Map Reading and Navigation Workshop
Full day guided adventure for £45
Easy to access from London
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Map Reading
Learn how to read and understand a map!
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Navigation
Navigate around the rolling hills and lush meadows of Ashridge Estate
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Escape the City
Discover beautiful countryside to explore!
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Meet New Friends
Connect with like-minded women and create new friendships
Join Gutsy Girls on our new map reading and navigation training day! This timeless skill will benefit every hiker, from the novice to the expert, and is a great way to boost your confidence and feel more independent in the outdoors. We’ll be navigating our way around the rolling hills and lush meadows of Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire, discovering our route sans technology while mastering the art of map reading.
This is a fully guided, women only walk with a strong focus on learning new skills and refining ones you already have. Mastering the ancient art of navigation is key in being prepared and confident for more adventures in the outdoors, and this workshop will bring map reading and compass use back to basics, without daunting amounts of information. We’ll be testing our skills and finding our way through the hills and meadows of Hertfordshire in this really interactive workshop - tailored to your ability - while meeting like-minded women and making new friends.
Activities
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Ashridge Estate map Reading and Navication Skills, Herts
Join us on a 7 mile walk around the stunning Ashridge Estate in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, whilst learning a new and really useful skill, using maps, compasses and learning how to overcome navigation obstacles.
Distance: 7 miles (11km)
Difficulty rating: Intermediate
Pace: Fairly slow pace with stops for skills teaching and practise, covering 7 miles with breaks and lunch
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Your Guide
Ian Finch is a former Royal Marine Commando, now an expedition guide and adventure photographer. Ian is deeply passionate about nature and the power of time spent outdoors and enjoys guiding guests of all abilities to connect with nature by building confidence in the great outdoors with knowledge and practical skills.
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The Adventure!
Turning off the tech, and immersing ourselves in nature, we will work on these potentially life saving skills:
• Understanding the map, signs and symbols;
• Compasses: learn how to take a compass bearing;
• Understanding contours, what they mean and how to use them;
• How to foresee & navigate around obstacles and challenges that we encounter;
• And much more - this is a really interactive session which will be tailored to the group’s needs and knowledge.
Ashridge Estate Map Reading and Navigation Skills, Herts
Join us on a 7 mile walk around the stunning Ashridge Estate in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, whilst learning a new and really useful skill, using maps, compasses and learning how to overcome navigation obstacles.
Distance: 7 miles (11km)
Difficulty rating: Intermediate
Pace: Fairly slow pace with stops for skills teaching and practise, covering 7 miles with breaks and lunch
Your Guide
Ian Finch is a former Royal Marine Commando, now an expedition guide and adventure photographer. Ian is deeply passionate about nature and the power of time spent outdoors and enjoys guiding guests of all abilities to connect with nature by building confidence in the great outdoors with knowledge and practical skills.
The Adventure!
Turning off the tech, and immersing ourselves in nature, we will work on these potentially life saving skills:
Understanding the map, signs and symbols;
Compasses: learn how to take a compass bearing;
Understanding contours, what they mean and how to use them;
How to foresee & navigate around obstacles and challenges that we encounter;
And much more - this is a really interactive session which will be tailored to the group’s needs and knowledge.
Location
Starting from the small town of Berkhamsted in the Chilterns, our map reading and navigation training begins within easy access of London.
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Women-only group to learn new skills with
Add extra excitement and scope to any adventure you undertake in the future
Really interactive, expert instruction, tailored to your ability
Meet like-minded new friends
Small group experience created for solo guests
Easy to access from London by train
Discounts on OS maps and apps at the end of the workshop
Discover beautiful countryside to explore at the weekend!
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Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
10am at the back of Berkhamsted train station, Castle Ruin entrance.
We will walk for about 7 miles, stopping for learning, skills practise, breaks and a lunch stop in the woods
Circular route returning to Berkhamsted around 2:30pm
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The best way there is to take the train, we will meet at 10am outside Berkhamsted train station. There are direct links to London.
