Orientation in daylight

Orientation by day

It is useful to he able to find the rough direction of north when a compass is not easily to hand. This section deals with the methods of finding True North in the northern hemisphere with the aid of the sun and a watch.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. With the aid of a watch the direction of north can he found fairly accurately. Lay the watch flat with the hour hand pointing to the sun. True South will then he midway between the hour hand and twelve o'clock. If summer time is in force remember to set the watch back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The diarams below illustrate how north can he found using the sun and a watch at various times of the day. Remember that in order to find True South, the angle to be bisected (divided in half) is always to the left of the watch face before midday and to the right of the watch face after midday. If the sun comes out, try it - It's not as confusing as it sounds.



It is useful to remember that, in the United Kingdom the sun is:
a.	East at 0600 GMT.
b.	South at 1200 GMT.
c.	West at 1800 GMT