Web developer Dan Raven-Ellison is on a mission to connect every town, city and national landscape in Britain through safe and accessible walking routes.
He said: ”In terms of thinking about mental health and well-being, a good route gives someone the psychological security and the psychological confidence to go somewhere they haven’t been before and to give that a try. Once they’ve been, they might well go back again another time. That’s what it’s doing, so it’s very, very powerful.
“These routes are not just walking routes, they’re routes or pathways to all the things that walking can do for us. So, for individuals and society that means better mental health, better physical health. It means better relationships often with ourselves, with loved ones, with nature, with heritage. When we go for walks it helps us to problem-solve, be creative, people have less sick days, it saves you all money as well, it’s better for the environment, like all it is is win-win-win when more people get walking and it’s fun, so it’s a great combo.”
Mr Raven-Ellison, from Exeter, started working on the SlowWays walking network during the pandemic.
It began as a map created by volunteers during lockdown to show the best walking trails between all of Britain’s main towns.
Thousands of people have since helped create a network with nearly 87,000 miles of routes across the country.
Mr Raven-Ellison said: “I like walking a lot and I just began to realise that for some reason it can be that you can make your way around the country fairly easily by car or by train, by other modes of transport using existing maps we have fairly easily. You don’t have to have a GCSE in geography or a Duke of Edinburgh award to get between towns and cities or get a train somewhere but for some reason, we have that expectation when it comes to walking out in the countryside more. And when you begin to think about it, the signage doesn’t tell us where we’re going or how far it is, like road signs would do. The data doesn’t tell us whether or not a path is accessible or blocked like trainline would tell us or Google would tell us on the roads.
“We’ve been walking on these islands for hundreds of thousands of years. We’ve been walking as humans since humans were humans. And yet we’re neglecting our ability to walk around the place, even though that is the most ubiquitous, affordable, healthy way of getting around. So, we deserve a proper national walking network that makes it easier to find our ways around.”
Inclusivity and accessibility for people with pushchairs or in wheelchairs is at the heart of the project’s latest expansion plans.
The creator said: “If you are a single parent with twins in a pushchair, if you or a disabled person, a vast amount of the countryside is unavailable to you because knowing there’s a footpath there isn’t enough information for you.”
He told how many wellbeing and fitness apps monitor speed or people’s steps but few highlight how adequate walking routes are if they want to discover heritage or spend time in nature.
Mr Raven-Ellison wants to use the platform to empower schools, charities, councils and community groups to build their own networks.
The project has raised £68,500 of the £250,000 needed to revamp its website and improve users’ experience.
To find out more, visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/slowways