Like them or loathe them, mobile phones are taking their place beside a map and compass as essential rucksack items. Until now it’s been about personal safety and making calls, but for a new generation of walkers, mobiles are becoming a source of information – even when out walking. And a groundbreaking project by Ramblers Cymru is showing how this new technology is set to change people’s approach to walking in the future.

“A mobile is no longer just a phone, ” says Rob Hanna, Ramblers Cymru’s senior development and promotion officer. “Think of it as a portable computer serving up data. ” Rob and his colleagues at Ramblers Cymru are behind a project called Activate, which is developing a software application that will make masses of information available via the phone in your hand. In simple terms, if you have the latest type of mobile phone – a so-called ‘smartphone’ with high-speed internet access, such as an iPhone – you will be able to bring up not just text and images but also video and audio information about a location. You can even use it to follow a specific walking route, or what’s being called an eTrail.

“An eTrail is like a virtual guidebook on your mobile phone, ” explains Rob. “It’s not meant to replace a printed map or guidebook, but it will be better than a simple leaflet. We’re aiming it at individuals and very small groups where the information can be easily used and shared. ”

Ramblers Cymru has identified around 130 different organisations across Wales that put on guided or led walks, including local authorities, national parks and charities such as the RSPB. The idea behind the Activate ‘app’ (short for application) is that for the first time all this information will be brought together in one place – specific to your location and downloadable to your phone – doing away with the arduous task of trawling through numerous websites or visiting libraries and information centres. So, if you’re walking in the Black Mountains or the Cardiff area, you will be able to find out who is leading what walk and where at the click of a button, in both English and Welsh.

The process of collating all this data is likely to reveal some interesting results in terms of the prevalence of walking information in Wales and where the gaps are. But it will also provide the opportunity to prise out information from many varied and interesting places, so much so Rob enthusiastically describes it as “the mass trespass of the virtual environment! ”

In the long run, Activate meets the need for sustainability, too. Not only will it be a paper-free resource, but it aims to be financially self-supporting. Maintenance costs will be light and mostly met by the price of the app, plus a small fee that other organisations will be invited to pay to upload their information and establish web links. The project has received the support of the Welsh Assembly, and was launched at the Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale in August. A wide range of partners is involved, including Visit Wales, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and the National Museum of Wales. But its success also reflects the young and innovative team at Ramblers Cymru, typified by 23-year-old Activate researcher Sammy Milston. “Lots of people are into this sort of technology, particularly from my own age group, ” she says. “It’s reckoned that there will be more than 40 million smartphones in use in the UK by 2012, and without doubt it’s one way for us to communicate with and incentivise a younger audience. It’s important for the future of the Ramblers. ”

New technology, new audiences
Smartphones will soon make up the lion’s share of mobile phones in Britain and they’re already popular with travellers and outdoor enthusiasts, not least because they have a built-in global positioning system (GPS) facility, allowing you to pinpoint your exact location. And since you can combine this with an app offering detailed Ordnance Survey mapping, it’s easy to see why a mobile is indispensable for a growing number of people. Even patchy mobile coverage in rural areas is not a barrier for an app like Activate – you simply download it before you set off or go out of range and then bring it up on screen when necessary.

Sammy and her colleagues are convinced that this new technology will be at the heart of walking in the future, where a podcast (a downloadable audio program) on a mobile phone will be as familiar as the page of a printed guidebook. But they also see it as an important part of the solution in tackling growing inactivity and obesity levels in Wales, since one of the project’s aims is to get 10% more people walking within four years.

An eTrail network
If all this talk of apps and smartphones is a little bewildering, it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s essentially just communicating the same message, but in a more modern way to reach new audiences. Getting people out walking is still the core aim, and community and heritage are at the heart of each walk developed as an eTrail. Llantwit Major in South Wales provided the pilot eTrail, after Ramblers Cymru teamed up with the town council, Local History Society, and Rights of Way and Heritage Coast officers to develop a series of short local routes. For the most part these have been modelled on existing trails for which leaflets are now out of date or unavailable. They include a Blue Plaque town trail looking at historic buildings, wildlife walks along the Heritage Coast, and a poetry trail in St Illtyd.

