Help - Where's The Path

This is an updated version of WTP made in September 2025. The set of available maps has been updated and various things that had rotted over time have been fixed. I first started on WTP in 2008!

For status information and help, see the google group here .

If you see a message about Google Maps failing to load and see map tiles with 'Development' shown on them, then the site is over quota on Google Maps for the day. Please try again in the morning. I do have to pay a bit for the use of Google Maps, and use a daily quota to limit my financial exposure. So if you are inclined, and have benefitted from using the site, do please consider making a donation using the button at the bottom of this page.

Please be aware that Cookies are used to preserve the state of the map display etc between visits. Some special features are used to improve the way the site works on a tablet/phone.

The display of modern Ordnance Survey mapping from OS Data Hub has a monthly limit. So please remember that if you use OS mapping full screen on a big display, you may well cause someone else mapping disappointment later in the month.

How to use the site

Navigate the maps in the normal way with mouse drag and scroll-wheel zoom - or pinch zoom on a tablet. Double click and double tap will do a zoom in. As you move the mouse pointer over one map, or tap a Tablet with your finger, its position is shown on the other - as a blue arrow. If the zoom levels of the two maps are different, the coverage of one map is shown on the other as a blue box.

The controls have been grouped together on Tabs to save space, especially when using a Tablet or Phone.

The first Tab contains controls for the left, top or only map:

A selector for the Base Layer
A selector for an Overlay Layer
A small indicator of the map zoom level
A selector for a Grid / Graticule - No Grid, a Lat/Lon Grid, a UK OS Grid or a fixed interval UK Grid
On a Tablet or Phone, a check box to control offseting the pointer from the touch pointer
A button to press for this Help

The second Tab contains controls for the right or bottom map:

A selector for the Base Layer - use 'Hide' to select a single map display
A selector for an Overlay Layer
A small indicator of the map zoom level
A selector for a Grid / Graticule - No Grid, a Lat/Lon Grid, a UK OS Grid or a fixed interval UK Grid
A check box for linking the zoom level of the two maps together

If an Overlay is selected for either map, re-click the Tab to switch left-right mouse/finger drag, between adjusting the blend of the two map layers and panning of the map.

The following map base layers are available:

Map Google Map
Satellite Google Satellite
Hybrid Google Hybrid
Outdoor Google Physical, includes hill shading and some paths
OS Modern Ordnance Survey including 1:25,000
OSM Open Street Map
Old 25K OS Old Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 from the National Library of Scotland
Historical OS Old Ordnance Survey mapping from the National Library of Scotland
Land Cover Land use data from Natural England - use right click to query for usage
SSSI Sites of Special Scientific Interest Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and NatureScot
Access Land CRoW Act 2000 Access Land from Natural England and Natural Resources Wales
Terrain LIDAR coloured hill shading from DEFRA and DataMapWales There is a legend for the England colouring here .
Hill Shade LIDAR grey hill shading from DEFRA and DataMapWales
Bedrock Bedrock mapping from the British Geological Survey - use right click to query for bedrock type
Deposits Deposit mapping from the British Geological Survey - use right click to query for deposit type
Linear Linear Feature mapping from the British Geological Survey

The site uses some bespoke, in browser, technology to warp the modern OS mapping to the same projection used by all the other map layers. Only by this means, is it possible to overlay for example Old and Modern OS mapping or OS mapping and Google imagery.

Google Streetview is available on the left or right map by dragging the Google pegman onto the map. A Close button appears on the map tab to exit Streetview mode.

The third Tab contains controls for:

Displaying coordinates. Re-click the Tab or double click the text box to select the desired format. To freeze the displayed location and show its altitude, click or touch on either map. The location text may then be copied. To have the text track the pointer again, click or touch on the map. To change the altitude units, double-click the altitude text.
Placing Waypoints. Press the button, then click on either map. Click on the Waypoint marker to give it a name and description (for later export).
Clearing Waypoints.
Getting a link to the page as currently displayed (Base Layers, Overlays, Zooms and Centre). To have a GPX file load automatically use a final URL parameter of gpx=myGpxUrl, preceeded by wpt=1 if you want the GPX load to show waypoints in addition to any Tracks or Routes.

