By: Blonde Two
Thomas (the hero of my new children’s book) would say that Ordnance Survey are, “… very clever and know how tall hills are and which way north is.” Are you clever? Do you know?
Today the Two Blondes will be engaged in the very important business of teaching fifteen other people (all ladies) how to find north (and indeed how to find south, east and west). We will also be showing them how to read and give grid references, how to judge distance on a map, how to walk on a bearing and how to write a route card that will enhance both their walk and their safety.
We are (with a few nerves) really looking forward to our first navigation workshop (in conjunction with and thanks to Dartmoor National Park) and have been really busy preparing. We have written some tasks, organised the weather (I hope), had several meetings, decided who is going to buy biscuits and packed the Jelly Babies. Thanks are also due to Ordnance Survey who have been very helpful, with the loan of some compasses and the donation of some most excellent navigation leaflets. Can you spot the Blonde Champions below?
If you are coming along today, see you soon! You could use a code sentence to tell us that you have read today’s post. How about, “Yellow Jelly Babies are very naughty!”
If you are not coming today then you need to ask yourself the question in the title of this blog post. If you don’t know the answer, then maybe you should consider taking up one of the spaces still available on our family workshops on Monday July 25th and Saturday September 3rd.
Costs: Adults (18+) £15; children (under 18) £10; family (2 adults/2 children) £35. For more information contact the National Park Centre, Princetown. Tel: (01822) 890414. Email: visit@dartmoor.gov.uk
My rucksack is packed, just needed to check the horses and I’ll be on my way. I’m wondering if tomorrow’s blog will have ponderings on our choice of sandwich fillings… ?
I’ll sign up if you promise me a dappled grey cob!
Hi Lucy – Good to meet you at last yesterday! I completely forgot to check the sandwich fillings, but just for the record, mine was ham that tasted of banana! Hope you had a lovely time and that we will see you out practising on Dartmoor soon!
Good to meet you too, and yes I did hear mutterings of banana tainting everything in a rucksack… For the record, mine was peanut butter and Marmite, mmm…
There’s an interesting building on the clifftop at Compass Point, South of the breakwater at Bude – a folly, originally built in 1840 to resemble the Tower of the Winds in Athens. The eight sides are engraved with points of the compass but they are now almost 21 degrees out of alignment with a compass reading today due to changes in magnetic declination since the time of construction – “North” has moved, but the building hasn’t! It makes an interesting educational tool.
That really is interesting, if I am correct, one day the building will be aligned with north again. They should have a party then!
Had a great day today with two blondes… up to princetown visitor centre for your navigation course where I learnt how to find north and navigate around a bog full of carnivorous plants. Then home in time to read your book “dart the river” to my two little boys. Spent the evening looking at the OS map, planning where I can lead the family next weekend. Thanks ladies!!
Perhaps they should have mounted it on a flat metal circle and rollers, like the summer house my grandfather built, then it could have been pushed round to suit the magnetic declination. Of course, grandfather’s summer house rollers were only to do with animal magnetism. They were installed so that the ladies could change into their swimming dresses without revealing all.