Awarding Body

Mountain Training

Scheme

Lowland Leader

Course

Training

Type

Training

Award Description

The Lowland Leader qualification has been designed for people who wish to lead groups on day walks in lowland countryside and woodland in summer conditions. The majority of the UK and Ireland is made up of this type of terrain so you'll never be short of places to go walking.

Lowland Leader training course notes 

Introduction 

The Lowland Leader scheme is designed for people who want to lead groups in lowland countryside and woodland in summer conditions. The majority of the UK and Ireland is made up of this type of terrain so you'll never be short of places to go walking. This award is a wonderful opportunity to gain the leadership skills required to feel confident taking people out walking. 

The Lowland Leader training course aims to develop the technical skills, judgements and areas of knowledge deemed necessary to ensure an individual is safe to do so.  

This course covers a minimum of 16 hours. 

http://www.mountain-training.org/walking/skills-and-awards/lowland-leader  

Prerequisites for the Lowland Leader training course 

Before you book onto the Lowland Leader training course; 

• You must be registered on the scheme
• You must have recorded a minimum of 10 varied walks in Lowland terrain where the use of a map is required, which can have taken place at any point (pre or post registration). 

Please ensure you have entered your minimum prerequisites in your digital logbook (DLOG) at the time of confirming your place on the course. 

Lowland Leader course content 

The course follows the Lowland Leader syllabus. A typical course will cover the following areas: 

• Leadership skills and group management
• Walking skills
• Planning a walk
• Basic map work and route finding skills
• Equipment
• Hazards and emergency procedures
• Environment 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.   

Potential outcomes  

Following training a course report will be created. The results you can achieve are:  

Completed: You have attended and completed the training course and met the prerequisite requirements. 

Not yet completed: If for any reason you do not complete the required hours for a course you will receive this result. In all cases an action plan will be discussed and created for you. Providers have up to 21 days to submit a course report, which allows for you to submit further information if necessary, for example if you have not fully met the prerequisite requirements.   

Candidates are reminded that attendance on a training course must not in any way be considered a qualification in its own right. This is only achieved by passing the Lowland Leader assessment.  

Insurance 

Mountain Training recommends you consider personal accident and cancellation insurance. If you already have insurance cover, check that it covers you for the activity you are undertaking.  

Useful links 
Lowland Leader candidate handbook 

Hillwalking by Steve Long: the official handbook for Mountain Training’s walking schemes 

Mountain Training’s YouTube channel 

Mountain Training’s Reasonable Adjustment policy  

Mountain Training Association 

British Mountaineering Council 

Camping Leader 

A further two day Camping Leader Module is available for those who wish to lead and supervise overnight expeditions. The module also covers remote supervision and teaching navigation. For more information please go to https://www.mountain-training.org/qualifications/walking/camping-leader 

Course programme 

Day 1 

To be held online on 5th January 2025

Link will be sent a day or so before

Time: 19:00 – 21:00

• Course introductions and Mountain Training ethos
• Qualification pathways and scope of the scheme
• Course programme
• Outcomes
• Discussion of prerequisites and the Expedition Skills Module
• About Mountain Training, the Mountain Training Association and Mountaineering Councils

Day 2 

Saturday 11th Janurary 2025

Time: 10:00 – 18:00

Meet Venue:  Camer Park, Kent DA13 0AL

Introduction to:  

• Weather
• Route planning
• Navigation
• Walking and route finding
• Hazard Identification
• Group management
• Personal equipment
• Group/leader equipment
• Access and conservation
• Feedback

Evening 

• Poor visibility navigation

Day 3 

Sunday 12th January 2025 

09:00 – 15:00

Meet Venue: Camer Park, Kent DA13 0AL

• Responsibilities of the Lowland Leader
• Development of: 
• Weather interpretation
• Planning a quality lowland walk and identify the associated risks
• Navigation 
• Walking and route finding
• Group/leader equipment
• Group management
• Hazard  identification
• Accident/missing person procedures
• Access and conservation
• Feedback
• Discussion of Digital Logbook (DLOG) and personal action plans for consolidation period and assessment 

The programme is subject to change to make best use of the weather and venues chosen for the course. 

Equipment  

Please ensure you have the following equipment (this list is not exhaustive):  

• Lunch and Snacks (plus extra for the late finish)
• Appropriate walking clothing 
• Waterproof jacket
• Waterproof trousers
• Spare clothes (warm layer)
• Rucksack 30-40L including waterproof liner
• Walking boots
• Warm hat and gloves or sun hat and sun screen 
• Vacuum flask / water bottle
• Group first aid kit and personal medication
• Compass - recommended Silva Type 4
• OS Explorer Map -Maidstone & the Medway Towns 148 OS
• Map case (if you have a paper map)
• Head torch + spare batteries
• Notebook and pen
• Sharpie pen

School of Outdoors provide Lowland Leader training, 16 hour outdoor First Aid training, Lowland Leader Assessment and Expedition Skills across the South East inc. Surrey Hills, Chilterns, New Forest and South Downs. 

 
Our courses are well placed for candidates from the following areas; 

London, Kent, Medway, East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, Surrey, Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, Dorset, Berkshire, Oxfordhsire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordhsire, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. 

 
If this course isn't the right type, date or location for you then please visit our website to see all the courses we have on offer. 

https://www.schoolofoutdoors.uk/adult-courses  

Acceptance of risk

The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) ‘Participation Statement’ states: ‘The BMC recognises that climbing, hillwalking and mountaineering are activities with a danger of injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement’

By booking on to this course you acknowledge that you will be taking part in physically strenuous activities, and you are physically fit to do so. School of Outdoors Limited are under no liability whatsoever in respect of loss or damage to personal effects which you may sustain. You agree to comply with the safety regulations as designated by the staff at the Company. You agree to indemnify the Course staff and the company against all claims, costs, actions and demands whatsoever resulting from taking part in the programme of activities or the administration of medicines, unless such claims, costs, actions or demands result out of the negligence of the Company. 

Special requirements

If you have any special requirements, medical, dietary etc please detail these under the special requirements section of your tahdah profile.

Emergency Contact details

Please ensure that your emergency contact details are up to do before undertaking any Mountain Training activity.

Additional needs and reasonable adjustments

Please use the links below to understand more about the support we can offer for those with additional needs or require reasonable adjustments.

https://www.mountain-training.org/help/resources/support-for-people-with-additional-needs

https://www.mountain-training.org/england/reasonable-adjustments

Sustainable travel

School of Outdoors is keen to support sustainable travel. You may find a suitable liftshare here.

https://liftshare.com/uk/community/bmc

Alternatively, on our initial online meeting there will the opportunity to see if lift share opportunities are possible

Booking terms and conditions 

https://www.schoolofoutdoors.uk/booking-terms  

Start

11/01/2025 10:00

End

12/01/2025 15:00

Total Days

2

Maximum Bookings

6

Bookings

3

Venue

Camer Park Country Park

Town

Gravesend

County

Kent

Postcode

DA13 0AL

Country

United Kingdom

Latitude

51.37741

Longitude

0.36956

Name

School of Outdoors

Phone

01296336644

Website

Email