on the paper version. For its mapping quality, this is our top recommendation.
- The Best for User-Friendly Following: Komoot Komoot has a very clean interface and excellent turn-by-turn voice navigation features. It’s incredibly simple to import a GPX file from a source like BaldHiker and follow it on the trail, making it a fantastic choice for beginners who want a clear, simple display.
- The Powerful All-Rounder: Outdooractive (formerly ViewRanger) This is another powerful app that is excellent for importing and managing a library of GPX tracks. It offers a wide variety of map layers and is a reliable, robust choice used by many seasoned hikers.
The Essential How-To for Phone Navigation
Relying on your phone comes with risks, but you can manage them easily by following two non-negotiable rules:
DOWNLOAD MAPS FOR OFFLINE USE: This is the most critical step. Before you leave home, you must download the map for the area of your walk within your chosen app. This means your GPS location will still show on the map even when you have zero mobile signal in a remote valley.
USE AIRPLANE MODE & CARRY A POWER BANK: Once you start navigating, switch your phone to airplane mode. The GPS chip will still work perfectly, but it stops the phone from searching for a mobile signal, saving an enormous amount of battery. A small, fully-charged power bank is your essential safety net to ensure you can recharge if needed.
Part 3: The Modern Convenience – Dedicated GPS Devices
These are rugged, purpose-built tools from brands like Garmin that are designed, or a special watch, specifically for outdoor navigation. They are a great, reliable alternative to using a phone.
The Case FOR a Dedicated GPS
- Excellent Accuracy & Signal: They have powerful receivers that work well in dense forests or deep valleys.
- Rugged and Weatherproof: They are built to be dropped, rained on, and abused.
- Superior Battery Life: Their batteries are designed for multi-day use, often using AA batteries you can easily swap out.
The Case AGAINST a Dedicated GPS
- Significant Cost: They represent a serious financial investment.
- They Can Still Fail: While robust, they are still electronic and can break or run out of power.
- Clunky Interfaces: The menus can feel less intuitive than a modern smartphone app.
Part 4: The Expert’s Approach – The Redundancy System
So, what’s the answer? It’s simple. You don’t choose one. You build a smart system.
The golden rule of outdoor navigation is to never rely on a single point of failure, especially an electronic one.
Your Recommended Navigation System:
Primary Tool (Convenience): Use your smartphone with a quality app like OS Maps or AllTrails (with offline maps downloaded!). Or, use a dedicated GPS device. This is for your primary, minute-to-minute navigation.
Power Backup (Essential): Always carry a fully charged power bank and the correct cable. This is a non-negotiable part of the system.
Ultimate Backup (Reliability): Always carry the relevant physical map for the area, stored in a waterproof case, and a physical compass. You now have the basic skills to use them if your electronics fail.
This system gives you the speed and convenience of modern technology with the bombproof reliability of traditional tools.
Conclusion: Skill Unlocks Freedom
Navigation shouldn’t be a source of fear. By downloading maps on your phone, carrying a power bank, and having a physical map and compass as a backup, you are prepared for almost any situation.
You can focus less on worrying and more on the incredible views ahead.
Further Reading:
Ready to dive deeper into the most reliable navigation tool? Our next guide is the perfect place to start. How to Read an Ordnance Survey Map: A Beginner’s Tutorial
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