On our fifth anniversary, here’s founder and CEO Dan Raven-Ellison on why it’s time to step up and connect millions more people and places
In just five years, we’ve sparked a quiet revolution in how people walk across Britain.
Our vision to develop a national walking network is both giant and audacious – yet, thanks to thousands of people, we’ve largely succeeded.
The Slow Ways network now includes nearly 10,000 suggested routes stretching over 140,000km – the equivalent of walking around the earth more than three times. Thanks to volunteers from across Britain, two thirds of these routes have been checked by at least one person, and a third are triplechecked and verified. Impressively, 4,000 of these routes are rated 4 or 5 stars, proving that the network isn’t just vast – it’s high quality and well loved too.
But this is just the beginning – now it’s time to take Slow Ways to the next level.
We’ve accomplished a great deal with our website and apps. They’ve taken us a long way – but to reach more people and make journeys more accessible, it’s time for a new generation of tools.
I started Slow Ways because I wanted to make it easier for more people to enjoy walking places.
Having listened to people who both love and don’t love Slow Ways over a number of years, I know there are lots of things we can do to make it better.
So, on our fifth anniversary, we’re planning some big changes. Here are a few teasers…
Our community – We want people to have the best routes for their interests and needs, whether they’re seasoned hikers or curious first-timers.
Our website and apps – Imagine a modern, smart and intuitive website that makes it easy for people to find, follow and share the best routes.
Our routes – We’re just getting started. We want to extend the network and connect millions more people and places.
This is important work.
The New Economics Foundation has been evaluating our work for the past three years. The result? £1.4 million in measurable wellbeing value – before even counting savings to the NHS and social services. £560,000 of this value is additional to people’s usual activities, with people walking more because of Slow Ways.
I know we can grow the number of people enjoying Slow Ways a hundredfold – and we’re brilliantly positioned to make that happen.
I’ll be sharing more soon and I hope you’ll be part of shaping the next chapter with us.
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