The Natural Navigator: 10th Anniversary Edition

I once had the experience of hiking into the remotest parts of the Comeragh mountains and had prepared myself with all the gear and navigational equipment. On reaching the top I met a local sheep farmer who had brought with him just an old transistor radio as he wanted to “listen to the match”. My conclusion was that men and women like him had a great affinity with the land, the mountains, the sea indeed the full eco system; it’s an affinity that our generation for the most part has sadly lost. Tristan Gooley’s wonderful and idiosyncratic book is a call to us to return to our roots and to open our eyes to the sights and sounds around us (even in the urban environment). What I liked most about it is that it is a pleasure to read and page after page is like a voyage of discovery into what first feels like another world but as you read this gradually begins to feel like our real home. Anecdotes and stories abound as do nuggets of hard science. The references to history and the myths of old add a colour to the landscape. By the time I had finished I was beginning to think that maybe the sheep farmer I had encountered was a direct descendent from the Vikings who had drifted inland in the sure knowledge that his intuition was more reliable than any GPS.

As a keen open water swimmer in the sea, I especially found the chapter on tides very interesting and useful, teaching myself and my fellow swimmers a greater understanding of the sea, therefore keeping us safer. The whole book was fascinating and factual. Definitely recommend .

Thoughtfully put together, a pleasure to read and lesson in observation and meaning to what you see! Country walks all the more enjoyable reading nature's signs. In the UK, for the most part we are too heavily populated and road developed to get seriously lost and out of touch of help, but practice these nature navigation skills here and take them on a real adventure to remote parts and this knowledge might well save your life, and perhaps as importantly act as confirmation that your more conventional aids are working as they should be (ì.è. nature's signs being the reliable reference!). A highly recommended read for those wanting a deeper connection with the wide world.

The sort of book one has to read slowly to absorb all the information - there's lots of it!Written in a relaxed style and made me realise how much we owe our forefathers and how little we know about the world around us.Well recommended.

A lot of waffle, very little practical advice, meandered and worked its way round a limited number of themes without really giving much useful information. It's not a book you could take out with you and has few 'how to' guides of things you could go out and do - which is what I was hoping. Lacked enough useful diagrams with the required detail. I came away from reading this having learned very little.