SCHEME OVERVIEW

The leadership opportunities for Lowland Leaders are varied and far reaching, from the South West Coast Path to the Great Glen Way; walking in lowland areas can be no less spectacular than walking high up in the mountains. There are four stages in the scheme:

1. Attend a two-day training course, we normally run ours over a weekend with an evening session.
2. Complete a consolidation period to increase your experience and knowledge.
3. Attend and complete an assessment course.
4. Continue to stay current and up to date.

The syllabus is split into seven sections:

• Leadership Skills,
• Walking Skills,
• Planning,
• Map work and route finding,
• Equipment,
• Hazards and emergency procedures,
• Environmental Awareness, Conservation, Access and Land Ownership.

Detailed information on each of the above topics can be found in the Lowland Leader Handbook and the onus is on you to be competent in all of them by the time you come to assessment.

PREREQUISITES & REGISTRATION

1. You must be at least 17 years old.
2. You should have an interest in leading groups in lowland countryside.
3. You must have recorded a minimum of 10 varied walks in Lowland terrain where the use of a map is required (ideally these will be recorded on DLOG) which can have taken place at any point (pre- or post-registration).

If the above applies to you, here’s what to do next:

• Create an account on our Candidate Management System or log in if you already have one; and
• Register for the Lowland Leader scheme (this currently costs £44).

If you would like to discuss further, then please get in touch or there are a series of FAQ’s on the Mountain Training Website.

TRAINING COURSE DETAILS

Course Fee - £130

Our two-day fun and informative training courses are based in Shropshire and are nonresidential. The course fee includes tea / coffee, course materials and expert tuition from passionate, friendly and professional instructors.

Course Program

The program will normally follow this format, but changes may be made to make the best use of venues and weather conditions. On day one please ensure you have a day bag packed and ready to go. This should include food and water for the day as we will lunch on the hill.

Day	Morning	Daytime	Evening
1	Start 9am Introductions. Equipment & weather and fundamentals of navigation.	Route finding, hazards, environmental issues, fitness and walking skills.	Route Planning Exercise. Review of day 1. Finish 6pm.
2	Leadership & group management, weather and navigation practice.	Navigation practice, emergency procedures and environmental issues.	Debrief and action plan. Finish 5pm.

Course Close

We will aim to finish by 5pm on the final day to allow time for people to travel home.

Kit List

You will need the following items as a minimum for the course:

• Personal hill/mountain clothing sufficient for 2 days
• A small day rucksack 20-40 litre
• Watch (with a digital stopwatch) not just a phone
• A compass (Silva type 4 or similar)
• 1:25000 map of the area (ideally laminated)

N.B. A full kit list will be provided when you book your course

ASSESSMENT COURSE DETAILS

Course Fee - £130

We run our two-day Lowland Leader assessment in Shropshire and tea / coffee is included in the course. Our assessments are run in a friendly manner and where appropriate we will also extend your knowledge so that you go away with some handy hints and tips to pass on to others.

Prerequisites for Assessment

To successfully complete your assessment you will need to provide evidence of the following:

1. A minimum of 20 quality days (the more the better); and
2. An in date 16 hour first aid course.

Kit List

As this is an assessment, we don’t provide a kit list, but we do expect you to turn up with all the personal and group kit required by a Lowland Leader.

Assessment Tasks

There will also be a few assessment tasks to complete prior to the course which will be reviewed during the course.