Today we’re celebrating our community having shared over 10,000 Slow Ways routes with the release of some new and very special maps.
We’re so grateful to everyone who’s been part of the Slow Ways journey so far. Together we’ve created a 137,485km (85,429 mile) walking network. This is such an incredible collective achievement.
Made by Charlie Peel at Urban Good, these new maps reveal the full extent of the Slow Ways network and how highly they’ve been rated.
Charlie was the perfect choice has he’s made lots of other maps for us, including our Slow Ways Pocket Atlas and large sheet maps.
Nearly 7,000 of the 10,000 routes in the network have had one or more reviews. These new maps showcase the 5,790 routes rated with three, four or five stars.
Thanks to thousands of contributors, it is possible to walk between Inverness, Penzance, Bangor and Dover entirely on the 4,254 routes rated four or five stars.
Added together, these four and five star routes add-up to over a little over 50,000km (31,000 miles) – over a third of the whole network.
The beautiful and electric map below shows a lower quality version of a high-definition larger map that’s designed for presentations and for print.
It’s a stunning map that isn’t just beautiful because of how it looks, but what it represents: thousands of journeys by volunteers, lovingly checking, reviewing and verifying routes to make sure they are good enough for others to follow in their footsteps.
Reaching 10,000 routes is a major milestone for Slow Ways. I’d like to thank everyone who’s contributed to our incredible project. These maps are a testament to your efforts and the power of the crowd.
We’re not just creating routes. We’re leading the way – making it easier for people to enjoy being active, discover new places and all the many benefits walking can give us.
What next?
And now let’s look forward to the next five years.
It’s time to make Slow Ways radically more inclusive and accessible.
We’ve connected every town and city with possible routes.
Now let’s connect every hamlet, neighbourhood, village and public service, shop, beach, hilltop, park and forests – with long, short, micro, linear and looping routes.
Let’s do that not just for walking, but for running, cycling, horse-riding and people using wheelchairs, scooters and pushchairs.
And let’s not only share routes that meet people’s needs. Let’s help people find the best routes for enjoying nature, heritage, art and other special-interests too.
Here at Slow Ways HQ we’ve got a plan to make it all happen – while keeping Slow Ways smart and super-organised.
We’re going to develop a new website and app that enables thousands of groups, charities, schools, libraries, councils, social enterprises, arts centres and other nonprofits to create routes that match our different needs.
The future Slow Ways map is not 10,000 routes. It’s 1 million routes – all in one easy to use place.
But we need your help to make it happen. Find out more on our crowdfunding campaign page.
We would love for you to be part of it.
Map Design (c) Charlie Peel, Urban Good CIC 2025. Contains Slow Ways CIC data, Slow Ways Contributors 2024. Contains OS data © Crown copyright 2024. Contains OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors 2024.
