If you like digital maps, it will not take long for you to discover the global market leader in enterprise geographical information systems (GIS). ESRI solutions are used in the corporate world, and I have come across their products and services for decades. I didn’t think, however, that I would start to use ArcGIS Online โ their cloud-based mapping platform for personal use, but once I discovered the wealth of public available, or open-source data, I couldn’t resist building experience maps for my walks.
My main objective is to build maps that show the interplay between the path, the geology, nature and the community. By combining information in this way, new knoweldge and wisdom emerges. You can see the relationship between National Trails, geology, and National Parks and Reserves. You can see where art and news relate to the challenges the coastline faces. OS Maps and Google Maps contain huge amounts of geospatial information, but what I am trying to achieve by mashing up these data sources, is a map that tells you more about the landscape, and links you to people who care about it.
Think of this map as a geospatial search engine, and use it to explore the routes I have taken. Early version accompany my new book The Coast is Our Compass – a pilgrimage along to world’s longest coastal path.
Full screen native maps (and future variants) can be accessed via my Link Tree address. Today, one version can be used at home through a desktop or laptop browser, the other is specifically for a mobile phone, if you have a decent signal. Use this version in the field, in conjunction with your navigation apps.
Coastal map
New (2026) experience map with extra detail enhanced for use in the field.
You can interact with the map by clicking on any element. A legend (which show the symbols used and what they mean), is provided, in addition to a Layer Menu, which allows you to switch on/off the layers I have selected. Quite a few layers are ‘off’ by default, but you can play around with the layers to focus on a subject. For example, you can activate marine protection, nature reserves, non-coastal National Trails, and much more. You can also see the coastal paths I have walked, in relation to the latest path GPX routes (the KCIIIECP updates automatically a few weeks after new sections have opened).
To access the map please click one of these links in a new tab or window:
EXPERIENCE MAPย โ older full version with interactive panels and clickable links to resources, geology, stoical quotes and detailed maps, best viewed on a desktop/laptop.
EXPERIENCE MAP โ MOBILE new version, which can be used in the field with a mobile signal, allows clickable detail on every element displayed. Use in conjuntion with you navigation maps and apps. Every element is clickable and base maps can be changed. Very detailed.
Many outdoor books, websites and publications do not use maps as much as I think they should. My plan is to develop a comprehensive digital map and to tell stories about my journeys using maps to guide the words, pictures and perhaps video. This is going to take some time, but I can make a start recalling the King Charles III England Coast Path I walked between 2021 and 2024, some 2,300 miles of England’s coastline, rich in heritage, nature, art and community. What I want to show in these maps, is the relationship between the natural world and society, specifically with the challenges of climate change. If you spend much of your time outdoors, you will see how we are changing our world. Walking a National Trail connects you to nature in a direct and meaningful way, through the hardships and effort of continuous walking, the glorious landscape, and the diversity of weather and seasons.
I would like to develop the map for all 21 National Trails in England, Scotland and Wales โ designated long distance trails I have walked and described in my first book Tales from the Big Trails.
To summarise the layers in the map and the symbology I use:
Art, Nature, and Technology – public art installations, nature reserves and wildlife locations, and technology (nuclear installations for the moment). These appear according to the map in the list to the lower right. If you click on a picture it will zoom to its location. Clicking on the top right image will link you to the artist, nature organisation (e.g. WWT or the ONR). These Points of Interest (POIs), will develop for all the National Trails and will feature new categories in later releases.
Sections, Oneday, River – this layer lists the 18 sections (or chapters of my books), with links to OS Maps for the Sections if you click on the map image. Oneday are the start/stop points and overnight accommodation I used on the walks (approximately 20 miles per day), and feature a philosophical quote for the day – sayings that resonate with a walker. The River POIs refer to ferries (I like ferries), or points where wading is an option if conditions allow and you don’t mind getting your feet wet. The actual path I walked (approximately as it is hand drawn, not actual GPS data) is shown as a dotted line. It differs from the official route, with as they opened later, or I made a choice to for another route due to safety, tide, or conditions.
If you click on the section start points (red circles), AND you have an OS Map license, you will be taken to the OS Map webpage and you can download the GPX route. Please note that these are often hand plotted, and are my routes, not necessarily the official routes. Use with care, and select the maps from the path pages, which I try to keep up to date from the official sources.
News – this layer contains links to news articles related to the path. Clicking on the image in the top right (when it is selected), will open a new window to the news article from the original source (usually BBC News).
These layer interact with a number of publically available layers, in this case, many authorative layers published by DEFRA (a government Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and feature nature reserves, the National Trails overseen by Natural England (who also take care of Wales), organisations such as the RSPB, RAMSAR and others in the future. Lastly the British Geological Survey (BGS) publishes a 1:625k scale geological map, which is very revealing in it relationship to the trails and coastal erosion. This layered map is built with support from ESRI (the occasional intern and student), and I am grateful for the support they have given me to work with this technology.
I would welcome input and comments for the map design. I hope to collaborate with others in the future and build multiple maps to highlight specific stories, with a master map available which brings together all of the geospatial data I have managed to curate or acquire.