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Packed lunch and snacks
Sun hat
Sunglasses
Comfortable hiking clothes
Walking boots, walking shoes or sturdy trainers
Waterproof jacket
Sunscreen
Water bottle or water reservoir
If you have a compass and OS map of the area, please bring them too - if not, they will be provided
Backpack to carry it all!
Please note that you will need to arrive dressed for the activity.
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Sportswear like leggings, or hiking trousers / shorts and wicking t-shirts
Choose clothes without heavy seams that won’t rub and will dry quickly if it gets wet
Layers you can take on and off throughout the day
Walking shoes / hiking boots or trainers with good support and grip (not Converse!)*
Raincoat
*We highly recommend hiking boots or shoes for your safety and comfort when walking.
If you do choose to wear trainers, please make sure they are supportive and have good grip. You will not be allowed to join if you wear Converse or plimsole style shoes.
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Absolutely! This hike and workshop is created for anyone who loves being in the outdoors, and wants to know more about navigation and map reading. You just need to be happy walking approximately 7 miles over a day.
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Yes! Even if you've done some navigation before, this will be a really useful way to brush up on your skills and learn new ones just a stone’s throw from London. Your guide is experienced and knowledgeable and will be able to be really reactive with what is taught on the day.
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You just need to be happy walking around 7 miles over the course of a few hours.
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There is no upper age limit for our adventures - we have women up to 80 years old join us. The Gutsy Girls community is filled with fun, friendly and supportive women from 18-70+. We never ask your age, just that you are up for an adventure!
As a rough guide, most Gutsy Girls guests are 24-60 years old, with around 60% in their 30s-40s. After a day learning to surf, mountain biking over the hills, hiking to peaks for incredible views or exploring remote locations by paddleboard, age becomes irrelevant, as we are connected by our shared experiences.
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Definitely join alone, the vast majority of guests come along to our events and retreats solo.
Our aim is to connect you with like-minded new friends! We are a very friendly bunch, come as you are, we can’t wait to meet you!
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Whenever possible we use female instructors and guides on our day events and trips, however we cannot always guarantee this, simply because there are fewer female instructors available!
Our first priority is to work with the most highly experienced and considerate instructors and guides, who are patient,
friendly and as passionate as we are about building women’s confidence in the outdoors. Simply due to the ratio of men to women in the outdoors industry, sometimes this means our guides and instructors are male. We keep a close eye on the feedback our guides receive from our guests as we believe that overall this is more important than their gender.
We sincerely hope that as more women are introduced to adventure sports and activities, the amount of female guides and instructors in our industry will increase.
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Sportswear like leggings, or hiking trousers / shorts and wicking t-shirts
Choose clothes without heavy seams that won’t rub and will dry quickly if it gets wet
Layers you can take on and off throughout the day
Walking shoes / hiking boots or trainers with good support and grip (not Converse!)*
Raincoat
* We highly recommend hiking boots or shoes for your safety and comfort when walking.
If you do choose to wear trainers, please make sure they are supportive and have good grip. You will not be allowed to join if you wear Converse or plimsole style shoes.
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Packed lunch
Snacks
Waterproof jacket
Water bottle
Sun hat
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
If you have a compass and OS map of the area, please bring them too - if not, they will be provided
Backpack to carry it all!
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Please bring a packed lunch and some snacks to keep you going for the day.
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There will be limited toilet facilities on this hike.
We have toilets at the start point and finish point at the train station, after that we are on footpaths and over the landscape so nature provides the facilities. There is plenty of seclusion and woodlands en-route if you do need to nip off and we can be discreet about it for you.
We understand this is not ideal, and are on the look out for routes which have toilet facilities en route as we want to be inclusive of everyone's needs.
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Please only bring what you’ll need for the hike and what you can carry in your backpack as there is nowhere to leave extra belongings.
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Map and compass will be provided - but please feel free to bring your own if you have them!
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We will meet at 10am at the back of Berkhamsted train station, Castle Ruin entrance.
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10am sharp!
Please make every effort to arrive on time, to be fair to the group we cannot wait for latecomers.
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The walk should take around 4 hours, so including a stop for lunch you should be back at the train station by approximately 2.30 pm. Please ensure your travel is flexible though as things may take longer or shorter depending on the group’s speed, interests and needs!
