UK Trailwalker’s Handbook - directory of long-distance paths

• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates
• Reviews
• Further Reading

Printed maps

A large-scale paper map should be carried when walking any LDP. Each directory entry lists the relevant Ordnance Survey (OS) map numbers. The Landranger 1:50,000 scale maps are good for initial planning and adequate for most route-finding purposes. For those who like more detail, including field boundaries and the like, the OS Explorer (1:25,000) series now covers all of Britain with rugged, waterproof versions available as the ‘Active’ series. The routes of many major LDPs are marked on these maps with red or green diamond lozenges.

Official guidebooks to the English National Trails contain extracts from OS maps, as do some other route guides, and these may suffice if detours from the route are not expected. Other publishers, in particular Harvey Maps, have produced dedicated maps for certain LDPs, while GEOProjects provide a range of waterways maps. A few routes are marked only on OS maps, their supporting paper publications having gone out of print. Maps are widely available through local book and outdoor shops. Some major stockists include Aqua3, Cordee Ltd, Dash4it, Elstead Maps, Guidepost, Map and Compass, National Map Centre, The Map Shop, Trident Maps and Stanfords.

Digital maps

Digital maps are becoming increasingly useful to trailwalkers. Full OS mapping is available for home use on a computer, enabling printing of tailored extracts, and a pre-plotted track can be added and transferred as waypoints to a GPS. A range of hand-held devices with varying battery life now support full-quality OS mapping, from PDAs through smart-phones to GPSs that take maps on memory cards. The main suppliers of digital maps are currently Anquet, Memory-Map and Tracklogs. Major suppliers of GPSs are Garmin and Satmap. For some routes, such as National Trails, tailored digital strip-mapping is also available for these devices.