UK Route planner using OS maps

4 watchers

philip_m_jones Mar 2017 10:22am, 14 Mar 2017 99 posts	0 philip_m_jones A question before I invest to much time in a project. I like to run off road and I don't like to trespass, so I want to run off-road on public rights of way. If I try to plot a route in the route planner, I start at the green dot and want to run south to Penn Street. Google maps offers no off-road option: I switch to Open Street Map and suddenly Penn Wood is full of paths, great, but I can't get the route planner to auto-follow these so I have to click along them bit by bit. If I check using OS maps (via Bing) then I see that many of these paths are not public rights of way. I accept I can't auto-follow footpaths so am prepared to invest a few minutes in clicking my way round a route, but OSM's paths do not differentiate between paths and rights of way (just go to e.g Kew Gardens) So, how do I click a route using Ordnance Survey Maps?
fetcheveryone Mar 2017 10:27am, 14 Mar 2017 18,234 posts	0 fetcheveryone Last I heard, using Ordnance Survey maps in the same way we use Google Maps (and now OpenStreetMap) was a paid for service. If that's still the case, then it would take an upswing in voluntary donations.
StuHolmes Mar 2017 11:05am, 14 Mar 2017 1,425 posts	0 StuHolmes Not wanting to direct you away from this great site but you can do what you are trying with Viewranger, but you have to purchase the OS map tiles.
larkim Mar 2017 11:32am, 14 Mar 2017 1,749 posts	0 larkim I generally find that OSM maps and paths are a perfectly good proxy for footpaths which are well used, so even if there might be a technical trespass I strongly suspect it wouldn't amount to a difficult situation. Though I accept that won't always be the case. But you're right in that sometimes the OSM mapping doesn't allow for clicking along footpaths (though bizarrely sometimes it also does!). I don't know whether this is something which, like wikipedia, mere mortals like you and I can edit to improve, through joining the vectors up properly or adding an attribute that makes them followable via sites like here or gmap-pedometer which i use from time to time. I don't think its egregiously unfair to suggest that given that "proper" OS maps are costly to update and maintain (though arguably not as costly as they once were) that its reasonable to have a charging mechanism for them, such as buying via ViewRanger. GoogleMaps is funded by advertising, OSM is intentionally "public spirited" and OS is accurate and needs funding.
larkim Mar 2017 11:38am, 14 Mar 2017 1,750 posts	0 larkim I'd also add that Strava's route mapping application does seem to allow use of the routes that you've flagged without having to manually create straight line routes through them. Might be another decent (free) option.
BexleyKev Mar 2017 2:19pm, 14 Mar 2017 11 posts	0 BexleyKev On which map is correct or not - Unfortunately OS maps are not regularly updated. There are also an increasing number of 'permissive paths' appearing in woodland and other country areas. These may be temporary. Only real way to be sure is to search the web or on the ground, as it were. It seems that Penn Wood is part of the Woodland Trust and has an extensive permissive path system so I would suspect that the routes showing on the Open street Map exist as permissive paths but you need to be prepared for closure or diversions if this is a working wood. woodlandtrust.org.uk As to how to map out a route - probably have to do that dot to dot manually given the huge number of unmarked paths shown on the leaflet above. Enjoy
Angus Clydesdale Mar 2017 2:24pm, 14 Mar 2017 12,057 posts	0 Angus Clydesdale On the plus-side, all that clicking will have you shooting up the user ratings.......... http://www.fetcheveryone.com/viewtopic.php?id=45904
philip_m_jones Mar 2017 2:48pm, 14 Mar 2017 100 posts	0 philip_m_jones fetch, you are right. OS maps do cost. I am using OS maps via bing and bing allows a basic key that is free to use (with restrictions) up to 125k transactions a year. microsoft.com I wouldn't mind paying for OS maps but they don't have agreat coverage for off-road mapping, seems to be limited to just the national parks ordnancesurvey.co.uk larkim, with OSM mapping I have seen that sometimes it will allow you to follow a foot path but not a bridleway, and other oddities. My particular need is very much driven by very big shooting estates that I run through. Here there are many paths that are not rights of way and game keepers.
Akie Mar 2017 3:59pm, 14 Mar 2017 20 posts	0 Akie The ~~strava~~ one is decent as a free option. Some of the routes I run in parks don't have the paths mapped on a lot of the well known mapping sites but are mostly on strava.
oi you Mar 2017 11:03pm, 14 Mar 2017 362 posts	0 oi you talkytoaster.com has some routable (ie it will auto-follow a trail or road) OSM maps, some free, some paid-for, which can be used with Garmin Basecamp for planning trails, or on compatible Garmin devices - I've been using the free one on my Edge 810. The maps do still show all the trails, even if they're not Rights of Way. You could cross-reference with rowmaps.com, which does show all rights of way on OS maps.