The Silver NNAS Award enables navigation in the countryside using skills acquired at bronze level and adding skills required to navigate to features and places some distance from paths and tracks. Accurate compass work is required and an ability to use appropriate navigational techniques to go across country in some cases, eg. choosing an appropriate attack point.

Silver NNAS Award – The learning outcomes: (additional to those of the Bronze Award)

• Devise a strategy for a navigational stage, to break it down into ‘coarse’ and ‘fine’ navigation and to use clear features en route to check that they are ‘on course’.
• Understand and apply the following components of a navigational strategy ‘aiming off’, ‘attack points’, ‘collecting features’, simplifying navigation, and apply them in varying terrain.
• Demonstrate an understanding of contour features, both large and small, on the map and on the ground.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the navigation physical and factors affecting route choice.
• Judge distance accurately on the map and on the ground.
• Plan a safe walk or route involving Silver award skills and strategies.
• Employ simple relocation strategies when lost.
• Use a compass to follow accurate bearings and to check the direction of footpaths or other linear features on both map and ground.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the effects of fatigue and physical discomfort brought on by navigating in demanding countryside and/or extreme weather condition. Knowledge of basic first aid is also expected.
• Demonstrate knowledge and application of the Countryside Code and current access legislation as for the Bronze level together with an appreciation of basic environmental factors in mixing ‘man with nature’ (e.g. footpath erosion and methods of dealing with it), and responsibilities towards other countryside interests like farming, forestry and conservation.

The course will usually be run over two days with at least 12 hours of contact time with your tutor. Towards the end of the course there will be an assessment of the understanding and skills that you have learnt.