In this report I will be explaining the description of the walk and what we had to do whilst undertaking the activity, with recommendations in ways we could have improved the route.
The knowledge that we had to know is how to table a bearing and lead the group in the correct direction of the bearing by using the north needle dependent on the bearing. Everyone had their own leg of the route in which we had a bearing and the description of the leg we was going to walk. Furthermore we also had to know how to read map symbols so that we can relate it back to when we are doing the walk to see if we are traveling in the right direction by analysing the area around us and relating it back to the map. Finally we had to understand and effectively use six figure grid references so we have a near enough precise location of where we are traveling.
The planning of the route was an interesting factor of the activity. We had to break up the route in separates legs so that we could choose the leg we wanted to walk. After we had chosen a leg we then analyse the amount of distance we was traveling and how long it would take us, by using the scale at the bottom of the map and understanding if we was walking at 4 km/h how long it will take is each leg. Then we had another look at the map and looked what was around us to describe the leg of the route for example, if there was a river; if there was any main roads or country roads we could travel on; what map symbols could I see that I would see when doing the walk. However undertaking the planning there was confusion in which the way participants were taking down grid references and we noticed this as for one leg of the route there is two grid references, the last grid references should be the same for the second leg of the route at the start. We noticed that there was a few errors and changed them so it was correct.
As we was in a group there was considerations that we had to look at. Some of the considerations where the weather if it was hot or sunny so we had to look at the weather to see if there was any weather warnings or updates that we needed to know about so we can arrange suitable clothing. We also had to bring resources that we require so we can undertake this task for example: water, food or medication for hay-fever. Other factors like if someone was going to be ill or becomes dehydrated what are the implications of this and what we can do to help the situation.
The skills that I used when doing the activity were leadership skills like communication with the whole group so everyone understood if we were walking in the correct direction. Another skill that I used is to change the bearing on the compass and orientate myself in the right direction to another leg of the journey. I also found it easy to understand the map symbols to relate to the route this helped me whilst I had my leg of the route as it was near a river. Furthermore another skill I used understanding people’s abilities so that I could walk at a pace that was comfortable for everyone.
Overall I think this was a great activity because I successfully travelled from the river and housing estate to the bridge which is located 0.7km away from my starting point. We had a time that we had to be back to the coach by 3:30pm, this meant that everyone had to work efficiently to avoid over running off time this also meant, you couldn’t make any major mistakes whilst taking your leg of the route. Furthermore I began to feel uncomfortable towards the end of the journey as we were walking on a rocky path that leads to the coach. I would recommend you to wear walking boots as I wore trainers which began to feel very warm and began to hurt the sole of my feet.
Furthermore the recommendations that I would recommend you to take notice off is purchase a lot of water whilst going out due to the heat and it could cause dehydration which could result in fainting dizziness and could lead to collapsing. Also walking boots or walking trainers would be ideal in the case as 10 kilometres is a long time to walk and having uncomfortable trainers would make this journey terrible and cause a lot of irritation. Also make sure that everyone is comfortable taking bearings which is vital if you want to go in the right direction and end up at the finishing point. Finally my biggest recommendation is to wear sun glasses and hat protection as there are many flies and insects that will irate you whilst you’re on the walk and long fields with yellow pollen that could get in your eyes.