Trying out our newly honed map-reading skills

Having learnt how to hold a compass horizontally to allow the swinging needle to settle before turning it oh-so-carefully until the needle is lined up with the letter N (for north) what better way to put our skills into practice than by seeing if we can find out about some directions in our local area.

As well as compasses which we will share, we will each need a map of our local area, plus a clipboard and a pencil.  And our wits about us. 

And we’re off!  Leave the school and having crossed at the crossing, turn, yes, right.  Walk (in which direction is this?) until the next junction where we will turn left.  And a quick look at the compass confirms that yes, it’s northwest.  Go past this, fortified building…..

(which is on our right) the shadows of whose impressively strong and high fences throw fantastic patterns on the footpath!

Walk in the dappled shade of this ‘avenue’ of trees…..

and then turn left.  Pass this building…..

which has these symbols on the glass doors…..

on our way (in a south westerly direction) to the roundabout. 

Turn – yes, you’ve guessed it – left.  Direction?

Spot this building in the distance and walk along the path towards it.

Enjoy the pretty leaves on the trees…..

and the shadows they make (it is a lovely sunny day!)

Stop every now and again to make sure you know exactly whereabouts on the map we are and to check the lefts and rights (the mostly lefts – it is to be a ‘round trip’!)  Make sure you have a ‘turn’ at using the compass to tell which direction we are heading in.

Turn left again at the next pathway.  And goodness me; who is that enormous statue of? 

Zip down the grassy bank to check will you Aabis?  (See, I told you it was enormous!)

 

Quickly onwards (as it is almost break time!) until we pass this building on our right…..

then yes, turn left, at the next junction.  Up the hill (northwards again) in single file (along the narrow path) until we reach the place where we crossed the road at the start of our adventure.  And we are back - in time for break (just!) having marked our somewhat ‘circular’ route on our maps; having each had at least one turn at working out the direction we were heading in at our stopping points; and having hopefully found some way of ensuring we will remember whereabouts are each of the places we passed en route.  For our next related challenge will be to match (these) photographs with their position on the map.