Hello, I'm new. How do I find good trails to run on?

3 watchers

FurryHamster Feb 2017 9:55pm, 20 Feb 2017 1,380 posts	0 FurryHamster gb mapometer uses open street map as a base it is a bit hit and miss but combined with as os map you can plot you own routes. the website allows you to search. i used to run with os map 1:25000 or explorer maps are best as they show fences. now use phone with osfree map ( can't remember what its called) for android as it drops a point exactly where you are. any issues on public footpaths report to council right of way team to sort.
Dvorak Feb 2017 11:20pm, 20 Feb 2017 13,126 posts	0 Dvorak Been looking at that Strv heatmap, StuHolmes, fascinating. Shows some bits upcountry from me where I have suspected there was a navigable route must have one and also that someone (I suspect, one person, quite often) is running round the windfarms. And that on some well used paths near me, no-one has logged anything.
/skn Feb 2017 12:02am, 21 Feb 2017 7 posts	0 /skn Maybe the ~~strava~~ thing doesn't show everyone but it seems to only show roads and paths. I run completely off the beaten track (with permission from the farmer) and it's wonderful. Farmer gets free reports of broken fences, escaped cows etc and I get to run without risk of any humans seeing me in tights.
zp Feb 2017 1:09am, 21 Feb 2017 271 posts	0 zp ~~strava~~ heatmap shows everything; it cares only about GPS position and has no notion of rights of way, roads, footpaths, bridleways, sheep trods, open fell, motorway etc. All that matters is whether the activity is logged as a run or a bike. I run sufficiently far off the beaten track there are no footpaths noted on any map (and miles from any farms too, if that matters) and I can see my route - albeit faintly - on ~~strava~~ heatmaps. As practical advice to the OP, OSM Outdoors maps show paths that don't appear on OS maps - although a path on the map does not necessarily mean a path on the ground!
/skn Feb 2017 7:38am, 21 Feb 2017 8 posts	0 /skn No sign of me on ~~strava~~ but just spotted it's from 2015. Which of course makes sense as it'd be an insane piece of software to display everything from everyone live. Very interesting though!
Fragile Do Not Bend Feb 2017 8:15am, 21 Feb 2017 1,555 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend When I moved, I managed to track down a local walking group on the internet and they publish their walking routes for all to see. That was a good starting point, but I've since moved onto just checking out all the local footpaths on the OS map - maybe I'm lucky but I've yet to find a marked footpath that wasn't accessible. Muddy and waterlogged sometimes, but still accessible.
Fragile Do Not Bend Feb 2017 8:23am, 21 Feb 2017 1,556 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend There are some very weird traces near me on ~~strava~~ heatmaps - this is the run only view. There is a gliding club around there so I guess it's something to do with that.