Hill and Moorland Leader

The Hill and Moorland Leader award offers the opportunity to gain experience and demonstrate technical competence in leading groups on hill walks in areas of the UK and Ireland that fall within the technical definition outlined below. Such areas may often be subject to hostile weather conditions and require an element of self-sufficiency and this is reflected in the syllabus of this scheme.

Suitable terrain for the Hill & Moorland Leader will meet the following four criteria:

• open, uncultivated, non-mountainous high or remote country known variously as upland, moor, bog, fell, hill or down.
• areas enclosed by well-defined geographical or man-made boundaries such as classified roads (areas that merge with mountain regions and do not have well defined boundaries are excluded).
• areas of remoteness that are easily exited in a few hours, returning to a refuge or an accessible road.
• areas where movement on steep or rocky terrain is not required (in either a planned or unplanned situation)

As with all Mountain Training awards, it is the combination of technical competence and leadership skills supported by a wide range of experience that forms the basis for effective group management. The scheme addresses all these elements. However, the employer or operating authority must ultimately decide whether a leader possesses the personal attributes needed to take responsibility for any particular group of people.