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Train
The best way is to take the train, we will meet at 10am outside Berkhamsted train station. There are direct links to London.
Driving
We encourage car sharing, so if you are driving and would like to offer a space in your car to another guest, this can be arranged via our Whatsapp group.
There should be free parking at the rear of the station adjacent to Castle Ruins and the railway bridge.
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There should be free parking at the rear of the station adjacent to Castle Ruins and the railway bridge.
Another site to look for parking is Just Park.View in Google Maps
Another site to look for parking is Just Park.
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Once we have reached minimum numbers you will receive a WhatsApp group invitation to arrange travel together.
We cannot add you to the WhatsApp group unless you have booked a spot.
We are unable to tell you other guests' travel plans.
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We walk come rain or shine!
Whilst we hope the weather is kind to us, British weather is unpredictable. We will still walk in the rain, so please pack a raincoat if the forecast is wet.
If the weather conditions are unsafe, we will notify you as soon as possible to rearrange your adventure. Make sure your travel tickets are flexible in the rare instances this happens.
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Please leave the weather watching to us!
Our guides will be monitoring the weather conditions in the lead up to your session and we will be in touch if we need to cancel. (Please also see "What if it rains"!)
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We will stop for a drink at a local pub along the route, you may be able to use these bathrooms.
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We ride come rain or shine!
Whilst we hope the weather is kind to us, British weather is unpredictable. We will ride in the rain, so please pack a rain coat if the forecast is wet.
If the weather conditions are unsafe, we will notify you as soon as possible to re-arrange your adventure.
Make sure your travel tickets are flexible in the rare instances this happens.
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Please leave the weather watching to us!
Our guides will be monitoring the weather conditions in the lead up to your session and we will be in touch if we need to cancel. (Please also see "What if it rains"!)e fair to the group and we cannot guarantee we will be able to wait for you.
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Cancellations by You
You can cancel your day event booking with us at any time.
Your cancellation will be effective from the date that the cancellation is received in writing by email.
Cancellation Fees
If you cancel more than 30 days before your day event, we will refund you 50% of your payment.
If you cancel within 30 days of your day event, no refund will be given.
How to Cancel
If you want to cancel your booking, send us an email with your name, details about the event that you booked and the date that the event is due to take place on.
We will confirm cancellation of your booking.
If you’re due a refund this will be facilitated and be in your account within 5-10 working days.
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Resecheduling by You
As an alternative to trip cancellation we also offer the option of rescheduling. This can be done at any time on the condition that Gutsy Girls are able to fill your spot. There is a £20 admin fee for rescheduling if your spot is filled.
If we are not able to find a replacement to take your spot, then rescheduling will not be possible. Your payment is non-refundable, but no additional admin fee will be charged.
Just to note:
If you want to reschedule because the weather forecast for your event is looking like it will rain, it is highly unlikely that your spot will fill. We recommend joining us in the rain, bring a raincoat!
The sooner you notify Gutsy Girls that you want to reschedule the more likely it is that your spot will fill. Last minute rescheduling is not advised as we are unlikely to fill your spot at short notice.
How to Reschedule
If you would like to reschedule your booking, email us your name, details of the event that you've booked and the date that the event is due to take place.
Gutsy Girls will cancel your spot on our booking system and open the spot up for others to book. If another person books the spot, you will receive a credit voucher for the amount you paid, minus the £20 administration fee.
You can use your credit voucher to rebook onto any Gutsy Girls Day Event. The voucher is valid for 6 months from issue.
If you would like to use this towards the payment of a Gutsy Girls holiday, you'll need to get in touch via email.
Gutsy Girls will notify you if we are able to fill your spot.
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Please check your spam folders before contacting us. Hotmail in particular like to put our emails in spam. You'll need to add events@gutsygirls.co.uk and bookings@gutsygirls.co.uk to your safe list.
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Please contact the GG WhatsApp group you'll have been invited to. We will try to accommodate you but we need to be fair to the group and we cannot guarantee we will be able to wait for you.