British people are said to like walking. However, the correct answer would be that UK is a country with lots of fun to walk on. When I lived in London for 4 years, I spent the weekends walking around London. London has a calm residential area just behind the bustling downtown area, and you can change the course a little and walk to show a completely different face of the city. In addition, there were narrow footpaths like the secret passages between houses in places in residential areas in London, and I enjoyed walking through such a path.
I stayed at the Lake District for one year, but the Footpath in the Lake District was more wonderful than I had imagined, and I was convinced that it was simply called “the most beautiful scenery in UK”.
Many British take a walk on weekends. But if you are in this environment, you must want to walk even if you are not a British person. It’s fun to visit the different cities of UK just to experience the different footpaths in each city.
Walking in the Lake District was far better than London. However, unlike London where I can find footpath by Google Maps, footpaths at the Lake District rarely appear on Google Maps, so I had no choice but to rely on a guidebook. Since it is a tourist spot, there are plenty of guidebooks, and I could walk in the footpath using the guidebook, but I gradually realized that relying on the guidebook would not be fun.
One day, an employee of Inov-8, who loves trail running, taught me an app, and the way I enjoy footpaths has changed dramatically since I started using the app. Here I will explain why I couldn’t enjoy it with the guidebook, and what kind of app helped me to enjoy footpath walking.
I could walk everywhere by Google Maps in London, but,,,
My wife taught me how to enjoy walking in London
I stayed London from July 2012 to April 2016 when the London Olympic Games began. My family stayed in Japan because of my children’s school, so I lived by myself away from the family. My wife liked London very much, so she came to London several times a year and enjoyed the city of London alone while I was at work, but the way she enjoyed was very unique. She took a bus to the terminal station, then walked around the city and returned home. If it was very far, she took another bus, but she didn’t make a plan before leaving and just enjoyed walking. According to her, the scenery of the city of London that changes while walking is fun.
It seemed interesting, so I started walking the weekend without deciding the course like my wife, but this was really interesting. After passing a walkway between mysterious buildings, you start to walk in a quiet forest. The road along the river where you see the luxurious mansion and suddenly step into a park path where squirrels approach. All of these roads are on Google Maps, so you won’t get lost even if you get into the road you found after a short walk. You can enjoy walking anywhere in London by relying on Google Maps.
Google maps are useless in the Lake District.
Last spring I moved to the Lake District. I was able to enjoy the stunning natural scenery of the Lake District when I walked the footpath that runs in all directions, but there was one problem. Unlike London, the footpath is barely visible on Google Maps in the Lake District.
Therefore I went to the tourist center to get guide maps. No matter where I go in the Lake District, I can get a free guide maps at the tourist center, so I started relying on it and started footpath walking in the Lake District, but I soon became frustrated
The guide map describes the direction you should go at the point where the road branches so that you can definitely walk the course. However, it is not easy because the map is too simple and the explanation is small so it is hard to read. However, the bigger problem is that the Lake District has a wide range of footpaths in all directions, so there are many options other than the guide map course.
Therefore, a footpath sign indicating that the road is divided into 2 or 3 directions will appear many times during the course. However, even with it in front of me, I have no idea where I will reach it if I go in a direction other than the direction indicated by the guide map. When it seemed to be interesting road, I tried a few times to try it, but after I got lost in the mountains and arrive at a place different from my destination several times, I started to get really careful. Especially when it’s getting darker in the evening and you don’t know where your path is going, I broke into a little cold sweat. As I enjoyed taking a leisurely walk in London by relying on Google Maps, I’m starting to get frustrated when I just walk a fixed course.
With an OS maps, you won’t get lost at footpath
One day, there was an event which Inov-8 employees taught us how to read maps for trail running and hiking, so I participated. She used a map called OS Explorer. Using the map and compass, she taught me how to walk in the mountains without getting lost. At the same time, she told me that the same information was available on a smartphone app called OS Maps.
From the perspective of those who do mountain climbing or cross-country racing, it may be impossible to rely on a smartphone app without using a paper map and magnet, but I just wanted to walk footpath casually.
For the time being, I learned how to read a paper map and a magnet, but I immediately tried the smartphone app.
OS Maps has both Android and iPhone applications, and you can use extended functions on your PC. If you buy a paper map of OS Exploere, it costs £8.99 for a map of just the southeastern part of the Lake District, but OS Maps has a contract for just £3.99 a month for maps of the entire UK. Moreover, not only you can see the map, but also you can see where you are on the map like Google Maps, so I chose the paid version without hesitation. After that, I never got lost in footpaths, I was free to walk on footpaths throughout the UK.
Since I walked around various courses using this OS Maps, I was able to make this blog. Actually, what one of the topics what I wanted to introduce the most in this blog is how to use this application called OS Maps. It is definitely recommended if you go to the rural areas of UK.
What is OS Maps
Difference between OS Maps and Google Map
Please look at the difference in the amount of information between OS Maps and Google Map. This is a map around Oresthead which is the back of Windermere Station, viewed with OS Maps and Google Map on a PC. Difference is very obvious. The amount of information that on OS Maps is much richer than Google Map.
