The Bath 5k Map launch
Finally I have a stock of maps, the website is live and maps are available online and with our first Bath-based stockist, Mr B’s Emporium!
This has been an exciting and evolving project, and one that I never expected would result in becoming an Ordnance Survey Partner, and having a physical map illustrated and released to entice walkers across the city!
A love of maps
Being an Army daughter we regularly moved and I always remember my mum putting all the maps in the back of the car so we would first get lost in a new place, to then figure out where we were and explore our new area. Perhaps that drove my curiosity of place, well certainly the regular moves did - but I have been captivated with maps for as long as I can remember. There is something for me about discovery, about finding something so exciting right on your doorstep that you may never have stumbled upon otherwise. For me, this really is the essence that sits behind the concept of The Bath 5k Map, a tool to discover the great places and spaces surrounding Bath.
Exploring Bath
For hundreds of years people have been visiting Bath for their constitution, and not just the health benefits from the mineral-rich waters, but a place to relax, socialise and of course all its cultural offerings.
Bath is such a beautiful city, and one that on a beautiful sunny, or cold and fresh morning will take your breath away with spectacular views and a sense of somewhere rich in history, and very very special. There are wonderful books, guidebooks and online resources dedicated to walking in and around Bath, but I do still wonder if many visitors miss the chance to explore our verdant countryside.
Walking for well-being
The Bath 5k Map is all about walking, short walks that entice people to explore the countryside. It is about getting out and about, an opportunity for solitude and reflection, or as a communal activity that fosters connection and support.
Walking has long been recogised as a simple but hugely effective way to improve mental health and well-being. The act of walking in itself is incredibly therapeutic, the rhythmic nature of walking and the meditative quality that helps clear and focus the mind.
Why 5k?
The idea for the 5km distance came firstly from the Parkrun - weekly community runs across the country, and concepts such as the Couch to 5k running plan - it is a popular distance for fun runs!
5k is a great distance and achievable for many fitness levels, both walking and running. 5k is also a distance that really doesn’t take much time and easy to fit into a busy schedules and routines. On average a 5k walk will take 1hr 15 minutes, and a 5k run around 30 minutes - there is no excuse, we can absolutely find time for this in our weekly routines.
The Bath 5k Map is designed to entice people to new areas of the city you may not have explored before, and discover countryside which will deepen your relationship with the city.
Supporting community
In my quest to promote ways to improve mental health and wellbeing through accessing the outdoors it made sense to also make the Bath 5k Map deeply focused on making a difference in our community. 100% of profits from the sale of each map is in aid of charity partners Mentoring Plus and Off the Record BANES, who support the mental health of young people in Bath and beyond. I feel deeply connected to their work, as a mother, but also as a family impacted by mental health crisis and young suicide.
“Off the Record (OTR) is delighted to working in collaboration with the 5K Map project. Annie Legge’s idea of mapping 50 x 5k local walks in Bath & north east Somerset resonates with our focus on young people’s emotional health and wellbeing. These short walks are accessible for residents and visitors alike and a 5k walk is great for your physical and mental wellbeing. OTR is proud to be working alongside Mentoring Plus to promote this fantastic project and improve the lives of young people in BaNES”. James Brown, Development Manager Off the Record B&NES
“Walking and spending time outdoors together is really important to our mentors and mentees. We love the idea of encouraging 5k walks for everyone’s wellbeing - and so grateful that Mentoring Plus’ work with young people facing difficulties is being funded by people buying this beautiful map.” Ruth Keily, CEO Mentoring Plus
What I am most excited about is the social and community aspect of 5k walks, and providing ready-made routes to encourage families, friends and colleagues to connect and walk and talk together. We hope to bring regular community walks for small groups exploring and talking.
Designing a map
Most of 2022 was spent mapping and walking and by early 2023 I was ready for some design expertise to bring a visual view of the 5k routes to life as an illustrative map. I initially wasn’t going to focus on geographical accuracy, but on how the walks connect the city together, and be the inspiration people need to not only select a new walk but to understand the geography of the city. I did a call-out via my LinkedIn network for a designer / illustrator to help me bring the project to life, and subsequently introduced to Bristol-based illustrator, Ellie Shipman.
Our creative journey together brought forward inspiration from the past, a retro vibe with simple colours and old style typography but with a bold and fresh design that emphasises nature and walking in the outdoors. Each route was planned using digital maps and the online route planner at OS Maps, with the printed map based on high resolution licensed mapping data from Ordnance Survey.
What we have printed today I feel matches the brief and beyond - not only a beautifully illustrated map, but a practical, useable tool that can inspire and support people to explore the countryside.
Printing a map
We were so lucky to stumble upon Dennis Maps, our map printing partner based just down the road in Frome which meant we really could keep all our production local to Bath. I was invited to the factory and it became obvious they would be a great choice printing nearly all the OS maps for the country and with quite the biggest printer I’ve ever seen!
This level of knowledge around the intricacies of map printing has been invaluable, as has Dennis Maps for their support for this being a community project and me being very much a novice at print production and requiring a lot of guidance along the way!
What next?
I will start releasing new walks for subscribers to The Bath 5k Map, and create a new version once we have another 15-20 routes live. My longer-term ambition is to have enough routes around Bath to start linking and creating longer walks to explore.
I also hope to run community walks, and partner with like-minded well-being initiatives across the city. We have a charity awareness walk planned for Tuesday 10 October, World Mental Health Day - an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. We will be taking a morning walk, Walk 1 - Widcombe Hill to Bathwick Fields, departing from city centre - information coming soon!
This is our moment to get outdoors, to embrace the health and wellbeing benefits of being in nature, and quite simply - walking.
Buy a map and subscribe
Maps can be purchased at Mr B’s Emporium or directly online via bath5kmap.org - 100% of profits from all map sales are in support of our charity partners.
We have a special launch offer of £18 for an annual subscription giving you access to full walk details, digital maps and regularly released new routes for you to explore and enjoy!
