Walk4Life.info has changed
20 March 2020
Why has the website changed?
The Walk4Life website is 10 years old and although not the prettiest of sites we think it is still a really useful tool to use to plan a walk .
Funding for the website from the Department of Health ended 6 years ago. Since then Walk Unlimited have been self-financing the project; sadly, we can't afford to do this forever. In addition to hosting and maintaining the site we pay Ordnance Survey for every map view. With over 50,000 visits a month the running costs are high.
We didn’t want to lose the site, so instead we have introduced a subscription fee of £5.00 for 12 months.
Why should I subscribe?
For £5 a year you will have unlimited access to all Ordnance Survey maps at the very useful zoom levels of 25K and 50K.
Using these base maps you can create and save your own walks by plotting the line of the route.
You can view 1000’s of other walk routes on OS maps created by other members of the site.
You can log and track your walking activity
You can create your own walking group with its own administration area and create walking challenges.
(Please note most of the walks do not have written directions and only show the route line on the map )
How do I pay to subscribe?
Click on the Join button on the Home page. You will be taken to a payment form.
You do not need a Paypal account to pay. If you wish to pay by a credit or debit card there is a small link half way down the payment page, which if you click will ask you for your payment details without the need for a Paypal account. However there is also an option to pay by Paypal.
What if I am already registered to the site?
If you are already registered to the site and choose to pay the subscription you will still have access to all of your saved walks.
Subscription to the site started on the 22nd August 2016.
If you are new to the site your account details will be emailed to you.
If you have any questions about the changes, please visit the Walk4Life FAQ page.
The Walk4Life team thank you for your support and hope you contiune to enjoy the site.
Happy walking !
comments
I find this site very easy to use. I plot my route in advance, then print it out to take with me on the walk, then add a date that the walk is completed. I find it much simpler than other mapping tools. And it is handy to look back on to remember and repeat walks.
The £5 fee is well worth it!!!! it is the most accurate tool for mapping and measuring walks with the exception of physically walking the route with a gps. I plan many walks for a group and can go back and adjust the map accordingly if I come across any problems on the reccee. Thanks and please keep it going.
Hello,
I feel a great deal of sympathy for the many who cannot afford the £5, less so for those without the wherewithal. I find this site incredibly useful to store all my walks, mishaps and all, and use the sit to plan wails as well. That it is no longer funded is a travesty but am hoping the subs fee will not increase.
Thank you.
I have tried to gain access to my account to pay for another year, however it will not let me. Help!
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It was more than 3 and a half years ago when we said we were totally committed to keeping it going, and we have been. We are now living in very different financial times to 2013, everyone is feeling the pinch. We had no option but to introduce a small charge to keep the site going. We deliberately kept the costs as low as we could so that most people would be able to continue to use the site - we believe £5 for a year's access is fair. The money raised will cover the costs we have to pay to the Ordnance Survey.
In January 2013 when the funding cut was announced, the closure of the site was explicitly ruled out on your blog announcement: "we are totally committed to keeping it going for many years yet". We were also assured that, despite the cut in funding, "it'll remain free for everyone to use. ". On that basis many people have wasted a lot of effort in adding walks to the system.
Our Health Walk group is not unusual in having a very large number of people who would all individually need to subscribe even if they chose, to see the routes our group has been strongly encouraged to add at some considerable cost in time.
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