Answering the questions, "Where is North?" and "Where is South?" are pretty easy when you know what to do. I'm going to show you how to find your direction no matter where you are on the planet and no matter whether it's day or night.

Here are five simple techniques you can use that don't require a shop bought compass.

1. Become Your Own Compass

This first technique is the most basic and will give you a general idea of directions. Simply identify where the sun comes up and sets in your location. The sun always rises in the East and sets in the West.

If you align your body with your arms outstretched (like a cross), so that your right arm is pointing east and your left is pointing west, then you will be facing north. The back of your head will be facing south.

If you have a watch with hands, rather than a digital one, then you can use the sun to give you a slightly more accurate sense of direction than the method above.

Lay your watch down on a flat surface. Point the hour hand towards the sun. Find the midpoint between the hour hand and 12 (on the left hand side of the watch). This midpoint is south. In a straight line directly opposite is north. Watch the video on the right if you prefer to see how it's done rather than read instructions.

If you're in a wooded area and it's an overcast day then you can use this very simple technique to get a good general idea of directions.

Simply find a tree that has moss growing on it. Moss always grows on the south side of a tree because that is where it gets the sunlight it needs and will never grow on the north side of the tree. If you are standing looking at the side of the tree with moss on it then you are facing north. If you turn your back to the moss then you are facing south.

Where is North?

If you're in the northern hemisphere (which is above the equator) then on a clear night you can find the north star or polaris to get a bearing on directions.

Simply find the big dipper, which is also called the plough, the great bear or ursa major.

Look for the two stars which make up the farthest edge of the scoop. Follow the direction of these stars up and the first star you come to is polaris.

If you walk in the direction of this star you will be walking towards the north pole.

If you're intersted in the science of why polaris always points north read here.

If you're in the southern hemisphere it's a little trickier to find your direction at night because the north star will not be visible to you. The southern hemisphere does have a star that points south but it is nowhere near as bright as the north star and can be quite hard to see with the naked eye. It's called polaris australis or sigma octantis.

The best way of finding it is by using the brighter, southern cross. Follow the line from the apex to the nadir of the cross (as if you were looking at it upright). You will need to get the correct orientation of the cross depending on the time of year. See below.

For this last method you will a few things that most people will have laying around at home.

• Aluminium Foil
• A Needle
• A magnet
• A Glass of Water

Place the needle on the magnet for 5 -10 minutes to magnetise it. Then cut a small piece of aluminium foil to lay the needle onto. Place the needle onto the foil and float on top of the water in the glass. The point of the needle will point south in the northern hemisphere and north in the southern hemisphere.

If you're out in the wilds and need to make a compass you can use the same basic technique. You just need some metal, wool or silk and a puddle. Rub the metal with the wool to magentise it and place it in a puddle. If the metal is too heavy to float then you can place it on a leaf. Here's a short description of how to do it.

So there we are! 5 simple ways to answer the questions "Where is North? and "Where is South?" Never get lost again!