Walking the Bath 5k Map

Bath 5k Map walks dip in and out of the city and countryside. Treat each 5k walk like a mini adventure and your chance to explore somewhere new to you, or at least a route that might be new to you.

Routes are not designed to be perfect, they are following a model of a simple, circular 5k walk that has easy parking, and is following the national right of way footpaths as listed by Ordnance Survey. Each walk has online guidance and downloadable notes intended to support you to not get lost, but of course some paths and rights of way will adjust across the seasons.

Walks should take on average between 1 to 1.5 hours depending on your walking speed, distance and sharp inclines and hills. Each walk brings historical highlights as well as recommendations for cafes, pubs, swimming spots and conveniences.

We have added bus routes where the bus stop is up to 10 minutes away from the starting point of the walk, refer to Travelwest Journey Planner for further information and alternative routes.

Most of all we want you to enjoy exploring the city, discovering new places, spaces, valleys and hills you haven’t been to before, and to enjoy and engage with our incredible countryside. As we release more walks, you’ll find opportunities to join routes together for longer excursions.

Ordnance Survey

Bath 5k Map routes are based on Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping, and we have a license and pay royalties to OS for using their base maps to create our routes. Ordnance Survey is the national mapping agency for Great Britain - originally for military purpose mapping the Scottish highlands in 1745! So in some ways these are a national treasure.

Fast forward to today and OS have an extensive range of physical maps covering the entire country, but really now a “powerhouse of data” of geographical information. Accessing the OS Maps leisure mapping application provides online and offline access to Ordnance Survey mapping for the whole of Great Britain. Once you have purchased a subscription to Bath 5k Map, you can view an overview of the route without registration to OS Maps, or we advise you to download the OS Map app and register just for a free account to follow the route on your mobile. With a free account you just can’t create routes yourself, so upgrade when you are ready to explore and create your own walks.

Bath 5k Map top tips

  • Use each walk as a chance to be curious about that part of Bath - the second and third time you do the walk, go off the route where your curiosity takes you - be brave and experiment

  • Read walks carefully before you go so you have a sense of the walk and route in your head. Use other mapping tools that you are familiar with such as google to also make sense of the wider area

  • Always look back not just ahead 

  • Benches are out where they are for a reason - stop, and look

  • We can’t guarantee safe passage from cows and nettles, so be prepared for the unexpected!

  • Seasonal changes - be aware that routes will vary across the seasons which is actually part of the beauty of it. However, that can mean paths with tangly nettles in the summer, and boggy wet fields in the winter. Most of the photos on the website and map are over spring and summer months - it looks much better!  

Countryside Code

Please be aware that you are walking our routes at your own risk. At all times you are expected to use your own judgement regarding personal safety and respect The Countryside Code:

  • Be safe - plan ahead and follow any way signs

  • Leave gates and property as you find them

  • Protect plants and animals and take your litter home

  • Keep dogs under close control

  • Park carefully so access to gateways and driveways are clear