Britain’s footpaths are simple to navigate, but you will (almost) certainly need a map.
I started making pilgrimage in 2004 with dreams of mapless freedom - but this choice soon led to cul-de-sacs and motorways. Until a kind stranger flung me an OS map, instantly giving me the Eagle’s view of the land ahead, and allowing me to make wiser route choices.
The classic UK map option is Ordnance Survey paper maps. These are lovely to hold, and show you a wide view of the landscape, with world-leading data even at consumer level. You can see a far wider context of landscape than any screen allows, which is important for route-planning.
Maps on the 1:50,000 scale (Landranger - the pink maps) are good enough, but beter to get 1:25,000 scale (Explorer - the orange maps) if you can. The larger scale is simply clearer and easier to follow. Plus, it shows springs and wells. However, for longer distances, this may not be practical, and you may end up with an expensive map habit. I have got across a whole 1:25k map in a day before, and you still have to carry them afterward…
There are other map-makers in the UK. Harveys maps are the best alternative to OS, and offers a range of route specific maps that may be more convenient, in 1:40k scale. But nothing beats OS for clarity and ease of use.
Some Wayfarers like to navigate by the stars and the lay of the land. A book like Tristan Gooley’s workwill be helpful in getting started down this path of knowledge.
Digital Maps
Most Wayfarers carry a device with an advanced GPS chip inside it - the smartphone in your pocket. With this device, you store all the OS maps you need for far less money, and zero extra weight. Plus, with the press of a button they show EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE. It is Harry-Potterish magic. This is the reason I bought a smartphone. This works for iPhone, Android and all other platforms.
You need an app. There are many options. Make sure you get one which does not require data or wifi connection - offline map storage is crucial, or you will be reliant on mobile phone coverage, which is not reliable, and bad signal will leave you without access to your maps. Be sure to download all relevant sections onto your smartphone before setting out. Most apps do this automatically as you browse areas.
OS Maps offer their own app. It gets mixed reviews. An advantage is its subscription model, which means no large upfront cost. You can have offline access to all the UK OS mapping - in 1:25k and 1:50k - for £3 per month. If you are making pilgrimage for less than a month, this may be all you need to spend! Otherwise, you can subscribe for a whole year for £24. I find this app rather awkward to use, in scrolling, and in drawing routes.
Memory Mapis my personal favorite. This can be a little tricky at the front end, but once you are set up, Memory Map is the easiest app to quickly consult on the path, with the simplest user experience. And it doesn’t drain your phone battery. A downside is you can only subscribe annually. But you can share access to your subscription maps over 5 devices, which means you can plan at home with Memory Map software, and split the cost with fellow pilgrims.
A great advantage of digital over paper OS maps is that the cost of updating maps is built-in. You won’t end up with a stack of maps lacking the latest motorways or housing estates. Most subscription-model map apps also allow you to print out maps as often as you like, to support your journey.
The disadvantage of smartphone GPS mapping is that you are reliant on a delicate and vulnerable device. If you drop your phone in the river, that’s the end of mapping. And in adverse weather, phones can be slippery blighters. Also, in cold weather you need special gloves to consult them, and the screens can be hard to see. But a paper map is not much better in such conditions.
So if you are making pilgrimage in a group, make sure multiple pilgrims have access to digital maps and the route. Spreading the risk is a simple way to mitigate danger.
Also, a phone is only good while its battery lasts. For this reason, always carry an external powerpack/battery. For longer journeys, you’ll want a plug with dual outputs, to quickly charge both the power pack and the phone! The ones from Anker are pretty solid choices. Don’t forget decent cables!
Adaptation on the Path
It’s worth plotting a route. But also, be willing to deviate.
You may set off with a strict plan of where to go and how to get there, but do not imagine this will remain fixed. The path has other ideas, and you would do well to be flexible. Strangers offering suggestions are usually to be considered. Sub-quests to rare flowers, strange caves or legendary waterfalls should always be accepted. A pilgrimage journey has an intelligence of its own, to which you should surrender to it as much as you can.
Also follow your own nose and instincts. If you notice another path that did not stand out on the maps, or if the way ahead feels not quite right, listen to your innate intelligence and check/adapt your way. It is rare you will regret doing so. Navigation is not an imposition of your will on the path, but a harmonic response to changing conditions (internal and external).
If you meet impasse, and cannot decide which way to turn, trust your staff. You can use the spinning method (flung rotating in the air like a helicopter) or the upright method (balanced and allowed to fall). If the staff’s suggestion seems entirely inappropriate, this too is an answer.
The Joy of Trespass
There has been much recent talk of trespass and the ‘right to roam’. In Scotland, you can walk freely almost anywhere (within reason). This causes almost no problems, and everyone cracks on happily. But in England and Wales, land is more jealously guarded, which gives rise to envy and disrespect and thus causes more problems.
The story of Britain’s journey toward non-access to the countryside is not a smooth and accommodating tale. Resistance by landowners has been longstanding and jagged. To learn about trespass in Britain, read Nick Hayes’ excellent book.
In the most common-sense and basic way imaginable, we are all animals on the Earth and land ownership is an illusion conjured from ancient violence. In more evolved human futures, such myths shall dissolve. But we live here now, and so must deal with how things are.
If you see somewhere you really feel called to walk to, do so with rightesousness. But go gently and respectfully, and be ready to apologise if challenged. The best counter to people accusing you of trespass is extreme polite friendliness. This is powerful kung-fu, Jesus style. But even better is to remain subtle and quiet enough to evade any such challenge. As such, it is always good advice to avoid wearing garish and bright colours while making pilgrimage. Red berghaus jackets will make you visible from miles away.
At the end of the day, the punishment for roaming harmlessly on someone else’s land is to be asked to retrace your steps and leave. And that is no terrible thing. If you do encounter trouble, be sure to film it with your camera for safety.
The key to trespass is respect. Do not leave gates open, do not spook livestock, and do not damage anything. If your presence is the only problem caused, you can easily remedy this issue, and you may find that many old school farmers have no problem with you at all.
That being said, if you are willing to knock on doors and ask permission, often landowners will be overjoyed at the respect this shows. I’ve won suppers and invitations to stay by this very method. You can only gauge each situation as it arises.
