What is Freemap?

Freemap is a project to create free and annotatable maps of the UK countryside, using OpenStreetMap data to create the maps. Freemap maps aim to show not only the official rights of way, but all paths with public access, many of which are missing on other maps.

New tile server!

Chris Jones of Swansea University Computer Society has very generously donated a box to host the Freemap tiles on. This should be up and running very soon... watch this space!

Annotatable maps

Freemap isn't just a map though. It aims to be an interactive source of information for UK countryside users, showing not just the maps themselves, but also all sorts of other information useful to walkers. For example, want to find a good pub? Or a good bed and breakfast? Or even an interesting view or recommended path? Or, want to avoid a path blocked by fences, bogs or mad cows? Or even want to get directions in a place where the path is hard to follow? Freemap can provide all this information in one interactive map.

It needs you though!

The information on Freemap is provided by you, the user. So know your local area and want to share your knowledge with others? Go ahead and annotate the map with your favourite viewpoint, or warn visitors to your area that one of your local paths is not easy to follow. Or did you have an occasion when you got lost, and eventually found the right way? Again, annotate the map and share the information with others.

Why Freemap?

Why use Freemap rather than existing commercial mapping providers? Hopefully the above will give you some idea but to sum up:

• Maps are free. You can freely use and copy Freemap maps however you like without worrying about being on the receiving end of legal action. The only thing you can't do is to prevent other people doing the same!
• Maps are up-to-date. Because Freemap maps are derived from OpenStreetMap data, they are up-to-date to within a week. Some commercial mapping providers are several years out of date with their countryside mapping! You too can contribute to the underlying map data yourself; visit OpenStreetMap for more details.
• Maps are interactive. As discussed above, with Freemap it's not just the map itself; it's a free, interactive and user-contributable source of information for countryside users.
• It's not just the rights of way! Many commercial maps only show rights of way, or only selected unofficial paths. Many commonly-used unofficial paths are not shown! Freemap aims to show all paths which people have right of access on. Official paths are shown in red, unofficial in purple.

Geograph photos

At the most highly zoomed-in scales, Freemap overlays photos from the Geograph project on the map. By clicking on the camera icon you can see a photo of that location - a great way of getting an idea what the walk looks like before you set out!

For developers

Freemap's own data, i.e. the map annotations, is now available through the Freemap API, described here. So if you're creating your own walking website, or even creating a standalone application, you can access Freemap data for use in your own project.

Finally, who wrote this thing?

Freemap is developed by Nick Whitelegg (nickw on Freemap). I have been involved in OSM since 2005 and started Freemap way back in 2004, originally as a standalone project. When OSM came to the fore in 2005 I added my data to the OSM database and have been developing Freemap as a UK walker orientated OSM site since. I can be contacted by email here.