The Cheviots can feel wonderfully empty. It's one of the things I love about them. I've walked for hours without seeing another person and had whole hills seemingly to myself.
That's brilliant when everything is going to plan. It's slightly less brilliant if you've taken a wrong turn, the cloud has dropped, your phone is dying and you're no longer entirely sure which side of the hill you parked the car on.
You don't need to be Bear Grylls to explore the Cheviots, but once you're heading onto the higher or more remote ground, knowing where you are and having a bit of a plan is pretty important.
Know where you're going
All of our walks will have a route map and GPX file, but don't just download one and blindly follow the little arrow around your phone.
Have a look at the route before you leave. Know roughly where it goes, where the main climbs and turns are and how long you're expecting to be out. If the route suddenly starts heading somewhere completely different from what you expected, that's a good time to stop and work out why.
For longer hill walks I use electronic navigation, but I also carry a paper map and compass. Ordnance Survey and Mountain Rescue both recommend having them as a backup, particularly because phones and GPS devices depend on batteries.
Obviously, carrying a compass is only useful if you know what to do with it. If yours has spent the last ten years living in a drawer, brushing up on the basics before relying on it in thick cloud would be a wise move.
Don't rely on having a signal
Mobile coverage in the Cheviots is pretty sketchy.
Download your route and any offline mapping you're going to use. Start with a fully charged phone and, for longer days, I carry a power bank as well.
One useful distinction is that your phone's GPS can still establish your position without a mobile data signal. For example, the Locate Me feature in OS Maps can provide an OS grid reference using GPS without needing mobile coverage.
That's particularly handy because an accurate grid reference is considerably more useful in an emergency than:
“I'm beside a big hill and there's a sheep looking at me.”
Tell someone where you've gone
If I'm heading out for a proper day in the hills, somebody knows roughly where I'm going and when I'm expecting to be back.
It doesn't need to become a military operation. Tell someone your planned route, where you've parked and roughly when they should expect to hear from you. If you change the route significantly, let them know if you can.
And importantly, tell them when you're safely back. Otherwise they're sitting at home wondering whether you're enjoying a pint or lying upside down in a bog.
Mountain Rescue recommends leaving details of your route and expected return time with someone before heading out
Know when to change the plan
Turning around isn't failing a walk.
Weather changes. Routes take longer than expected. Legs get tired. Streams rise. Somebody in the group might simply not be enjoying themselves.
I've changed routes plenty of times when the day hasn't gone how I expected. The hill doesn't care whether you reached the top, and it'll still be there another day.
Keep an eye on the time too. Walking pace can drop considerably over boggy or difficult ground and those last few kilometres always seem longer when your legs have had enough.
Check our Weather in the Cheviots guide before setting off and make sure what you're carrying matches the route in our What to wear and take guide.
If you need help
Hopefully you'll never need this bit, but it's worth knowing before you head out.
If there's an emergency in the hills, dial 999 or 112, ask for Police and then Mountain Rescue.
Mountain Rescue asks for as much useful information as you can provide, particularly your location or grid reference, what has happened, details of any casualties, how many people are with you and the phone number you're calling from. Once you've made contact, follow the instructions you're given.
Mountain Rescue England and Wales emergency advice
Hopefully that's a bit of information you carry around for years and never have to use.