This list is by no means exhaustive and it will grow as our own adventures get more advanced but it is a good start. Also bear in mind that since we walk in the UK some of these websites will be UK specific while others could be applied any where.
No one resource is a one stop shop but by combining two or three you will get a good result for both inspiration and planning.
Global
Google Maps and Distance Measurement
It seems rather obvious but until recently Google Maps was not of much help to walkers. You can map a walking route between two points but it might not be the route you actually want. Google Maps IS a great tool for 3 things
Planning for the Terrain
If you click on the Map button and then click on the More... button and tick the box next to Terrain you will see the various elevations of your walk. This is important if you want to avoid too many hills or steep climbs
Clicking on Satellite will give you a rough idea of the environment you will be dealing with. Is is rocky? Marshy? Forested?
Measuring the Distance
Although previously of limited use there is a great new feature from Google Labs for Maps that you can use to plot YOUR route (not Maps calculated route) and calculate an approximate distance.
This tool is great if you know what you want your route to be and have it figured out on your OS map. If you choose to see the satellite imagery you can usually see the foot and bridle paths which means your mileage will be more accurate than it would if you got your compass out and tried measuring it on your paper map.
Creating a Reference
- Go to the Google Maps home page
- At the top of the screen on the right there is a New! link that has a little green blob next to it. Click on this
- A little screen will come up called Google Maps Labs
- Find Distance Measurement Tool in the list of features and click the Enable radio button
- Click save
- In the map area of the screen at the very bottom left there is a little white square with a blue ruler thing in it. Click on this
- Then click on the map to set a start point
- Once the start point is set you can keep clicking along your proposed route to the end and it will tell you how long your route will be in the unit of your choice
By using the steps above you can create a mapped overview of your route to print out on paper. You don't have to mark up your expensive OS map or atlas with a highlighter. It also cuts down on the time spent labouriously detailing the directions and landmarks.
United Kingdom (Including England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland)
The OS (Ordnance Survey) Explore Website
The Ordnance Survey people are responsible for compiling and producing the most comprehensive maps of properties, roads, foot paths, bridle paths, and rights of way in the UK. They have a main site and several child sites all of which are useful to the walker in different ways.
OS Explore
It is useful for calculating a rough mileage and finding walks.
Route Planner/Distance Calculator
You have to sign up and sign in to be able to use the route creator and distance calculator.
The route planner is not very useful because the map does not have enough detail to print out and see. Which is understandable. If you could do that then you would not need to buy their maps.
The same tool where you plot a route will give you a rough mileage but in order to get your mileage.
If you do choose to sign up and become a member (it is free) you can save your walk routes and other people can view them.
Route Finder
This does not require a sign in and is great for inspiration if you have a particular place you would like your walk to include but don't know the area. Or vice versa. Maybe you are going to be in a particular county and just want to see what is on off. Put the name in the search box and a list of walks contributed by site members gets returned that includes the distance from your desired point as well as the distance of the walk.
As with the planner the maps returned with the searches are very high level and the level of detail and direction can also be poor because the routes are not moderated or required to be of any particular quality or purpose.
However you can get a few gems with a great amount of detail as well as points of interest.
OS Blog
Lots of great info here in a friendly format. Including a Walk of the Week. It is well worth having in your feed reader for news and walking inspiration. OS isn't ALL about walking but they do contribute quite a lot to the sport (if it is a sport? I think it is!)
Walking In England
A directory site full of ready made walks complete with directions and maps for all of England. It is organised by county and each county has its own site.
This is a good resource if you are feeling too lazy to plot out a walk. If you are not familiar with an area or county you might need to do some more research to figure out where exactly the walk is as there isn't much a of search facility.
There is a good variety of town and country as well as distance.
Essex Walks
A small selection of ready made walks in the county of Essex. They do add new ones occasionally and they are of a good quality. Our Tilbury walk came from this site.
The AA
The go to resource for drivers is also great for pedestrians with a whole area of their site dedicated to ready made walks in Britain. Just put in a postal code or place name, select your preferred level of difficulty, and you will get a list of walks in the immediate vicinity. The walk we did around Rochford and the Roch estuary salt marshes was an AA walk.
This might actually move to the Global section of this post if we discover that the other AA sites offer the same great application.
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Would love for you to share your thoughts on walking, hiking, the english countryside (or YOUR particular countryside)and any other topic on my blog that piques your interest. Have you been to a good show? Know a good walk? Have insider knowledge on a spiffy regional event (anywhere in the world!)? Let me know.