Plenty of Slow Ways routes have yet to be walked. Being the first to try one out is adventurous and generous! Read on for advice from seasoned Slow Ways volunteers
The Slow Ways network is charging ahead. Every day people are walking routes, and then reviewing them. 20% of the network has been verified (walked and positively reviewed three or more times) and another 20% has been surveyed. 62% of all the routes have been reviewed! That’s 96,000km (60,000 miles)!
This is amazing!
But that still leaves a lot of routes that have been drawn but not yet walked. We call it trailblazing, if you are the first to walk a Slow Way route. The route page on the website will tell you the distance and altitude rise and fall. The route is plotted and can be followed from the site or our app, or downloaded as a gpx file to use through another navigation app. But there won’t be any reviews or photos, and no guarantee that the route works, is safe, accessible, or accurately drawn.
Trailblazing isn’t for everyone, but it does bring its own satisfactions, and is a really appreciated service to the network and its future walkers. If that sounds a bit abstract, it isn’t. There may well be someone in your local area who would like to walk the route you trailblaze but daren’t without knowing something about it. Your experience of it will give them the confidence to try it. They will literally be walking in your footsteps.
Sound like something you’d like to do? Here is a round-up of tips from frequent Slow Ways walkers, to get you started on your trailblazing missions. All of these were offered up on our Discord platform where you are very welcome to join – it’s ideal for asking questions, checking what to do in puzzling circumstances, or adding your own tips.
Before you go
Sense-check the route
Sense-check the route on a map first – you might be able to see problems that the route drafter didn’t notice. Not all of the routes were drafted by people with local knowledge, so if you do know the area you could have some useful intel. (Hannah)
Have a plan B
My advice is to always have a plan B, and sometimes C, D and E for sections that you’re unsure of when checking the map. In my experience those are places where you think the route might pass over private land, or that suggest walking along potentially busy roads. Also check out the nearest places to access public transport in case you do have to abort. (Helen Gough)
Look on Google Maps Street View where there might be a busy road to see if there is a pavement; also look for crossing points of very busy roads if they’re needed. Maybe also check where footpaths leave roads – occasionally they are completely overgrown. (Mary Oz)
Yes! I do this almost every time. They are invaluable tools. Google Maps is really useful for seeing whether there is an obvious path where a footpath is meant to be – suggesting it is reasonably well used – or (more often) not, so I can be prepared for potential problems. The historical imagery available in Google Earth is occasionally useful for this too. (panifex)
You may create and walk you own version
Do feel free to trial your own version of a route if you don’t like the look of what’s suggested. There’s guidance on how to add a gpx file of your new route here. I wouldn’t make a new gpx until after walking it and knowing that it works and is worth it, but it looks like some people do as a matter of course. (Hannah)
I always modify the gpx on my computer. Even just to align better with the paths on OpenStreetMap, and to find all crossings. Then I upload it to my watch for the walk. (Derick Rethans)
I always replot routes before setting out to make sure I know what’s ahead, including any potential challenges, but mainly because some of the plotted routes on Slow Ways are too generalised where greater attention to detail is required. (Steve L)
I like not being totally prepared! I’ve always found it a way to engage well with the landscape and take it as I find it. And to have to adapt. But I’ve come unstuck a few times. Grudgingly, trailblazing does benefit from prior research. At least a look at the route in advance can tell me how comfortable I am being unprepared, depending on the type of terrain. (Hannah)
While you walk/ run/ scoot/ hike
Don’t let the tech put you off
You can walk any Slow Ways using a paper OS map. I like transcribing the route onto the map with a highlighter pen. You can also print out the route from the website (how to guide here), find the route on our Apple app (Android on the way), or navigate straight from the website on a browser window on your phone. Plenty of people walk Slow Ways and never make gpx routes from scratch. (Hannah)
If there is an access issue try to explore potential workarounds while you are still outdoors. (Petr)
Have a good map with you on the walk – one that shows different footpaths in addition to the roads. If you rely on a digital version, download it for offline use and make sure you’ve got enough battery to last you the whole way. I do a lot of prep that people have already mentioned, but as others have said, you can’t always foresee where you have to divert from the gpx file or where a path might be impassable. Having a map can show you options to either abort if the detour is too long or find an alternative to continue on with the walk. (agreeninn)
Take lots of photos
Take loads of photos! Sometimes when you’re in the zone you just trudge, but photos help when you do your review. Don’t forget to stop and look back. The view is entirely different 😁 (John Medland)
Think about the next walker
This tip is more to do with attitude: do not worry about the person who did the plotting, only the next person doing the walking. (David Sanderson)
Leave plenty of time!
In winter start early so you don’t run out of daylight. (Helen Gough)
As a really rough rule of thumb I reckon on leaving 20% longer than you usually would for the distance. Little things like mud or going to the wrong corner of a field can add up, and big things like impenetrable thickets or absent footbridges can take a while to work around. (Hannah)
Take note of the weather and time of year
Prepare for the worst ground conditions. (Petr)
I pioneered one route once that required me to wade through a stream (it rained that morning). It was supposed to be fordable (even on OpenStreetMap), but no luck. I got very wet socks. The alternative would have been a three-mile detour. (Derick Rethans)
Getting home again
Don’t forget to plan how you will get back to the start, check available public transport etc. (markdecosemo)
Since trailblazing routes can be a bit hit and miss, I like to do the public transport bit of the journey first so that I am then walking back home or back to my car. It’s stressful walking a route of unknown quality with a hard deadline. (Hannah)
Reviewing the route you walked
When you are done and home again it is time to review the route. The process can be very short, but includes the question ‘Would you recommend this route as part of our Slow Ways network?’ If you tick no or maybe this counts as a negative. A route needs three positives to become verified – part of the checked and trusted network.
Don’t ‘pass’ a route where you were forced to divert. And don’t “fail” a route that was possible and safe, just because you’d prefer some alternative. (Mary Oz)
Don’t accept routes that need tweaking to make them walkable. Fine if the detour is very small but… (BeeryHikerHugh)
If you have ideas of how to make the route better, but didn’t test them, put the details in your review for the next person to try. You might want to come back another day to try them yourself. But make sure you mention it all in your review in case someone else gets there first.
Whether or not you tested your alternatives you might want to make a new gpx route file and upload it to the website, or ask the community to make one for you via Discord or [email protected] If you did walk the whole of your new route please do be its first reviewer too! If you didn’t walk it all you can upload it for the next person, but not review it.
You can also review the unsuccessful or less good route it was based on, and explain why you have suggested a new version. All of your experience will be useful to the next person. (Hannah)
Don’t forget that you can also survey routes!
Surveying is also really appreciated. You can survey as you trailblaze, but if you suspect the route might not work you may want to check it once first, and come back to survey it another day. There’s a how to survey guide here.
And you can also review a route twice
If you go back to re-walk a route after a period of time, you are welcome to review it again. It might be a different season with different vegetation or conditions underfoot; you might notice things you didn’t the first time. All Slow Ways routes will all need re-checking over time, and you are welcome to review the same one more than once.
Feel pleased with yourself!
Trailblazing is adventurous and generous. It is a philanthropic act that is the first (sometimes) tricky step in bringing a route into the trusted network, making important links, and making the network usable and valuable. Thank you.
