I am pleased to announce that I will be providing the Silver NNAS Course for the Love Her Wild community in 2027. This is a perfect opportunity to take your skills to the next level if you have already completed the Bronze Award or have previous navigation experience from another beginner course. It is not a requirement for you to have completed the Bronze course before attending the Silver course, but it will help. Contact me to have a chat if you’re unsure.
The Silver National Navigation Award develops the navigation skills acquired at the Bronze level. It adds skills required to navigate to features and places some distance from paths and tracks. It teaches accurate compass work. It will also teach you to select suitable navigational techniques to cross open country. We also discuss and learn the techniques for navigating at night or in poor visibility, but we will not be walking in the dark.
Silver National Navigation Award courses are taught in areas with access to open country and involve periods where you’ll be navigating away from paths and tracks. You need to be comfortable walking in this kind of terain.
This course will be delivered by myself and another female colleague.
Course Objectives
- Utilise the skills and techniques of the Bronze Award in the context of Silver Award navigation strategies.
- Relate small hills, small valleys, prominent re-entrants and prominent spurs to their corresponding map contours. Use prominent hills, ridges, spurs and valleys as a means of navigation in good visibility.
- Use landforms and point features to orientate the map and as collecting and catching features.
- Use a compass to: Accurately follow a bearing; aim off; check the direction of handrails and other linear features.
- Deviate briefly from a compass bearing to avoid obstacles or difficult terrain and accurately regain the original line.
- Use back bearings to check route following accuracy.
- Measure distance on the ground in varied, open terrain using timing and pacing and make practical allowances for any discrepancies.
- Simplify legs using course navigation, attack points and fine navigation.
- Recognise dangerous or difficult terrain on map and ground.
- Plan and implement navigational strategies based on the above skills.
- Maintain route finding accuracy in poor visibility or darkness.
- Recognise a navigation error within a few minutes and apply appropriate relocation techniques.
- Understand how personal fitness and the nature of terrain affect route choice both at the planning stage and on the ground.
- Understand the potential consequences of fatigue and physical discomfort in demanding terrain and/or extreme weather conditions.
- Select appropriate clothing, equipment and first aid items for walking in open country in all weather conditions.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the Countryside Code, current access legislation and the environmental impact of walkers on the countryside.
- Understand the responsibilities of walkers towards other countryside interests such as farming, forestry and conservation.
- Low visibility and night navigation skills are discussed in principle, but we will not be walking in the dark.
Day 1
- Course introduction and theory
- Practical session outdoors
- Lunch break during practical session
Day 2
- Practical session outdoors
- De-brief and questions
- Assessment outcomes
Equipment
Maps and compasses are provided.
- Waterproofs (Upper and lower body)
- Warm layers (including spare items for any emergencies in your kit bag)
- Hats/gloves (appropriate to time of year)
- Any food/water/hot flask (there are no refreshments en route during the day)
- Personal medications and suncream
- Supportive and appropriate footwear
- Headtorch (for emergency use only)
- Gaiters are optional, but I do find they keep my boots drier for longer and protect my legs and trousers from the heather/gorse/bracken*
- A stopwatch or watch with a stopwatch function*
- Notebook, if you like to make notes*
- Sit mat*
- Walking poles if needed*
(*optional)
Upon successful completion of the course, the NNAS will send you a digital certificate that you can download. If you would like a printed certificate, there is an additional £10 charge payable at the end of the course. The NNAS Silver award is accredited by the Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework ( SCQF) at Level 4, and 2 SCQF credit points are awarded on completion. Whilst there is a very informal and friendly assessment process at the end of the course, if you are only interested in the course and don’t want the qualification, you do not have to be assessed. (The price is the same.)
More Information
If you have any questions or want more information, get in touch via the contact page, or email.
Accommodation – Accommodation is not provided for this course; however, the course is delivered in a very central Peak District location near Hathersage, with many accommodation options for all budgets within a small area. Public transport within the area is very good, and I actively encourage participants to take advantage of this to reduce the impact on the local environment and communities. Sheffield is only a 20-minute bus ride away with a regular and reliable service, so this may be an alternative location to base yourself. The Sheffield/Manchester train line is also accessible and within easy reach of the start of the course. If necessary, station pick-ups are available – please contact me to discuss. The main villages/towns that would also be good bases for the weekend are Edale, Hope, Castleton, Grindleford, Bamford, and Eyam – all within a 20 min drive or on the train/bus line.
Please note – full course information, including the meeting point, will be sent out approximately 4 weeks before the course.
Consent Forms – Medical Consent forms must be completed before the course starts. You can find the forms here.
NNAS Registration – For more information about the course content and syllabus, visit the NNAS website. Before attending this course, you must register with the NNAS via JustGo.
Love Her Wild courses, delivered by Emma Holland Mountain Training, have a no-refund, no-transfer policy. The only exception to this is as follows: if minimum numbers aren’t reached, you will receive a refund or a transfer to another course. You can read my own Terms and Conditions here.
