Navigation Basics

Always hold the compass flat – it allows the needle to move round freely
Take care of your compass – a damaged compass could become inaccurate
Always use an up to date map as old maps may be missing information or may even detail landmarks that are no longer there.
Replace your compass if it develops a large air bubble. Work on the safe side!!

Mountain Safety and Sense
Always tell someone your route for the day – even if it is a simple route. The make sure you stick to the route you planned!
Make sure you are properly equiped and fit and capable enough to complete your chosen route with ease.

A list of mountain safety recommendations:
DO wear good walking boots and wear or carry waterproof jacket and trousers
DO carry a map and compass and know how to use them
DO carry a whistle and know the international distress signal
DO prepare a route card and leave a note of your proposed route
DO carry enough food and drink for more than a full day on the hills
DO carry a survival bag and spare clothing
DO carry and ice axe, crampons and torch in winter and be proficient in their use

DONíT go to the hills alone if you are inexperienced
DONíT overestimate your own abilities
DONíT underestimate the variability of Scottish Mountain Weather at any time of the year

True, Grid and Magnetic North
True North and south are located at the geographic poles.
Grid North is the direction to which all of the Ordanance Survey maps are orientated. All the map bearings that are taken use grid north.
Magnetic North is the direction that a compass points to. In the UK this is approximately 5o west of grid north.
The difference between grid and magnetic north is referred to as the magnetic variation and must be taken into account when translating bearings from or onto maps.

So how do you deal with magnetic variation?
Because the information we take from a map is based on grid bearings and the information from a compass is based on magnetic bearings, when we move from one format to the other we must take this into account. This is simply by either the subtraction or addition of the magnetic variation (5o) to convert the bearing.

One system is simply:

Grid to mag(netic) – ADD (i.e. add to the grid bearing)
Mag to grid – GET RID (i.e. subtract from the magnetic bearing)