Navigation
It is very important to know where you are when out walking in the hills. Emergency services cannot send help if you can't tell them where to find you. Although mobile signals can be patchy or none existent most people use mobile phones for navigation, but is the in built mapping good enough? maybe if you are in a city it is, but for walking in the hills you need far more detail and standard mapping apps wont give you this.
Paper maps are great, they don't crash and they don't run out of battery. But do you know how to use it?
Ordnance Survey (OS) Maps is the only navigation app officially endorsed by Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW). MREW recommends OS Maps for navigating in the mountains, hills, and countryside.
Why OS Maps is recommended
Offline : OS Maps can be downloaded and viewed offline, no internet connection required.
Accurate detail: OS Maps provides detailed mapping at 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 scale.
Route planning: OS Maps allows users to plot, customize, and save routes.
3D mapping: OS Maps includes 3D mapping and a 3D fly-through option.
AR tools: OS Maps includes augmented reality (AR) tools.
Locate Me: OS Maps includes Locate Me, which provides GPS-based location tracking, a built-in compass, and the ability to share your location.
OS Maps
OS Maps Online
OS Locate
Authors Note:
All our routes are plotted using OS Maps. We also use OS Maps as our main method of navigation.
All our routes can be downloaded free of charge in GPX format, these can then be imported into the OS Maps app.
Paths are not always easily visible, or may be overgrown, OS Maps can help keep you on track. You can then find a safe path to reach your next map point or waymarker, while heading in the right direction.
We also recommend the OS Locate app. The OS locate app is a fast and highly accurate means of pinpointing your exact location, anywhere in Great Britain. The app converts GPS location readings from your mobile phone to Ordnance Survey National Grid references, enabling you to determine precisely where you are on an Ordnance Survey map. The app does not require a mobile signal to function – the inbuilt GPS system can be relied upon, even in the most remote areas. This would allow you to give an accurate 6 figure grid reference to the emergency services in the case of an emergency.