When complete, the Llantwit Major eTrails won’t just include maps and advice on where to go; there will be, for instance, audio sections where you can listen to local historians talking about a heritage attraction you’re standing in front of. In many ways it moves the walking guidebook into a whole new dimension. “By establishing a series of local eTrails, a process has been developed that directly involves the community, ” explains Rob Hanna. “Our facilitator works closely with local people so that they learn the necessary skills to explore themes such as nature, history and culture, through local walking routes. At the same time, the Ramblers raises its profile and perhaps gets some new members, while leaving a worthwhile legacy for the local community. ”

Eddie Williams, a Llantwit Major town councillor, says that overall it’s been a worthwhile experience. “The project has brought together many different local groups and organisations,” he says, “and hopefully we can continue to build on these links with future eTrails. ” Indeed, minds are already turning to how eTrails can be rolled out in other communities, and how the knowledge and expertise within local Ramblers groups can be used to further the project. With a process or ‘toolkit’ taking shape, local Ramblers can be trained to develop eTrails with new communities.

It seems ironic that despite being a ‘virtual’ project, eTrails is destined to make such a lasting contribution to enhancing local heritage – not least because it will form part of a national initiative called the People’s Collection Wales. Funded by the Welsh Assembly, the vast archive aims to preserve and promote Wales’s cultural heritage by gathering digital content from a wide range of places – not just museums and libraries, but local groups, individuals and community-led projects like eTrails, too. Eventually you’ll be able to search online for any aspect of Welsh life in the form of documents, photographs and films, with the chance to view virtual artefacts in 3D and even explore animated, reconstructions of historical sites. It’s cutting edge stuff, and pioneering projects such as the Ramblers’ eTrails are showing how new technology can deliver stunning interactive content at the click of a button. Forget the term ‘next generation phones’ – this is next generation walking.

Going Mobile: Walking apps and sites for your smartphone

Apps
RouteBuddy – www.routebuddy.com
Turns your iPhone into a handheld GPS unit with detailed Ordnance Survey mapping available, including all 15 national parks.
Peaks – http://peaks.augmented-outdoors.com
Point your phone’s camera at any one of more than 500,000 hills worldwide and this app will tell you its name, location and altitude.
Midge Forecast – http://2010.midgeforecast.co.uk
A Scottish-based national midge forecast that warns you where the beasties are biting.
www.GPSmyCity.com
One of many self-guided walking apps with maps and route description for cities worldwide.
Activate – due late-2010.

Podcasts
Peak District – www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/mftf/audiotrails.htm
The Peak District‘s award-winning audio guide, including maps, images and GPS co-ordinates.

Wainwright – www.golakes.co.uk/downloads/podcasts/wainwright.aspx
Listen to Alfred Wainwright guiding you around Helm Crag, Grasmere.

Ramblers

Twitter – follow the Ramblers (twitter.com/RamblersGB), its campaigns (twitter.com/HeartofWalking), or this magazine (twitter.com/walkmagazine) for brief updates on the world of walking.
Facebook – meet and discuss walking with others at the Ramblers’ (tinyurl.com/ramblersfb) and walk magazine’s (tinyurl.com/walkfb) Facebook pages.
E-newsletters – www.ramblers.org. uk/newsletter Subscribe, manage and receive e-newsletters from the Ramblers on walk magazine, volunteering and Get Walking Keep Walking.
Group walks finder – www.ramblers. co.uk/map Search thousands of Ramblers-led walks using the improved search facility, with OS mapping.

“It all came out of the artwork,” said label spokesperson Laura Sykes on Sandbox.fm. “We released three Grasscut singles prior to the album that all had map themes for the packaging. Then when the album arrived and we learned it had been written about a particular area in Sussex we decided to tie it all together.”

The band – made up of composer Andrew Phillips and musician Marcus O’Dair – are keen walkers, and apparently enjoy going on long walks in the area. Plans for the release include mapping the actual tracks on the Google map, making an interactive walk available and enjoy a guided tour by the band – not to mention a video of the route for those who can’t make it to Sussex.

So what does it sound like? Well, according to the record label, the album “maps the route of a transcendental journey across a real landscape, centering on the Sussex South Downs of “High Down,” but taking in frozen mountains in North Wales (“Meltwater”), a man with a metal walking stick in a park in Brighton (“The Tin Man”). Have a listen for yourself on the Ninja Tune website, where the album is available to pre-order if you like what you hear.

