Hill & Moorland Leader 

HILL AND MOORLAND LEADER

The Hill and Moorland Leader (HML) is designed for people who have an interest in leading individuals and groups in the hills and moorland areas of the UK and Ireland. This scheme offers a wonderful opportunity to learn the leadership skills required to feel confident about taking people out walking. As you may have guessed from the descriptive title of this award, it focuses on non-mountainous terrain, often though, it can be featureless and the skill of the leader in these situations is often brought in to navigate around using appropriate techniques. Many people who sign up for this award live or work away from the mountains so there is no need to pursue the Mountain Leader in this case. There is also no camping or overnight element to this scheme as this is now covered by the Expedition Skills Module which can be attended once the HML is achieved.

To get started on the Hill and Moorland Leader you need to meet the following prerequisites:
• You must be at least 18 years’ old
• You should have at least a year’s worth of experience of mountain walking
• You should have an interest in leading groups on hills and moorland of the UK
• You must be a member of a mountaineering council: British Mountaineering Council (BMC) (join here), Mountaineering Scotland or Mountaineering Ireland (you can join one when you register if you're not already a member)

If you meet all of the above requirements, here's what to do next:

1. Create an account on the Mountain Training Candidate Management System here or log in if you already have one.
2. Register for the Mountain Leader scheme (this costs £49)

Prior to commencing your chosen Hill and Moorland Leader course, please ensure that you have completed the following steps:

• Record your experience (minimum 20 Quality Hill Days (QHD’s) prior to attending Training)
• Attend a training course (minimum contact time of 30 hours, usually over three days)
• Consolidate your experience (Gain a further 20 QHD’s minimum)
• Attend an assessment course (Minimum contact time of 30 hours, usually over three days)
• There is also a requirement to attend a two day first aid course but this is not needed until presenting for the assessment

A copy of the Hill and Moorland Leader Handbook is available free to down load here