Once you’re allowed to visit family or friends around the UK, why not ditch the car or train and go on foot instead? That’s what the creators of Slow Ways want to encourage. It’s an ambitious new project to create a network of walking routes between all of Great Britain’s towns and cities, as well as thousands of villages.
The brainchild of geographer and explorer Dan Raven-Ellison, and supported by Ordnance Survey, the idea is to get people walking between locations they might otherwise drive or take public transport to – via existing off-road paths and bridleways – and to promote slower types of travel.
“Historically, footpaths were created for walking to work, visiting relatives or trading, but many routes have been forgotten. We want to reimagine them for use today,” Raven-Ellison said. “People walk for fun, of course, but we’re also interested in the idea of functional walks – walking to visit people often takes less time than you’d think.”
During lockdown, a team of 700 volunteers have plotted 7,000 routes, which collectively stretch for over 60,000 miles, with an average of 7.5 miles in England and Wales and 12 miles in Scotland. Routes are currently being checked before 10,000 volunteers will test walk them from late summer.
“We have fantastic national trails and long-distance paths, but they tend to go from rural place to rural place, can be technically challenging, and often places to stay along them are expensive. A lot of circular countryside walks feature quite exclusive pubs, too,” said Raven-Ellison.
“With Slow Ways you can easily plot triangular walks, staying at different towns or villages with options for all budgets – or you might just do a section and get a train back home.”
The network will open up new areas and take people off paths around honeypots, he added. “Some might be concerned about Slow Ways bringing more walkers to their areas, but there really won’t be hundreds of people turning up overnight.”
Once finished, the Slow Ways network will be published online, with a searchable database freely available via Ordnance Survey. People will be able to choose segments between towns and cities or daisy-chain routes for long-distance journeys.
“Walking is important for so many reasons. There’s a climate, ecological, health and financial emergency, and walking can help reduce personal emissions, save money and bring joy. Life has slowed down in lockdown. Now people are reconnecting with their surroundings and discovering new things about the country. I hope Slow Ways will help them to continue to do this.”
To be among the first to volunteer to test walk a route, sign up to the newsletter, or enter a competition to design the symbol, visit ravenellison.com