Imagine walking through the streets of London, traversing the centuries. One minute you’re gazing over the Covent Garden Piazza in the 1720s, the next you’re on Carnaby in the swinging 60s. Sound like a HG Wells fantasy? Thanks to a new iPhone app from the Museum of London it’s become a fascinating reality.

The free Streetmuseum app features hundreds of historical images from the museum’s collections, all plotted on an interactive map. Hold your iPhone up to the horizon and it even gives you an Augmented Reality view of the nearest sites of interest, along with how far away each one is. Once you’re there, just hold your iPhone up to the present day street scene and see the same London location appears on your screen, offering you a window through time. Tap the information button and you get historical facts, and create your own trails around London.

And the fun doesn’t end there. As the museum points out, “with thousands of years of turbulent history, London has changed many times so some streets or buildings may not exist today. Where precise locations aren’t available, relish the challenge of identifying recognisable landmarks which may offer you clues as to the current day site. A street name in the background or a church spire in the distance may be all you need to find the view. Our descriptions can also help you locate the right spot.”

Happy time travelling!

By compiling his everyday journeys onto maps, he has created a series of personal cartographies that reveals a unique and detailed interaction with space and time. After making the world’s biggest drawing of a pentagram by taking and tracking five airline flights over Europe, Jeremy has switched focus to the microcosm that is his back garden… tracing his travels on a lawn mower for his most recent exhibition at London’s Tenderpixel Gallery.

To coincide with the show, Woods will be giving a brief presentation on his current practice and other GPS projects. The talk will start at 6pm on the 19th, and space is limited so please RSVP to mail@tenderpixel.com by June 10th. For more, visit http://www.tenderpixel.com

£380 + £200 for 1:50,000 GB
Weight: 222g (inc batteries)
Size: 13×7.5x3cm
Battery life: 16 hours
Channels: 12
www.satmap.com

+ Easy to navigate; rugged and waterproof with a 3.5inch colour screen (largest on test); comes with carry case and useful in-car charger.
– Additional maps are expensive. Slower to fix a location than others tested. Start up instruction booklet inadequate. Bigger and heavier than others.

Verdict: Pricey package but it’s a good rugged unit with many impressive features, including navigating with external buttons and a joystick.

Includes selected National Parks using OS Landranger 1:50,000

PLUS 10,000km2 of Digital Map Shop credit for OS Landranger 1:50,000 to download mapping from anywhere in Great Britain.

Adventure 2800 Great Britain Edition – SRP £360

Includes OS Landranger 1:50,000 mapping for all of Great Britain

Weight: 135g (inc batteries)
Size: 10.8×5.6×2
Battery life: 8 hours
Channels: 50
www.memory-map.co.uk

+ Lightweight, easy to navigate; housed in a rugged waterproof case; seamless refresh rate (meaning you can scan and scroll maps without any significant download time); lightweight (135g); comes with In Car Charger; impressive “zoom in” picture quality.
– No stylus provided, touch screen is fiddly to use with gloves on; limited start up instructions. Shorter battery life than others on test.

Verdict: Very impressive, the 2.8 high resolution touch screen is one of the best on the market with 92,000 pixels. Its easy to use and you don’t need to purchase extra maps to get started.

£500 + £100 for 1:50,000 National Parks
Weight: 242g (inc batteries)
Size: 13x6x3cm
Battery life: 10-15 hours
Channels: 42
www.lowrance.com

+ Clear mapping detail on screen and easy to use. Good satellite coverage. Some excellent additional features including the combination of touch screen and buttons to navigate. Shockproof and submersible.

– The 2.7inch screen is small. Expensive.

Verdict: Their top of the range unit features a rubber-cased waterproof unit that includes an MP3 player, Microphone and barometric altimeter. The only unit to encompass touch screen and button operation. For the price we found the performance a little disappointing.

+ Waterproof, easy to use 3 inch touch screen; it has digital elevation maps and an excellent 3D view option. Easy to use route planner
– Zoom in picture quality becomes grainy so small scale maps don’t display as well. Touch screen operation becomes difficult with gloves on. Basic manual.

Verdict: A compact easy to use unit but a stylus would be useful.

