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.
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 assessment course aims to assess the technical skills, judgements and areas of knowledge deemed necessary to ensure an individual is safe to do so.
This is a 2 day course (minimum of 16 hours)
http://www.mountain-training.org/walking/skills-and-awards/lowland-leader
Prerequisites for the Lowland Leader assessment course
Before you book onto the Lowland Leader assessment course;
Please ensure you have entered your minimum prerequisites in your digital logbook (DLOG) at the time of confirming your place on the assessment course.
Lowland Leader assessment course content
The course follows the Lowland Leader syllabus. A typical course will cover the following areas:
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 of assessment
Following the assessment the course director will complete a course report on CMS which will record one of three possible results:
Pass: Awarded where the candidate has demonstrated appropriate knowledge and application of the course syllabus, and has shown the necessary experience and attributes of a Rock Climbing Instructor.
Defer: Awarded where the candidate has generally performed well and has shown the necessary experience and attributes, but where complete proficiency has not been attained in certain aspects of the syllabus or where a lack of experience has been identified.
Fail: Awarded where the candidate’s performance has been generally weak, or the necessary experience and attributes have not been shown. A complete assessment course will need to be subsequently attended.
When a candidate's performance merits a defer or fail result the candidate will have a formal written report containing individualised feedback. All relevant information will be included to support the deferred/failed candidate and the assessor who conducts the re-assessment.
Insurance
Mountain Training recommends that you consider personal accident and cancellation insurance. If you already have insurance cover, check that it covers you for the activity you are undertaking.
Course programme
Home paper
Part of the assessment we ask candidates to demonstrate their knowledge on some of the theoretical elements by completing a home paper. You can find this by logging into your mountain training account, it is saved under the files tab on this course.
Please can I ask you to complete this and send it through to your course director by the Thursday evening before the assessment.
Day 1
To be held online on 3rd March 2025
Link will be sent a day or so before
Time: 19:00 – 21:00
To be held online - invite to be sent just before the event.
Link will be sent a day or so before.
Course introductions
Qualification pathways and scope of the scheme
Course programme
Outcomes
Discussion of prerequisites
Day 2
Saturday 8th March 2025
Time: 10:00 – 18:00
Meet Venue: Location - Ringwood New Forest
Assessment of:
Route planning
Navigation in a lowland environment
Walking and route finding
Hazard Identification
Group management
Personal equipment
Group/leader equipment
Access and conservation
Feedback
Day 3
Sunday 9th March 2025
Time 09:00 – 15:00
Meet Venue: Location - Ringwood New Forest
Assessment of:
Background knowledge and understanding (access, conservation, weather interpretation)
Responsibilities of a group leader
Planning a quality lowland walk and identify the associated risks
Navigation
Walking and route finding
Group management
Hazard identification
Accident/missing person procedures
Feedback
Discussion of Expedition Skills Module
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):
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
British Mountaineering Council
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
Terms and conditions apply, these can be found on our website