How to Navigate

Taking your first steps on the path can be daunting, especially if you are new to navigation. Here are our top tips to find your way without the worry.

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In this article:

• Guidance for absolute beginners
• How-to guide for phone navigation

Route Choice

If you are a nervous navigator, pick a route that makes it hard to get lost. Routes that follow rivers source to sea, a coastal path or geographic features like a ridgeline will help give you a general sense of direction for most of the route. Alternatively, choosing a route that overlaps with a national trail will ensure waymarking is well maintained with plenty of other users to ask in the unlikely event you get stuck.

Use Live Location

Google maps and navigation/mapping apps can show you your live location. If you have downloaded the route so the maps are stored offline on your device, the location pin can show you whether you are on the right path or not, even when you have no phone or data signal, because GPS works in a different way. This saves the requirement of having to work out where you are, before you work out where you are going. Humans have never been able to do this before! You can use it in combination with a back up paper map if you want and it is a great confidence builder if you are new to navigation.

Look Around You

Whether you are using a phone or a traditional paper map for navigation, avoid having your head stuck in your map all the time. In advance of your journey try identifying features along your route and using them as waymarks, such as woods, rivers, church spires, hillsides. Your ability to read the land will grow with practice so you only need to check your map when its time to turn. You can even take this further and practice Natural Navigation, using all sorts of clues and signs in the landscape to help you follow your path. It's a beautifully rewarding way to walk and you'll notice much more around you.

Get lost

Give yourself permission to make a wrong turning every now and then. Sometimes you need to try a path to make sure it is the right one, or just because you want to go exploring. Even the most experienced navigator overshoots a turning or gets a little disoriented sometimes. If you have your landmarks in mind, and are checking your map at appropriate intervals, you'll catch your mistake without going too far. It's an excuse to stop for a drink and a snack before carrying on, and you might even make a welcome discovery! Retrace your steps and you'll be back on track in no time at all. It's not a failure, just a course correction.

Phone Navigation - some FAQ's
Is it ok to rely on my phone for navigation?

The majority of pilgrimage routes in Britain are safe to navigate using your phone. If you intend to go into a more hazardous landscape, such as a mountain or across a moor (when paths tend to be less visible on the ground), it’s better to have a higher level of navigational skill. For regular routes, phone navigation has the advantage of quickly and easily showing you where you are, taking some of the worry out of finding your way.

What is a GPX file?

A GPX file is a basic type of text file that contains global positioning information, i.e. points along a map joined up by a line. When you open a GPX file in your mapping app the route will appear as a line for you to follow, and you will be able to see where you are along the route without having to work out this out yourself.

What if I lose signal on my phone? Will it use up my data?

Your phone’s GPS works separately to phone signal and data connection, by connecting with a different satellite system. It will therefore work in airplane mode or with no signal (except places like caves). Though, you must have downloaded the base map and route offline in advance.

1. Download a Mapping App

There are lots of different mapping apps available, and the right one for you will depend on the type of maps you like to use. There are some free apps but these have limited functionality or very basic maps. Take the time to look at a couple of options before you choose. Take advantage of the free trial and remember to cancel it if you don’t want to pay. You'll find many routes from our website already loaded onto some of these apps.

Outdoor Active

• Free version available uses Open Street Map (basic, easy to read mapping) and allows you to use GPX files.
• Subscription version offers a choice of different maps, including aerial and Ordnance Survey.
• Free trial for 14 days, then a few pounds per month.  
• Additional benefit is that this app allows you to find routes marked specifically as Pilgrim Walks, plus whoever added the route is able to add content like readings, music to enrich your experience.
• Downside - you can see any route anyone has chosen to share, which can make it a bit confusing for beginners to find what you are looking for.

Ordnance Survey

• Free version uses Open Street Map (basic, easy to read mapping)
• Free trial for subscription version which offers a choice of different maps, including satellite and Ordnance Survey maps.
• Free trial for 14 days, then a few pounds per month or a one-off fee for the year
• Likely to be the most up-to-date and accurate map with the familiarity of OS symbols to help you find other services you may need for your journey, or anticipate the type of terrain you will encounter.
• Downside is that you do need to be able to understand things like the map symbols and contour lines to get the most from it.

Free Apps

These have less functionality and you will not be able to use Ordnance Survey maps on them.

• Guru Maps - free if you download less than 15 routes. If you want to upgrade to the pro version Friends of the British Pilgrimage Trust get a 30% discount.
• OsmAnd - greater variety of functionality than most free map apps but you might need to invest the time to learn to use it. You also need to download regional maps separately.

Other Apps

There are plenty of other mapping apps available like Alltrails, Komoot and Strava. If you already have one that you like that works for you that’s fine, as long as you can use GPX files with it.

‍Very important: make sure you allow your app permission to view your location when you open it for the first time  

2. Download a GPX File

A GPX file is a type of text file that contains code to exchange global positioning information with your mapping app. If you open it as a text file it won’t make much sense, but when you open or import it in your mapping app, the route will be shown (as long as there aren't any issues with that specific file). When you download a route from our website, you will be sent an email with all the relevant files ready to use. You can save the file linked in the email onto your phone and open the file with your mapping app by either:

• Select the file from where you have saved it (or directly from your email if you don't want to save), and then use “open with” function to open in your mapping app.
• Open your mapping app and use the menu to “Import GPX”. The specific process will vary depending on which app you are using.

Instructions for Outdoor Active‍

Instructions for Ordnance Survey

Instructions for Guru Maps

‍Instructions for OsmAnd

3. Try using the Google Map

If you prefer the familiarity of a google map, the British Pilgrimage Trust offers all routes on its website in this format. This is can be used on its own in low-risk landscapes or in tandem with your mapping app. It is a quick and easy way to check your position in the landscape using an aerial map, or check what businesses and services may be nearby. To use this, you must download the map 'offline' to your phone before heading out.

Click on the link on the individual route entry from your smartphone to open it up. This will enable you to use the walking route like normal directions in Google Maps. Depending on your phone you may need to click on the menu within the map and select Open in Maps to view it in Google Maps along with your live location. iPhone users will also need to save it to their phone to stop the route disappearing when you lock your screen.

Further Training

If you are keen to expand your navigational skills with traditional map reading, there are some great resources online.

The Ramblers offer a series of short introductory videos for things like how to take compass bearings, how to measure distance etc.

Ordnance Survey also offers a range of resources to improve paper map reading skills.

Our patron Tristan Gooley offers a beginners guide to natural navigation.