One thing Mad Bear does not give us is his experience level. Reading between the lines he is not yet at the Nav stage of a PPL and just trying to find his way round the local area, if so a lot of what has been talked about is not particularly relevant. If this is the case he needs to do similar to Pistongones technique, learn obvious features near enough to the field to know that you can get back from there, if needed using a set heading and time (less than 5 mins), do this in as many directions as you can, then expand the range at which you find known features, you will soon get familiar enough with your local area to find your way without a map (though of course you should still carry one!).