4 essential apps for hikes and walks.
With all the helpful mobile apps to help guide your way, there’s never been a better time to go for a walk. And whether you’re finding your way around a new city or lacing up your boots and heading into the hills, you’ll find a great range of free and paid for apps to get you started.
Here’s 4 of our faves that you won’t want to leave home without. Make sure you read to the end, as there’s a chance to win a brilliant prize too!
Google Maps
What it’s best for: Casual walks around cities or parks.
The chances are that you’re already using this app. It often comes installed on android phones and has a variety of uses – from checking train times to looking for somewhere to eat.
But it has some features that are just made for walking. Want to get off the roads when walking around towns or country parks? Pick walking mode and it’ll usually take you down some quiet paths that are a little off the beaten track.
For another thing, you can download maps and use them offline. That means that you can go for walks where mobile reception is a bit patchy and, because you still get GPS, you’ll know where you are in relation to your downloaded map.
You can also find reviews of nice places to stop on your walk. It’s a great app for a casual walk, but if you’re going for a more serious hike, you might want to try AllTrails. Keep reading!
Price: Free
Met Office
What it’s best for: Making sure you don’t get caught in the rain!
If you’re heading out in the UK, make sure you keep half an eye on the weather. Download the Met Office app for daily and even hourly weather updates. You can search by location and you’ll get alerts if there’s extreme weather on the way. It’s also a great tool for people who suffer from allergies – since you’ll also get pollen alerts too.
If you prefer a portable weather forecaster, you can watch Met Office videos giving you UK summaries. And if you’re tackling a mountain, the Met Office provides detailed mountain weather forecasts.
There are interactive rainfall maps too, so you can plan your holiday walks the day before. So, you’ll know whether to strap on your walking boots or have a longer lie in.
Price: Free
AllTrails
What it’s best for: Serious rambling in the countryside.
Fancy a hike in the middle of nowhere? AllTrails features 300,000 – so you’ll never get lost. Maps are detailed and clearly mark footpaths – even telling you which land is private and where you have right of way. It’s a great feature if you’re hiking cross country.
If you’re stuck for inspiration, it’s also packed with suggested walks. You can search by difficulty level, length and even whether it’s dog-friendly or if there are waterfalls on the route.
The base app is free, but Pro (£29.99 per year) lets you download maps, unlocks more map details and sends you alerts when you’ve taken a wrong turn. Great for when you can’t find a signpost.
Price: Free with premium features
Fitbit App
What it’s best for: Monitoring your progress and health on a walk.
The Fitbit app can be used to track your route, distance walked, pace and a lot more – all via GPS. You can also use it for daily steps using the motion sensor on your phone.
While you don’t need a Fitbit to use the app, it will open up a whole load more features - so you can keep an eye on your heart rate, weight and calories burned. You can also challenge your friends to get active.
Price: Free with premium features
Giveaway Time - Closed
To be in with a chance of winning, we want to know where your favourite place to go for a walk/hike is? And feel free to add a pic! It could be your local park, a walk along the river, or even a leisurely hike up Ben Nevis.
Those who share their thoughts will be in with the chance to win... a FITBIT Charge 5!
The giveaway ends at 23:59 on 22nd August 2022, and we'll announce one lucky iD community winner shortly after.
Good luck!
IMPORTANT INFO: The Winner will be notified by Private message on the Community. The message will come from the official iD Mobile account or from on of our Community mods (Our mods can be identified by a small ‘iD’ badge on by their profile picture. You can check your private messages by clicking on your icon on the top left of the screen, and selecting ‘Private messages’. When you receive a private message on the Community, you’ll also receive an email informing you that you’ve received a message on the Community - this email will be sent to the email address you registered on the community with, if you signed up with Facebook, the email will be sent to the address registered on your Facebook account. So, keep an eye out!
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