I love walking. I especially enjoy walking to places. I love exploring new places, making connections in the landscape and in my mind. I love the feeling of arriving somewhere after an adventure, even if its just a little one.
I started Slow Ways because I wanted to make it easier for people to find the best ways to walk between neighbouring towns, cities and national landscapes.
It’s been a joy to work on Slow Ways, not just because of all the walking, but because of all the people who have got involved. Slow Ways would not be possible – or enjoyed – without people drawing, walking, reviewing, checking, sharing and supporting routes.
Thank you all. You know who you are. Every single contribution has been important.
Slow Ways is highly ambitious and, thanks to thousands of people – including a great deal of effort from some highly committed volunteers – we’ve created an incredible network of over 10,000 routes. You can now walk from Inverness to Falmouth entirely on routes that have been drawn, walked and triple checked by our community.
For me, Slow Ways routes are much more than lines on maps. They are pathways for tackling some of society’s greatest challenges, while also giving people joy. They have the potential to lengthen and improve the quality of lives, reduce inequality, connect people to nature, lighten our impact on the climate and so much more.
The thing is, while I love Slow Ways dearly, they don’t meet the needs of the majority of people.
We need something new, with a similar approach to Slow Ways, but radically more inclusive. Even just having shorter and circular routes would massively increase the number of people who could benefit – and there’s so much more we can do too. That’s why we launched our crowdfunding campaign last year.
So, after working for over six years on Slow Ways and months of development, we’re delighted to announce that we’re growing into a new and even more audacious citizen project – Good Ways.
Good Ways is a giant new initiative to find and share great active routes for everyone across the UK and Ireland.
We want it to be easier for you and everyone to enjoy good walking, running, cycling, wheeling, skating, paddling, swimming, riding, wheelchair and pushchair routes – whatever your interests, needs or abilities.
This is not the end of Slow Ways – it’s the beginning of a much bigger mission.
For everybody who’s been following Slow Ways, but not been able to join in as you would have liked to, Good Ways will be great for you. Shorter routes and loops are coming!
It’s important to know that all the work we have done to develop the Slow Ways walking network will continue and be carefully protected. The Slow Ways website will continue to do the good job that it does.
This new approach will mean we can enable nonprofit groups and organisations to create their own routes and networks – just as we have done for Slow Ways, but matching the interests and needs of their communities. It will also mean being able to give Slow Ways members a better app and platform while protecting its distinctive design principles.
Good Ways is more ambitious than Slow Ways, so we’ve changed our business name to Good Ways. Slow Ways will remain a flagship project with its own identity.
The idea behind Good Ways is simple but powerful: empower people and nonprofit groups from across the UK and Ireland to share great active routes, so more of us can get out, be active and discover new places more often.
Good Ways routes will be free for people to enjoy. Founding Members will help make that possible – and in return you’ll get extra features, influence, member benefits and a permanent place as one of the people who helped make Good Ways happen.
We have the vision, plan and team to make it all happen – but now we need people to join in.
We can’t make Good Ways good for you without you. Will you join us?
Get started with Good Ways!
1. Find out more about Good Ways
2. Sign up free or
3. Support us as a Founding Member
4. See recent updates to get involved
5. Share Good Ways with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours
We’re excited for this next step in our journey and very much hope you will join us.
Thank you very much for your support.
Daniel
Daniel Raven-Ellison, Slow Ways Founder
