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We arrived at Glaramara House, our hotel which served as a base for the fieldcourse, on Thursday morning after a scenic two-and-a-half hour coach ride from Newcastle.\u00a0 The setting was stunning: a pastoral valley of green fields, dry stone walls and streams, surrounded by craggy fells, waterfalls and oak forests.\u00a0 Our mission was to create a detailed map of the valley, so our first task was to lay the foundations by creating a network of known reference points.<\/p>\n Shortly after arriving we donned our high-vis and waterproofs to brush up on the surveying skills we\u2019d be using over the next eight days.\u00a0 The valley is famous for being the wettest inhabited place in England, and it definitely lived up to its reputation.\u00a0 After a soggy afternoon of measuring angles and levelling, we dried off and enjoyed what would be the first of many delicious dinners.<\/p>\n On Friday morning we enjoyed a full English breakfast before beginning our next task: establishing the primary control stations (reference points)\u00a0throughout the valley.\u00a0 We were divided into teams and taken by minibus to our assigned locations. \u00a0We spent the rest of the day measuring the angles and distances between points.\u00a0 We would be using this data later to compute the coordinates of the stations.\u00a0 The blustery weather was a challenge but we persevered.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s assignment was to determine the height of points around the valley using spirit levelling.\u00a0 Simple enough…or so we thought.\u00a0 My team quickly realized that those lovely green fields were essentially giant mud pits and the stone walls an endless maze to navigate through, but it was a great feeling when we arrived at our last benchmark.\u00a0 Another job finished and I\u2019ve never been more grateful for a hot shower!<\/p>\n On Sunday the GIS students joined us, along with the sunshine – and we went out in teams to create secondary control networks around the valley.<\/p>\n One of my favourite aspects of the fieldcourse was working with my course mates.\u00a0 It provided a great opportunity to get to know each other better.\u00a0 Certain team members had particular strengths and we all worked together to complete our assigned tasks.\u00a0 At the end of the exercise it was a great feeling to look at our finished maps together and be able to say, \u201cwe made this!\u201d<\/p>\n I learned a lot of valuable lessons – good communication was vital, not only among team members but also with other teams to make sure everyone got the measurements they needed.\u00a0 I also learned the importance of checking instrument settings before going out into the field and how important it is to book<\/em> accurately and clearly with good sketches.\u00a0 There are few things as frustrating as trying to decipher muddled notes after a long day in the field!<\/p>\n Another part of what made the fieldcourse enjoyable was the support of the staff and the surveying industry.\u00a0 Throughout the trip, the staff were always ready to patiently answer questions, transport us to and from the field and give us helpful tips.\u00a0 One evening, representatives from Leica Geosystems visited to present information about their company and entering the surveying industry.\u00a0 It was a great opportunity to learn more about the jobs we\u2019ll be doing after graduation.<\/p>\n All in all, it was a fantastic week at Glaramara and it shows what makes Newcastle University\u2019s geomatics courses different from other universities\u2019.\u00a0 The hands-on learning approach using top-of-the-line equipment, in a beautiful setting, all with the constant support of a knowledgeable and patient staff, made it a truly fun and rewarding experience.<\/p>\n Find out more about our geomatics courses: https:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/engineering\/undergraduate\/geomatics\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every year\u00a0our first year Surveying and Mapping \u00a0Sciences and GIS students take part in an eight day\u00a0field trip to the Seathwaite Valley in the heart of the Lake District. In this blog post Tim Hajda tells us about his experience of it last Easter. We arrived at Glaramara House, our hotel which served as a … Continue reading Measuring the Lake District<\/span> ![\"Newcastle](\"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/stem\/files\/2017\/11\/1.jpg\")
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