How are Slow Ways routes decided?

A small team of volunteers created an overview plan of all the towns and cities to be included in the Slow Ways network, and which neighbouring settlements should be connected. This resulted in the distinctive triangular shapes that you can see in Slow Ways maps. 

700 volunteers, with basic training in the use of OS Maps, drafted the first network of Slow Ways routes during the Spring 2020 lockdown. Routes were designed, as far as possible, to follow this methodology:

1. be safe
2. respect local codes and laws
3. be accessible to as many people as possible
4. be direct
5. be off road
6. have resting places to eat or sleep every 5-10km
7. pass through train and bus stations
8. be easy to navigate
9. be enjoyable and beautiful
10. use established routes (such as the Welsh Coast Path), but not be distracted by them!

Routes must start and finish at a designated location identified in the centre of the villages, towns or cities that are being connected.

Some routes need to use roads, and in many parts of the country there isn’t a ‘resting place’ every 10km.

This map shows the structure of the network. The straight lines show Slow Ways as the crow flies and aren’t meant to be walkable.

These wiggly lines show Slow Ways routes in the West Midlands. Some are more direct than others, and show how easy it is to follow one or more and to join them up to create longer journeys.