All Roads Lead Ö÷²¥´óÐã: Teaching my celebrity students the art of natural navigation
Post categories: bbc two,Ìýentertainment,Ìýnature
| 12:33 UK time, Tuesday, 4 October 2011
A little over three years ago I set up a school to teach the rare art of .
Since then I have run courses, indoors and out, teaching hundreds of people how to find their way using only the sun, stars, moon, plants, animals, weather and buildings.
When my book on the subject came out I was delighted to learn that there were tens of thousands of people interested in finding their way using nature.
The Ö÷²¥´óÐã got in touch and asked whether there might be a way to introduce millions more to this very unusual world.
The Natural Navigators, left to right: Stephen Mangan, Alison Steadman, Sue Perkins and Tristan Gooley
The plan was for me to teach , and the basics of natural navigation and then send them on three journeys together.
For each journey I would write a short guide, prompting them to look for certain clues along the way to the next place they would be visiting.
Setting up any natural navigation challenge is always a bit of a Goldilocks problem: the routes must not be too easy or too difficult.
For All Roads Lead Ö÷²¥´óÐã we tried really hard to mix the right level of challenge with areas that would be fascinating for the participants, and therefore the viewers - and it meant that more than two-thirds of the routes we considered never made it to the filming days.
The producer, , and I travelled to the areas that had been chosen by the participants to prepare the routes.
I was focusing on the natural navigation clues and challenges, whilst Zoe was thinking logistics.
We met some truly extraordinary individuals, from a ranger in a peat bog to in stone circles.
Sue, Stephen and Alison would travel to Cornwall first, then Ireland and finally Wales and Liverpool.
I knew that we would have to make the challenges get steadily harder from a gentle start, but nature does not always follow the same agenda.
In some places there were good clues everywhere when I wanted few, and in Ireland and Wales there were many misty moments when I found it very challenging myself and feared for the prospects of my students.
Stephen Mangan, Sue Perkins and Alison Steadman finding their way home
The first two days of filming were the training days. We met on day one at , near Chichester.
I didn't think anyone else would feel this, but for me there was a real sense of a first day at a new school: it was a morning of meeting new people, trying to do what the headmaster (I mean director) Andrew told us to do, without looking a fool in front of everyone else.
I didn't learn until later that day that for Alison and Stephen, this was a new experience too.
Although they are of course hugely experienced in TV, they told me they had never done an unscripted outdoor series like this before.
Added to all this, nobody had ever tried to make a series about natural navigation before, let alone release three people into the wild during it.
The challenge of getting three people confident enough to navigate naturally on their own in two days is big enough, without any cameras - if something takes five minutes without cameras it has the potential to take an hour or more with them.
Added to this we had some bad luck with the weather.
Improvisation was called for, cardboard models of the moon were thrown to one side as they grew soggy in the rain, and I ended up using a piece of chalk to sketch the moon on a stone floor under the shelter of the porch of the college.
We had a lot of fun, largely due to the patience and good humour of all involved.
Andrew, Zoe, myself and all the crew did our best to adapt to the unknown, and Stephen, Sue and Alison did what they couldn't help: they made us laugh, a lot. (I learned that it's quite easy to tell when it's time for entertainers to take on another challenge: they start spontaneously breaking into song and dance.)
At the end of two very full days it was time for me to release my students to their own journeys.
I think we all worried: Would they find it impossible? Would they find it too easy?
Would they all have tantrums when stuck on for hours with no prospect of escape except the memory of me explaining something once a few weeks ago?
If the first training morning had felt like going to a new school, then the end of day two felt like dropping Alison, Stephen and Sue at the gates and waving goodbye.
No tears now, be brave. It had been an experience unlike anything I have ever done before.
Tristan Gooley is the natural navigation expert for All Roads Lead Ö÷²¥´óÐã.
All Roads Lead Ö÷²¥´óÐã starts on Wednesday 5th October at 8pm on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Two.
For further programme times, please visit the upcoming episodes page.
Comments made by writers on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the Ö÷²¥´óÐã.
Comment number 1.
At 6th Oct 2011, denzil wrote:What an appalling programme! Not only was it boring but, for most of the time, the trio seemed to lack any common sense whatsoever. The exception was Alison Steadman, who did at least show some common sense by keeping quiet for much of the time and temaining aloof to the lame jokes made by the other two. All they needed to do most of the time was to look at their watches and look at the sun which was shining brightly most of the time.
Towards the end Mangan said ...'the worst hing that could happen to us would be to die a horrible death' -if only, but they have probably survived long enough to make the remaining episodes.
But the worst aspect about it was Ms Perkin who apparently now regards Cornwall as her homeland, having bought a property in West Cornwall five months (or was it years?) ago. Obviously she hasn't yet spent enough time down there yet to know where Cape Cornwall is!
Finally, nothing is guaranteed to get us Cornish more annoyed than pathetic attempts at the accent with 'OO aars' and the like! This is equally true of the attempts at Cornish accents in most other programmes set in the County by both the Ö÷²¥´óÐã and commercial television. Currently Doc Martin on ITV is a glaring example, and 'Cornish resident', Dawn French's various attempts at local dialect over the years have been pathetic!
