Pathwatch

Very good for walkers of a discerning nature who care enough to report issues.

Installed this app on recommendation, but when I start it, I just get 3 light blue dots flashing against a darker blue background and it goes no further. Please help.

In addition to previously reported issues / updates, needs option to store map tiles on SD card rather than always in main memory. A reasonable first effort for the app that needs updating to address the issues before it can be used more widely and, for example, in areas where there is no mobile signal to immediately upload photos.

So many glitches on it you can't even get past the registering page. Uninstalled it immediately.

Never downloaded the maps, so uninstalled it.

It doesn't seem possible to upload previously taken photos when reporting a problem. I'd rather do all my reporting /uploading on Wifi from home rather than in the field, but the add photo section just launches the camera rather than allowing me to browse the album.

I want to report problems after a walk but dont seem able to load photos from gallery...surely this should be possible to do.

A great idea, but there are too many bugs and rough edges at the moment to make it viable.

Paths not shown where they actually are.

Intrusive

I would echo views re the inability to add photos/comments after a walk in the app which I would prefer. Also it doesn't seem possible to add comments about where, for example, a path follows a different (modified) route to that shown on the map which I'd have thought was one of the most important aspects. In other respects OK.

Tried several times to download the maps just hangs ; (

Or attempted to be blocked.

Great update! Allows me to download OS maps, report problems and positive features and share on social media. What I like is that the Ramblers charity then take all the information and pass it on to the local authority responsible to encourage problems to be fixed.

Easy to use and adds lots of fun to my walks

After some use of this app I've revised my opinion. It works well but its disincentivizing that the app does not keep a list of the squares you have completed. It would really improve the app if the completed squares remained in the 'my squares' screen of the app - perhaps an extra column that says submitted or finished. Its disappointing that when submitting a completed square, by synchronising, the square disappears from your 'my squares' list - this looks like a failure of the app to upload all the pictures and locations gathered and caused much confusion and, initially, to write unfavourable comments about this app. I also discovered by trail and error that you must create a nick name to appear in the leader board. Because I had not it appeared that all the work of taking pictures and getting the right location had been wasted! By allowing the app to list the completed and submitted squares it would be far more incentivising and less confusing. It should also be made MUCH MORE CLEAR that by not having a nick name all submissions will not appear.

This is a great idea, however the app will not allow you to enter data on the submit section (apart from distance).

But implementation could be improved.

I do a lot of walking, so an app like this is a great idea! I would recommend that there are clearer instructions on how to work your way around the app once you've registered. Not everyone wants to 'adopt a square' (or know what it's for - I'm still not sure..) Finally worked out that 'Find & share' is how you report any issues (or good experiences) you have on your walk. Not used this feature yet, will review rating once I have though!

The Ramblers need help finding out the state of Britain's footpaths and this app helps achieve this. Do people not realise when you click link with Facebook with other apps it gives others access to your data much more than this app is asking for. It is not everyday you can help a charity and all walkers in the UK by downloading and using an app - do it!

After the slightly overly keen registration process the application appears to work well. I downloaded the maps on my wifi to save mobile data and then was offered the chance to adopt my local square which was correctly located The whole process seemed intuitive. In fact no sooner than I stepped outside the local council turned up and started strimming the area around a stile - probably coincidence - but if the publicity over the project causes an increase in footpath maintenance it can only be good.

No problem downloading app or registering, also like the idea of adopting a square to ensure all footpaths are covered. However, I am not comfortable with the limitations on the reporting process, I can only pick predefined symbols that don't really define what the probem is. Also I cannot include photos taken on my phone camera, I only realised when I got home that I had to take photos through the app.

Was very excited hearing about this on radio four this morning. why do you need all my personal information? Did you take users into account at all? Very poorly planned and executed. What a shame.

1) Can only upload photos when taking, not afterwards. 2) Once the app has been synced you can't record features or upload photos via the web site, even after signing out of the app. 3) No facility to add a note if the feature does not exactly match one of the pre-set categories and/or can't readily be shown on a photo. 4) Cancelling when you have started to record a feature seems to dump you back at the top level so you have to select the square and enter recruited mode again.

I think that this is a great idea. However there are a number of design flaws or oversights in the way the app collects data. Firstly, the questions that are asked when completing a square assume you have completed it in one walk and are nonsensical if you have completed the squares over a number of walks, which is almost certainly the case when there are two paths in the same square that don't intersect. Secondly, on the app you cannot upload photos from gallery that you have taken on your walk.

Nice, easy to use app that makes it easy to take part in and enjoy a worthwhile campaign. Lovely to be able to discover paths and routes in my local area so easily

Registration process is impossible. Gave up in frustration. Good idea. Bad implementation.

It was a bit clunky to use. To look properly at your map square you had to pretend you were going in to add a feature. At first, I took photos on my camera and tried to add them to the website but it will only let you post photos then and there taken with your phone which is a bit of a nightmare when you're in bright daylight and can't really see clearly what's on the screen. Some of my photos may be a bit crap because of this. Couldn't tell what was going on. When you'd completed a square the compulsory questions didn't make sense. "how long was the path". Well, there are six paths in this square which I've walked, so which one or are you talking about how long my walk today which went over 8 squares was? Or is it the path length when the path covered three squares? As each grid square is a kilometre square then I ended up saying 1 kilometre most of the time. I'd like to look at the photos I took, but there doesn't seem to be a way of doing that now I've completed the squares. The GPS thingy kept defaulting to telling me I was in Whaley Bridge. It wasn't the phone's fault as google maps knew just where I was.

I love the idea of this but I can't register, it just gives me an empty screen. I really want to join in too. Please help.

I think the big path watch is a fantastic idea and I was really looking forward to recording the features of my walks both positive and negative. The mobile app however is impossible to use on my HTC One M9. It just doesn't work. Every feature I add defaults back to intimidating after being accepted. There is no way to go back and edit features you have already added although you can see them pinpointed on the map. Then when I try to complete a square I cannot answer any of the questions given because the drop down menus do not work. Really disappointed with this especially after it being touted on countryfile.

The map location feature is very useful for following the route, but when I record a feature and take a photo it exits the app without saving anything. Ill try a phone instead.

I would echo views re the inability to add photos/comments after a walk in the app which I would prefer. Also it doesn't seem possible to add comments about where, for example, a path follows a different (modified) route to that shown on the map which I'd have thought was one of the most important aspects. In other respects OK.

I love the idea of this but it has wiped my updates on more than one occasion now. I wish this worked better but it's just so hard to use!

Tried to use app. It says it's downloading maps but it doesn't and Ramblers ignore your emails. Save yourself the trouble and use web version.

Brilliant!

Problems adding photos later.

Interface to submit completed squares is broken, non interactive, on Android 5.1.1.

Not user friendly. Would not accept my email address as valid. Used a different one to register and when I tried to log in it told me the password was wrong. Tried to reset password and it came up with 'technical error, try again later'. Don't think I'll bother

Thanks to Jess for the advice given previously. Having made considerable use of the latest version, I would say that it is a nifty piece of work by the app developers. Instructions could have been clearer, though - at first, I didn't realise that you had to log in to the website to check for completed squares.

Good app but needs some improvements. My squares could do with a view on map option. In the current list format you have to guess which one you want to update. Also after syncing I'm still seeing the squares I've completed on my list. I would have thought they would have been removed. I sometimes find the GPS location doesn't locate me at all or gives an incorrect location about 10 miles away. The Leaderboard doesn't show my stats at all.