Travel

New hiking network in the UK connects 2,500 towns, cities and notable spots


The new network connects 2,500 towns (Picture: Getty)

Lots of people have been getting outside over the past few months – be it walking, cycling or picnicking.

In fact, many of us have fallen back in love with the British countryside and the 200,000km of public access paths that it boasts.

For those partial to a bit of fresh air, a new hiking network called Slow Ways combines 7,000 different walking routes across the UK.

Brought about by self-confessed ‘guerilla geographer’ Daniel Raven-Ellison, Slow Ways connects around 2,500 towns, cities and other notable spots across Britain.

Some paths which are old and lesser-known are likely to be given a new lease of life, now they form a part of the enormous network.

Daniel had been sitting on the idea for a few years, but UK lockdown finally gave him the chance to start charting the routes. The process took him three months – with the help of 700 volunteers using maps from national mapping agency Ordnance Survery.

The draft map includes 100,000km of routes – which is roughly the equivalent of 2.5 laps of the equator

He’s now on the hunt for volunteers to test his new intricate network.

Daniel posted on Twitter earlier this week: ‘This Autumn we need 10,000 volunteers to help walk, test and explore 100,000km of drafted #SlowWays. Would you like to help? If so, please do sign-up for the newsletter on my website to stay updated.’

He told Lonely Planet: ‘The purpose of the Slow Ways is to inspire and support lots more people to get out and about walking and discovering new places.

‘While lots of people will use them for recreation, I’m personally really inspired by the memory of what these paths were originally for: for people to walk to nearby places to see family, trade or work’.

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