iWalk Cornwall 4+

Excellent walk companion

There are so many things to love about this app. So much thought and attention has gone into it. I used it recently on a family walk over Bodmin Moor. The app is free, and the directions with GPS are bought individually, are an excellent price and worth every penny. It’s very easy to switch between written directions and map view which tracks your exact location along the route. The instruction are clear and easy to understand. To save battery I could check the next step, then leave the phone in my pocket knowing it would ping me if I detoured too much or hit the next check point. Our whole walking group looked forward to the next ping because of how interesting the information would be about where we were and what we were looking at. There is so much information! It’s literally like having a real-time tour guide in your pocket. We would have missed so many points of interest had it not been for this app. It was also vastly reassuring to know we couldn’t get lost in this new and unfamiliar area. We only did one walk via the app, but we found it be accurately graded in terms of difficulty which is vital when planning walks. There will always be a certain charm to walking with a proper paper map, and map reading is an important skill of course. That said, it was nice not to be wrestling with an unwieldy map on top of a moor in the wind and rain for a change. Highly recommend it, and hope one day there will be sister apps for other counties.

Great app - responsive and reliable

We have been using this app for just over a year and it’s the best walking app we have tried by far. The directions have taken us to new routes even in places we thought we knew well. The step by step directions work really well, even in places where the phone reception wasn’t great. There is also interesting contextual information. The App will let you know if you deviate from the track. I was particularly impressed by the response when we reported a new, temporary hazard (the marsh to be crossed on the Stanton walk was knee deep after heavy rain). I reported the issue at night, and John the app developer had changed the information for the walk by the following morning. Do make sure your phone is fully charged though before walking. My year old iPhone starts the walks at 100% but ends on about 25% - I think the GPS on iPhones is quite hungry for battery. Really recommend this app. It’s well worth the price of downloading the walks (which you do individually)

Neurodivergent friendly

Both myself and my brother are Autistic and have no sense of direction. We have previously tried the "classic walks: cornwall" book and I struggled greatly being able to interpret some of the directions.
Since the app has GPS, it worked even when there was no signal, and I could switch between written directions (with added additional interesting information about the environment etc), which would automatically update as I reached certain points, and a map with a moving arrow that helped me reorientate myself if necessary.
Went round Golitha Falls, and Siblyback lake, which is an area that we're not familiar with, and found it very easy to enjoy the scenery as the app did all the heavy lifting.
You can also turn your phone off on the wall as it'll beep to alert you if you've gone off track, or reached another way mark.
Thoroughly recommend.

Developer Response ,

Thank you. Really glad you enjoyed it. The next app release will also include automatic rotation of the map in the direction of travel (i.e. up on the phone will be forwards on the route) to make it easier to process for many people who don't find it easy to mentally rotate the direction they are facing onto "north is up" maps.