Google Map
OS Maps （Premium version OS Leisure Map）
What you can see on OS Maps
Now, let me introduce the information that appears in OS Maps.
OS Maps has all the information you need for footpath walking and mountain climbing. Not only the roads and footpaths where people can walk, but also the stone walls that surround pasture, buildings and huts, elevation lines and the location of mountain peaks, as well as information necessary for route determination, up to a view point with a good view. Detail contents on maps are explained below.
Red roads, yellow roads, and white roads that are normal roads that are also found on Google Maps. The color differs depending on the width of the lanes on the road.
Information that can only be seen on OS Maps
- The thick green dotted line is a public footpath that is legally recognized.
- The thick orange line is the road where landowners allow pedestrians to walk.
- The black thin dotted line is the driveway. Roads that are walkable but not officially recognized by landowners.
In addition to the paths that those pedestrians can walk, the following information can be seen from the OS Maps map.
- The area surrounded by thick orange lines is designated by the British law called CRoW Act 2000, and is a zone where pedestrians are allowed to walk on mountain peaks and wilderness. The green area on the inside is forest, and the white area is grassland.
- The thin black lines are the stone walls and wooden fences around the pasture made for sheep and cows.
- The thin lines of orange are contour lines
- A small square is a house or hut
- Light blue radial mark is a view point with a good view
If you use it on your smartphone, your location will also be displayed on the map and all of your surroundings (mountain peaks, stone walls, houses and sheds) are visible, so you can move in the right direction without getting lost,
Before I use OS Maps, I walked only with Google Maps, so I think you can understand how easy it is for me to walk footpath after using OS Maps. If you understand the meaning of each symbol in OS Maps, you will not get lost in the footpath.
Let’s compare the actual photo with the map.
Mountain footpath behind Bownes-on-Windermere. This footpath spreads in all directions, making it difficult to walk the right path. This photo was taken from the location of the red star in the direction of the yellow arrow. As you can see, the road is divided into two directions, over stone walls and wooden fences.
This is the mountain behind the Windermere station, the road going in the opposite direction from Oresthead without returning to the station. The area of the summit is recognized by the CRoW Act 2000, so it is a good place to go down any grassy slope. After that, the road will be divided into two. This photo is taken from the red star on the map in the direction of the yellow arrow. As you can see, the footpath is divided into two directions across the stone wall.
If you set the course in advance and download to the smartphone, the course map will appear on OS Maps. The course I wrote in the article about walking course in Windermere can be seen as a red line like this on OS Maps on smartphones, and you can see where you are with a red arrow. For example, in this case, it is a little off the route.
In that case, zoom in on the map to see what’s around you. In this case, you took wrong direction at previous path splits. To get to the right route, you need to go over the stone wall and you will arrive quickly. However, since you are in an area where you can only walk on footpaths, you need to go back to the path splits.
Rest assured that you can make such confirmations even in places where mobile signal do not reach.
In this way, in addition to the merit of knowing which way to walk at path splits, it is also very convenient to know where you should not walk.
Even if there is a footpath, it is basically prohibited to walk outside the footpath in areas not specified by the CRoW Act 2000. If it is in the area surrounded by the orange thick line of OS Maps you can walk anywhere within this area, but if not you can not walk anywhere other than the footpath. Such information is not available on Google Maps.
Benefit of premium version.
Similar information is available on both free version and premium version
The footpath information, stone wall information, pedestrian walkable area information, etc. described above can also be viewed in the free version. Please compare the free version and the premium version first.
You can see that there is a thin black dotted line in the free version on the right at the same place as the green or orange dotted line of the footpath seen in the premium version on the left. Both maps have a thin black solid line indicating the stone wall. As you can see, the free version has similar information, and the minimum information required to walk the footpath is also provided in the free version.
For young people, if you just look at the map, the free version may be fine. However, since I have a aged eye, I can not distinguish the footpath and the stone wall on smartphone, so I definitely need premium version.
Only the premium version can download the map for offline usage
However, if you are traveling to the Lake District, I definitely recommend that you purchase the premium version. One of the features that only available for premium version is the offline usage which allows you to download your walking map and walking course to your smartphone in advance. If you download the place you go to your smartphone before actually walking, you can use the map even in areas where the mobile signals do not reach. For travelers from overseas, the fact that they can use maps without using a Wi-Fi router is also big advantage.
With the premium version, you can enjoy before and after your trip by Arial 3D.
The premium version comes with Arial 3D, a function that can be seen from the air like Google Earth.
OS Maps allows you to see the information necessary for a walking course on map and immediately move to a view to see from the air. It is very convenient to use when actually planning a walking route. Check the video for better understanding.
How was the video? Preliminary survey of walking route is perfect if you can check the route from the air just after looking at the route on the map. The route you walked can be registered on OS Maps, so you can review the course you walked after coming back to your home. It will deepen the memory of your trip.
Please try the links below for PC version, Android version and iPhone version of OS Maps. The paid version can also be used free of charge for 7 days, so I think that you can understand the fun of doing 3D video yourself.
I briefly explained how I started to use OS Maps and what you can get by OS Maps. OS Maps can be used for a variety of purposes other than the ones described here, so I will write another blog in the future.
Thank you for reading my blog!!