Walking; route planning/website recommendations

[jimbouk]

Hello,

I thought I'd try some more serious walking, starting with a day outing and building up to overnighting somewhere. The current plan involves hopping on a train early in the morning with plenty of food and water and heading back home for dinner. I'll build up the distances and then look for a camp site at a halfway point. I've got sturdy boots, a decent rucksack, waterproof, compass, etc, but am aware I need a few more things still (like a map!).

Does this sound sensible? I've done loops locally, gone out geocaching and done walks on holidays, and I'm not going to try anything silly on the early walks until I figure out how far you really can go in a day on footpaths!

Now route planning. I pick a train station, say Frome, and head back to Bath. Google gives me 13.4 miles but mostly on roads: http://goo.gl/maps/XEFeA. Is it simply the case of getting an OS map or two and marking the route? Any good website that use the OS map / OpenStreetMap data and can keep you off the road mostly? OSM does have the nice cycle map option, do any sites/apps use the map data and let you turn on and off different path/road types? I've found a couple of options with my searches but they don't seem to work. I can at least see I can get most of the way off-road when out of towns which is nice

Thanks!

[Butcher]

Yes it's pretty much that simple - get an OS map, plan a route you think you can do. I'd suggest getting a physical copy of the OS map that covers the area (you want the orange covers for walking), that way you can carry it with you, and a properly printed map is way better than a printout. I'm not aware of any particular websites for route finding via OS maps - I tend to look at the map and make my own route.

Don't forget to pay attention to contours and also anything else that might slow you down - bogs, rivers, cliffs, etc. At least at first plan for something well within what you think you can do till you get a better feel for how quickly you can cover ground. A rough rule of thumb is 2 mph average (includes stops and rough terrain).

[kopite]

http://www.maptogps.com/ is a good app for route planning imo. It can output gpx files for garmin players

It doesnt allow you to remove certain roads etc but its good for planning simple way points especially if you are going to be walking off path

[jimbouk]

A rough rule of thumb is 2 mph average (includes stops and rough terrain).

Well that gives me something to aim for

http://www.maptogps.com/ is a good app for route planning imo. It can output gpx files for garmin players

That is a nice site for browsing maps, I seem to have too many joins near me so it's useful to get a feel for the area before diving into the details with a paper map. I've not gone the gps route yet (though I do have a smartphone with OSM offline 'just in-case'.

OS maps bought and I've got a pretty straight forward route planned for one day this weekend. I did forget to buy one of the super sexy map carriers that go round your neck, I'll have to get one before I go out in the rain as no-one likes navigating with a soggy map. Hopefully the maps will spend most of the time in my bag and I won't get lost!

[Butcher]

An alternative is to buy the laminated OS maps - then you can just let it get wet. Bit late now if you've already bought though.

[fuddam]

get the maps from the local library - I do that all the time. Got 13 (!) maps last time I went to Wales - a longggg route.

Sometimes I print out OS stuff from Bing maps (google doesn't have OS).

Carry water

Don't need boots, really. I run/hike in my trail running shoes. Have done 100km a couple of times, in mountainous terrain sometimes. No blisters

[jimbouk]

An alternative is to buy the laminated OS maps - then you can just let it get wet. Bit late now if you've already bought though.

Haha too late sadly yes. Do they fold as well? I'll need a couple more for North and East of my location.

get the maps from the local library - I do that all the time. Got 13 (!) maps last time I went to Wales - a longggg route.

Did not know you could do that, I would have assumed they would be reference only material! Still I don't mind paying for the local ones, but I'll remember for if I'm walking elsewhere.

Don't need boots, really. I run/hike in my trail running shoes. Have done 100km a couple of times, in mountainous terrain sometimes. No blisters

I've only got boots and some Merrell Chameleon Wrap Slam shoes which are fine except when it's a bit wet. I tried to get something in the middle ground but my feet were just too wide. If I know it's going to stay dry then I'm happy in the Merrells, but my boots are worn in and don't cause me issues with extended wear.

I think I'll probably be going on the Saturday, it looks to be cooler and cloudy which should be nice conditions for walking. I might even take my camera!

[spoon_]

Having recently completed 30 mile mountain challenge in Snowdonia National Park I can tell you that 2mph is deadly slow. We have been averaging (in mountains that is!) at about 3 to 3.5mph
On short/relatively flat distances (~7 miles) you can probably do about 4 to 4.5mph but that would depend on your level of fitness.

Head over to Meetup.com as well - plenty of people interested in walking there! I'm off to Yorkshire Dale National Park at the end of August

[jimbouk]

Well I managed over 13 miles at around 3 mph. Sadly my knee gave out so the last few miles were on the bus. Thing I learnt:

• going through town is quick but boring
• some footpaths are in really poor condition, progress was very slow at time fighting through nettles and thistles
• some footpaths are hard to find...
• some footpaths are closed; unfortunately this was a bridge with no alternative route listed, luckily it was too far round after a quick check of the map
• it's further/longer than you think when you aren't on roads, what I thought was 15 miles was closer to 20 with all the indirect routes and backtracks
• I need to take some more food; I had plenty of water/juice but would have been a little bit short on food if I had walked the whole way (because of the previous point)

I've got some ice for the injury (well mixed veg) and will take it easy for a while. Next time I'll try and stick to more major paths which should be in better condition to make things easier.

[jimbouk]

And some pictures, nature:

Apparently an active runway, I don't think anyone told the sheep:

Some of the more interesting paths to deal with:

Some lovely views as a reward:

[Butcher]

Haha too late sadly yes. Do they fold as well? I'll need a couple more for North and East of my location.

They fold up almost as well as a normal OS map - not quite as flat due to the laminated paper being a bit less flexible.

Having recently completed 30 mile mountain challenge in Snowdonia National Park I can tell you that 2mph is deadly slow. We have been averaging (in mountains that is!) at about 3 to 3.5mph
On short/relatively flat distances (~7 miles) you can probably do about 4 to 4.5mph but that would depend on your level of fitness.

That's including stops, and assuming you're not going all out for speed. A lot of people only do 3-3.5 mph on the flat if they're enjoying the walk rather than trying to blast around everything as quickly as possible.

[pmcx9]

2mph to 2.5mph is a nice pace over varied terrain whilst taking in the sights and stopping to eat at a country pub and rest.
I take a bag of pitted dates and fruit and plenty of water.
I have an app called endomondo on my phone which i use to track the journey and also as a guide to where I am heading.
Constantly referring to the OS map gets tedious so I generally just head in a direction and see what paths I can find.
However following published trails can make for better paths, like someone mentioned you can plan on an OS map and when you get there its seemingly not been walked for years

[blueball]

Have a look at Wheres the Path, very handy: http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm

[Donreader]

Whenever i'm doing some running in my training I use http://www.mapmyrun.com although it offers you calorie calculations etc these are really as inaccurate as any online calculator which takes as little actual measurements from you.

But as for the ease of planning routes and saving them it's brilliant.