UKH

Isn't it fun? Typically if I am staying in an unfamiliar place (for work) I'll look at the map, set off on the right direction, forget what the map looked like, bumble around a bit, get lost, find a way...

This evening I'm in Durham. Some unexpectedly closed footpaths sent me off in a different direction, through woods where the scent of wild garlic is so thick you could almost spread it on your bread, past spectacular rhododendrons, and back to the river again. So nice.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

I like doing that cycling. Having a compass on my Garmin helps)

In reply to BusyLizzie:


Nice one, next time remember where you went then go out the next night and destroy the rhodies, fekin invasive imported pest

In reply to BusyLizzie:


Getting lost in Cleator Moor isn't the same...

In reply to BusyLizzie:

... and quite exciting with hypothermia as well

oh - and may as well throw in benightment :o

In reply to BusyLizzie:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;

In reply to Ridge:

Oh yes indeed. You will not find me starting a thread entitled "The pleasures of getting seriously lost".

In reply to LeeWood:

Urk.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

In general, I very much agree with you....

In practice, doing this in Baltimore was not the hottest idea I have ever had!

In reply to BusyLizzie:

I've had some brill runs with failed attempts to memorise the map on holiday. Also helps if you are skilled in underestimating distances

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Bill Tilman used to say about his explorations in remote parts of the world

"I can honestly say I've never been lost, just mightily confused for several days"

In reply to Trangia:

A Crazy Ex Gf used to tell me "Your Never Lost....Only Exploring"

In reply to BusyLizzie:

When we first moved into our house I went for a run which led me through some woods. When I emerged, I expected to see something recognisable, but all I could see was miles of heathland and scrub. That was a bit of a 'B........r' moment. After a little thought, I reckoned that if I headed north I must hit a road eventually, which could be followed back home.

Many years later, I still chuckle when I go past the same spot - it's all so easy when you know the layout properly, but surprisingly empty given where it is. I'm currently taking pleasure in wrong-footing our new dog by taking him unexpectedly down unfamiliar paths.

In reply to stevieweesaxs107:

Reminds me of an old friend who said "There's no such thing as bad weather... Only wrong clothing choices"
(admittedly she had a gear store the size of a small village)

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Generally a great idea. Only once failed....

Ran out into South Dartmoor, with less than one map, less than one compass and in pretty thick freezing fog. It was OK though as I would navigate using the wind. It's a bit like taking a bearing on a sheep, all is good unless something moves! After 2 hours running in ever stranger territory, and following a wind which seemed to be doing a corkscrew type thing, I finally appeared below the fog on the opposite side of the moor.

The run back into the wind was cool to the say the least and eyebrows and hair were well frozen by the time I got back. I think I did about 30k, but to be honest I am not sure where I went!

I always carry a compass now, even if the map stays home!

In reply to BusyLizzie:
I find it really hard to put aside the trappings of knowing where I am but on one occasion I ended up in a wood in Warwickshire with no idea where I was. I bashed on in a direction I thought was right and came out on a road that I knew but was not at all where I thought I was. It was easy to sort out but also quite exciting to leave behind the certainty. However I don't intend to repeat the experience on high hills.

In reply to BusyLizzie:
I also recall a Winter traverse of Kinder from Hayfield with an Antarctic explorer/ Alpine guide who left his map & compass in the car. We crossed by heading into an Easterly wind and got to a known point above Edale. We returned by keeping the wind on our backs and ended up overlooking the Snake Pass as the wind had changed. Thanks goodness for the integrity of the Edge of the plateau which we followed back to a known point where we descended to Hayfield.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Strange thing, but I did exactly that yesterday evening...in Durham! Added about 2 unintentional miles onto my run but it was lovely. Bloody warm though.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

I got totally lost on Bodmin Moor once (no, twice!) I was used to running the coast path where you just keep the sea in sight, follow the yellow brick road and normally you're OK (there was that time in the dark when I wasn't, but, moving on...). So off I went into the moor with no map, no compass, no water. I ran up Brown Willy from the Jamaica Inn by a meandering route and on the way back managed to go north at one point when I should have gone south. It all looked much the same in both directions. In all directions, actually. I only realised for sure that I had made a mistake when some distinctive two-bladed wind turbines came into view that I knew were way off from where I should have been. I ended up running about five miles more than I meant to, including a dispiriting final two along the A30.

I remember that it spooked me that I could have got it so wrong, and I always take a compass now.

I also use the OS map app, which is brilliant, but other times I have deliberately gone out onto the moor in the dark or fog and tried navigating by dead reckoning after memorising the OS map. That is fun, when it is warm and I know that the worst that can happen is a wet but safe night out.

In reply to malky_c:

We probably passed each other

In reply to mbh:

Many, many, many moons ago, a party, middle of the night in the woods at a small hut. Firewood was running low, so a mate and I went to gather some.

We walked (always in a straight line!) and sobered up a bit, and walked some more (still straight ahead). we see a small fire and a hut in the distance and decide to ask them for wood.

It was our hut that we started from. we had done a full circle (while always walking straight ahead...)

had we decided "to turn" around and head back 5 min earlier, we would have been seriously lost...