How to use our GPX files and maps

Every walk on this site comes with a free GPX file of the route and, where available, a link to the same route on OS Maps. Used properly, a GPX file on your phone takes much of the stress out of route-finding. This guide explains what a GPX file is, how to load one into an app or a handheld GPS, which paper map you need for each part of the Lake District, and how to read a grid reference. It finishes with why a paper map is still essential.

What is a GPX file?

GPX stands for GPS Exchange Format. A GPX file is a small, plain-text file listing a route as a series of latitude and longitude points, sometimes with heights and named waypoints. It contains no map itself: your app or device draws the route as a line on top of its own map, and your GPS position shows as a dot. Because it's an open standard, the same file works in almost every walking app and GPS unit.

Our routes are plotted on Ordnance Survey mapping, and the distance and ascent shown on each walk page come from the GPX file. Every route card also has an elevation profile, so you can see where the climbing is before you go.

Downloading a GPX file from our walks

On any walk page, open the Route map & downloads section near the top and tap Download GPX. A few walks, such as Aira Force & Gowbarrow, also have a second, shorter route with its own download. The file saves to your phone's or computer's downloads folder.

Try it with a short walk first, such as Rydal Caves or Gummer's How, so you know how it works before you rely on it on a bigger day.

Loading a GPX file into a phone app

The exact buttons vary between apps and change with updates, but the steps are almost always the same:

1. Download the GPX file from the walk page.
2. Import it. Either tap the downloaded file and choose your mapping app from the "Open with" list, or open the app and look for an option such as Import, Upload route or Add GPX. Many apps also let you import on their website, then sync to your phone.
3. Check the route appears in the right place and starts at the car park named in the guide.
4. Download the map for offline use. This is the step people forget. Most apps let you save a map area or the route itself for offline use; do it at home on Wi-Fi.
5. Test it: switch on airplane mode and check you can still see the map and route.

Popular choices include OS Maps, which uses the same 1:25,000 mapping as the paper Explorer sheets (a subscription unlocks it), and a range of other walking and outdoor apps, many of which offer free OpenStreetMap-based maps. Pick one, learn it on easy walks, and stick with it.

If the walk page has a View on OS Maps button, that opens the same route in OS Maps directly, where you can save it to your account.

Loading a GPX file onto a handheld GPS

Dedicated GPS units are tougher than phones, waterproof and last for days on batteries. To load a route:

1. Connect the GPS to your computer with its cable (or use the maker's desktop or phone app).
2. Copy the GPX file into the device's GPX or routes folder, or import it through the maker's software. Check your manual for the exact folder.
3. Disconnect, switch on, and open the route from the device's saved routes or courses menu.

Some older units limit the number of points in a route. If a long route such as the Westmorland & Furness Way won't load, use the maker's software to split or simplify it.

Which OS map covers which area?

For walking, the standard map is the Ordnance Survey Explorer series at 1:25,000 (4 cm on the map is 1 km on the ground), which shows field boundaries, paths, crags and contours in enough detail to navigate by. The Lake District is covered by four double-sided "OL" sheets:

Map	Area	Our walks on this sheet
OS Explorer OL4	North-western: Keswick, Borrowdale, Buttermere, Bassenthwaite	Castle Crag, Scale Force
OS Explorer OL5	North-eastern: Ullswater, Patterdale, Helvellyn, Penrith	Aira Force & Gowbarrow
OS Explorer OL6	South-western: Coniston, Wasdale, Eskdale, the Duddon valley, Ulverston	Scafell Pike, Old Man of Coniston, Stanley Ghyll, Whorneyside Force, Hoad Hill
OS Explorer OL7	South-eastern: Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, Hawkshead, Kendal	Rydal Caves, High Sweden Bridge, Black Crag, Tarn Hows, Force Falls, Gummer's How

The sheets overlap at the edges, and the central fells around Langdale and Scafell sit close to the joins, so check the sheet named in each walk guide. Long-distance routes that leave the National Park, such as the Westmorland & Furness Way, need further Explorer sheets. The OS website and most map shops can show you the coverage of each sheet.

The Landranger series (1:50,000) covers more ground per sheet but in less detail; it's fine for planning and driving, less so for finding a path in mist. Waterproof "Active" editions of the Explorer maps are worth the extra cost in Lakeland weather.

Reading a grid reference

Ordnance Survey maps are covered in a grid of blue lines 1 km apart. A grid reference is a precise way to describe a point using that grid, and it's exactly what Mountain Rescue will ask for in an emergency (see our safety guide).

A six-figure grid reference, such as Scafell Pike summit at NY 215 072, works like this:

• NY is the 100 km square. Most of the Lake District is in NY; the southern edge around Ulverston and Windermere's foot is in SD.
• 215 is the easting: find grid line 21 along the bottom or top edge of the map, then estimate five-tenths of the way to line 22.
• 072 is the northing: find grid line 07 up the side of the map, then estimate two-tenths of the way to line 08.

Always give the easting first: "along the corridor, then up the stairs". A six-figure reference pins a point to within 100 metres. Many apps, including OS Maps and the free OS Locate app, show your current grid reference on screen. Ordnance Survey's own beginner's guide to grid references has worked examples if you want to practise.

Why paper is still essential

A phone with a GPX file is a brilliant tool, but on the fells it should be your backup, not your only navigation. Batteries drain fast in the cold and with the screen on; touchscreens struggle in rain and with gloves; phones get dropped, soaked and lost; and many valleys have no signal to download a map you forgot to save. A paper map and compass never run out of power, show the wider landscape so you can spot an escape route, and work for everyone in the group.

Our advice: plan with the paper map at home, follow the route with the app on the day, and carry the map and compass on every fell walk, knowing how to use them. If you're not confident with a compass, a navigation course is the best investment a hill walker can make.

Ready to try it? Pick a route in the Walk Finder, download the GPX, and practise on a short, easy walk first.