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Comment number 2.
At 6th Oct 2011, dreamyidealist wrote:Well I think Denzil and I watched different programmes!! I thought it was great! Good fun, entertaining, and, for us city dwellers, educational. I think Denzil should get a life and a sense of humour. I thought the chemistry between the three worked very well - no one was too bossy or too timid. I look forward to the next two programmes.
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Comment number 3.
At 11th Oct 2011, Sarah Mutiah wrote:Brilliant fun!
This sort of thing is what the Ö÷²¥´óÐã does best. Looking forward to the next installment tomorrow. Will definately be on the hunt for Tristan Gooley's book to learn more about natural navigation...
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Comment number 4.
At 12th Oct 2011, Stephen wrote:Wow Denzel sounds like a barrel of laughs!!! I thought that the programme was really good and very interesting. I'm ex army and I enjoyed reading nature for sign. I thought that Tristan was excellent with his informative tips. I'm from Liverpool and I think that the programme made Cornwall look very appealing and I also think that Sue Perkins' reason for relocating there was pleasantly profound. If someone felt that way of Liverpool I would be hugely welcoming to that person and I wouldn't mind if they do not know the city like the back of their hand, just their enjoying being here would be good enough for me. Denzel's unwelcoming reaction to a newcomer smacks of snobbish attitude and is the reason why I will form the opinion that all people from Cornwall are unwelcoming, unfriendly and snobbish. Despite the programme making me want to visit. I'd rather not spend any money in a place full of snobs. Well done Ö÷²¥´óÐã great programme. Denzil, come to Liverpool we'll show you how to be nice and sociable to fellow humans in 2011, we welcome any visitors to our city.
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Comment number 5.
At 16th Oct 2011, Erica wrote:All Roads Lead Ö÷²¥´óÐã is so totally refreshing, informative, amusing and it is such a pity that only three programmes are being made. Please consider producing more!
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Comment number 6.
At 19th Oct 2011, delasoup wrote:Excellent programme, clearly laid out & very interesting & informative. It was also a big bonus that the programme had me laughing out loud; I personally liked their comments & jokes. There was a great rapor between these people. It was heart warming to see the support they often gave each other along the way, whilst navigating their way through past & present personal experiences & private thoughts with us. Well done, & the camera work & filming was spectacular. More please. Denzil's comment comes across as coming from someone full of long term bitterness & frustration, he's likely stuck in a mental rut & already is or will end up a lonely person if he doesn't lighten up, 'Denzil' take your own advise.. life's too short..check your own watch & see if the sun is still shining brightly in your world?... maybe you need to take a good look around & get a better view of it where you're heading.
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Comment number 7.
At 19th Oct 2011, GG wrote:What a wonderful series.
No gimmicks, no effects, no intrusive music, just a well thought out and interesting programme, well filmed with an interesting and interested trio.
I hope there is more of the same to come in a 2nd series.
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Comment number 8.
At 19th Oct 2011, janefn wrote:All Roads Lead Ö÷²¥´óÐã has been such a wonderful series, thank you so much - absolutely fascinating and informative - I shall open my eyes and notice what's around me from now on. I hope either the Ö÷²¥´óÐã will publish something about the programme with all the natural signs in it!
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Comment number 9.
At 19th Oct 2011, bigmacaj wrote:I'm with denzil. A complete waste of air time.
Embarrassing to behold.
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Comment number 10.
At 20th Oct 2011, Weechina wrote:Ab fab prog - well done - bigmacaj and denzil - you obv sit behind games consoles all day and night. My husband has just returned from an outdoor adventure centre for youths. This is exactly the kind of thing that needs to be taught. its all bout life skills and how to use 'creation by design' how fascinating that 'nature' and 'design' if we read the signs >>>>> its all there !! one wee disappointment BEEB where is the Scottish element? or is that a weather climate too far lol ;D I think that Tam Cowan would be the ideal guest for Scotland
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Comment number 11.
At 20th Oct 2011, Corona wrote:I was put off watching this series because of the terrible reviews in the press - and so only watched the last one yesterday. Am gutted - cos I really enjoyed it ! I would love to learn more about natural navigation and I agree with another poster that this is the sort of thing we ALL need to learn. I think most kids would be fascinated by learning it (not to mention a lot of us adults).
I hope there's another series.
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Comment number 12.
At 21st Oct 2011, Rosemary wrote:This week's journey from Wales to Liverpool contained an error. When the team reached the mine near Betws-y-Coed it was described as having been closed for 30 years. Not true! And I'm sure the Ö÷²¥´óÐã know this. The programme wanted to give the impression that it was a very lonely, spooky, derelict place, untouched and never entered in all that time. Whereas in fact this mine is used for exploration and adventure sessions on a very regular basis. So whilst it was correct to say that mining ceased 30 years ago, it was misleading to describe the mine as 'closed'. What a pity not to mention its present use or the very enterprising people who organise the activities so enthusiastically, opening up a historic place to a wide section of the public. In fact a little footage inside the mine would have been so much more interesting than the rather too lengthy shots of the team dithering about directions. (Necessary for the point of the programme I know, but a bit much at times!) But the shots of the scenery were great...
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