Walking. It used to be so simple. A wilderness. A map. Away you go. But the tentacles of technology have reached out and entangled hillwalkers and city strollers alike. So we thought we’d better give the latest digital navigation handsets a good old once-over. Here’s what to look for…

Channels
GPS receivers use different numbers of channels to track the satellites. The more channels a receiver has the more chance the unit will find the satellites and pinpoint your location.

Power
Having external power capability is a nice feature if you using a GPS in the car and can save a lot of batteries. Does the unit fit a mobile charger or solar panel power unit?

Battery life
The more features a unit has the more battery power is required. On the hill you’ll have to relie on battery life so good battery life is important. And don’t forget some spares!

Screen
Large screens use more battery power but the larger the screen the more information it can display and the easier it is to read. A colour screen makes the map more readable but again uses more power than a greyscale screen (all the tested units here are colour). Screen quality also varies.

Buttons
If the unit has buttons, are they easy to use? Can you still operate them with gloves on? Do they accidentally get pushed on in your pocket.

Memory
If you want to store lots of routes then you’ll need plenty of memory space for storing the waypoints (coordinates of a location). It’s useful to store various routes so you don’t have to reload routes all the time. Storing 10 routes is good but more capacity than that is better, especially for regular users.

Upload / download capacity
Keying in routes and waypoints is very slow so you’ll want to be able to a computer link to upload and download software.

Maps
Can the unit you choose be loaded with the maps you want? Not all GPS units can be loaded with European or international maps. Also consider the mapping scales, 1:25K show a lot more detail than 1:50K.

Compass
Does it have one and is it magnetic? A GPS unit with a digital magnetic compass will point you in the right direction before you start moving.

UK and International use
When taking these units abroad do they allow you to match up the coordinate systems to mapping system in other countries? The UK system is usually referred to as OSGB, ord srvy GB or British Grid.

Which GPS is right for you?
The best way to choose a GPS is to decide on the relative importance of each feature or function. Measure up the models within your budget against answers to the following questions:

•How many waypoints, routes and tracks will I need to store?
•Will I need removable memory for large areas of mapping?
•Will the electronic compass/barometric altimeter combo be useful?
•What’s the best sort of screen size/ resolution/brightness?
•Do I want audible alarms?
•What type of battery is used and how long is the battery life?
•How easy is it to use, especially wearing gloves?

Techy terms
•Waypoint A GPS position expressed in the
UK as an OS grid reference.
•Route A number of GPS waypoints linked
together in the order in which they are to
be navigated.
•Track A GPS record of movement across the ground while travelling on a specific journey.
•High sensitivity (aerial) This should receive a good satellite signal even in forests and gullies. It will often work even indoors.
•Topo mapping A stripped-down OS-type map on the GPS screen showing contours, streams, many paths, roads and point of interest features. Current position, waypoints, routes and tracks can be seen as an overlay on this map.
•Internal memory The number of waypoints, routes and tracks a GPS will store, plus fixed internal memory (MB) for mapping.
•Electronic compass This will provide an accurate navigational direction pointer even when you’re stationery. Without this, you must be moving to get an accurate navigational direction.
•Barometric altimeter This shows total ascent and descent, altitude and basic weather trends through changes in pressure.
•Screen shape Portrait screens are higher than they are wide. This is useful so that you can see as much of the route ahead as possible. Landscape screens are wider than they are high.

Garmin’s top-of-the-range models boast a 30 per cent bigger screen and five clearly-labelled buttons, making basic processes much quicker to complete. The big fourway curser button in the centre of the case, together with a dedicated ‘Enter’ button, is much easier to use compared with the fiveway click stick on the eTrex range. Although the case is larger and the unit a little heavier than other models, it is worth considering, especially if you don’t have great eyesight.

Reviewed: Winter 2007 by Simon Brown

Size: 15.5 x 6.1 x 3.3 cm

Weight with batteries: 213g

Aerial type: High sensitivity

Screen area: 21.3 sq cm

Battery/typical life: 2 x AA/18 hrs

Mapping capable? Garmin Topo only via micro SD card

Electronic compass/barometer? 60 CSx only

RRP GPSmap 60Cx: £349.99, GPSmap 60CSx: £399.99