The fourth Tab contains controls for:

Entering text for a location to pan to or a name to search for. Parsing is done in the following order:
- UK Grid ref e.g. "SU 800 600" with or without spaces
- Two numbers separated by a space or comma are taken as a Latitude and Longitude pair
- Text with a comma, e.g. a postal address, is submitted to Google Maps search.
- If there are digits in the text, then a Postcode search is made.
- Anything else is submitted to the Ordnance Survey Gazetteer. Search text can be for a hill, lake, river, village etc.
Perform the search for the entered text. If more than one result is found then a selector is presented for you to choose the wanted result. If there is only one result, or a choice is made, then the maps are panned to the result and the pointer is set to point at the result. The pointers are frozen, until the map is clicked or touched.
Panning the maps to the current location provided by your browser.
Use this button, on a local scale left map, to find bus stops. Thanks go to the folk at bustimes.org for the use of their API. Click on a bus stop to get a link to services from the stop. Bus stop finding is available for England, Scotland and Wales. If bus stops have already been loaded, a second press will clear them.

The fifth Tab contains controls for building, importing, exporting, profiling and printing routes and waypoints:

To construct a route simply click points on either map. If you are using a Tablet, use the side buttons to switch between panning the map and marking route points. On a Tablet, an offset pointer is used and points are placed when your finger is lifted. To work without the touch offet, uncheck the Touch Offset box on the first tab. You may go back and move points around or insert points into a 'Leg' (not easy on a Tablet). You can use a right click to delete a node on a Leg. When Printing, each 'Leg' is shown as one row of a 'Route Card'. If the OSM Cycle map is used, then Open Cycle routing is used to between the start or end of you route and the click point. The start of your route is shown with a Green Circle marker, the start of each intermediate Leg with a Blue Circle marker and the end of your route with a Red Circle marker. You can click on any marker to add some descriptive text. On the Start marker you can set a start date and time. If you have a terrain profile data for your route, then the End marker will show an ETA and how long before or after sunset that is.
A text box is used to show the length etc. of your route. Click on the tab or double click the text box to cycle through the available formats. Some of the formats are for area, and will shade the inside of a polygon built from your route.
This is the 'Magic' bit. Press the button to enable or disable 'Magic' path routing. Many local authorities have release their Public Right Of Way (PROW) data as 'Open Data'. Barry Cornelius of rowmaps.com has done a fantastic job of collating these releases. For WTP, I have processed them so that as you hover over the map, whole path sections are shown and may be added to your route with a single click. If you start a route with a path, click near the end you want to start at. To add a path to a route click on it. If your route ended with a clicked path, the new path will be joined to it as the 'Crow Flies'. If your end of route was not a path, then a best guess at where you want to join the path and which way you want to go is made.
Use this button to hide your route. When the button shows like this, you can press it to restore the previously hidden route. If you start a new route whilst one is hidden, the hidden route will be discarded.
Use this button to reverse you route.
Use this button to cycle through the available colours for drawing you route.
Use this button to undo or remove the last leg of the route.
Use this button to perform a terrain profile lookup of your route. The button will change to , the 'Legs' of your route will be coloured according to gradient (red for up, blue for down) and total ascent, descent and a hiking time estimate will be shown. To turn the look up off, press the button again .
When terrain data is available for all the Legs of your route, press this button to show a profile display of you route. Press the button again to hide the display. You can drag the display to one side, and leave it on whilst you construct or adjust your route.
Press this button to bring up the Import / Export dialogue. Routes may be exported as GPX Tracks or GPX Routes to the on screen text area or to a local file. Waypoints can be included in the export. Import can be from the text area, from a URL on the text area or from a local file. WTP will do its best to break up your import into sensible Legs e.g. by introducing a Leg on a Track or Route near a Waypoint.
Once you have a route on screen, press this button to print a Route Card. The printout will use the same map Base Layer and Zoom as your Left/Top/Only map. The layout is rendered for A4 portrait printing.

Use the final tab to roll up or hide the controls. Useful on smaller screens.

That's it. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions please ask by email bill.chadwick2@gmail.com or post a message to the google group here where you will also find status news.

Someone named Bill, not me, in the cliff near Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight Someone, not me, named Bill in the cliff near Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight!

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