This was what I had been waiting the best part of a year for. Finally, on 7th December, it started: The Lowland Leader Training course with a company called ‘Beyond the Edge’ based in Grindleford.

So what was the course like?

The instruction was at an extremely high level. I was very impressed by the knowledge, depth and breadth of experience and also by the great sense of humour of the people delivering the course.

We were mostly outside, storm dodging… Check out the surface pressure chart below for our first day! Yes that’s right, 50 mph winds with 70 mph gusts!

An ideal day to stay low then…

We covered, over two days, loads of woodland navigation using a mix of features, legal rights of way, ‘limits’ of the lowland terrain, how to manage farms, tree and fungi identification, and how to help someone cross a stile with mobility issues. At one point we were actually stopped by a member of the public who was asking us, pretty legitimately to be fair, why on earth we were trying so hard to cross the slippery stone stile when there was a perfectly well-maintained wooden gate 2 meters in front of us! ‘So what it is, yeah, we’re actually roleplaying someone who has decided not to use the gate…’ They totally did not understand this but it was still very funny to try and explain ourselves.

Despite two terrible weather forecasts we were out and mostly sheltered on both days which is just testament to the brilliant leadership and decision making of those running the course.

My weather forecast training came in very handy when I looked at the surface charts both mornings. It all seems to be coming together for the lowland environment for me which is a relief. It sounds strange but I prefer training in tough conditions because it makes the outcome so much more satisfying when you get back to base.

I would highly recommend anyone considering a Lowland Leader training course to book in with Beyond the Edge. They also have their own hotel, the Sir William, which made for an ideal place to stay both nights! Winner all round.

Looking forward to the next Quality Lowland Days and sometime in 2025…Assessment! Better start practicing tree identification because it is definitely not my strong point!