Smash hit new app sees Walkhighlands win top national award
A new phone app that features well over 2,000 walks all over Scotland has proved hugely popular, and helped the Cromdale based business that built it to win a national award.
The App launches out of beta as Walkhighlands has been announced today as a winner at the Scottish Walking Awards, taking the title of Scotland’s ‘Business Walking Champion’.
Over 44,000 people have downloaded and used the beta version of the Walkhighlands app, which launches officially this week.
The app enables the routes and mapping from the Walkhighlands website to be downloaded for use when offline, such as when people have no phone signal.
Site co-founder Helen Webster, who runs the site with husband Paul, said “Our own lives have been immeasurably enriched and transformed by walking.
"We want everyone to be able to enjoy the same benefits we do, for both their physical and mental health.
"Walkhighlands mission is to provide well-researched information on routes in every part of Scotland and the new app enables people to save both our route descriptions and detailed GPS mapping, completely free of charge, on their phones.”
Mr Webster said: “We’re thrilled to have won this award; the fact that the nomination came from members of the public makes it even more special.
“We hope that the app will help people discover new places to get outdoors, whether it’s near their homes or when travelling in all corners of the country.”
Judges said that the website business 'plays a great role in providing walkers with free information on thousands of walking routes across Scotland, as well as useful community forums'.
The Scottish Walking Awards are held every two years and showcase work happening in Scotland to help increase walking and wheeling.
They are run by walking charities Paths for All, Living Streets Scotland and Ramblers Scotland and aim to recognise people, businesses and organisations who are helping Scotland to become a walking nation.
The app is not listed in app stores – it is only available from the Walkhighlands website.
Walkhighlands began back in 2006 and is now Scotland’s busiest outdoors site with over a million visits each month.
Unlike most other routes websites, the walks are all individually written especially for the site; users can then contribute their own accounts and experiences on the routes.
The site is funded by a combination of advertising for local businesses, and donations from users who want to see it continue as a universally available resource.
An Edinburgh adventurer who promotes diversity in the outdoors was named as the overall champion of the Scottish Walking Awards.
Joshua Adeyemi wowed judges with his work to improve representation within the walking community, particularly by sharing walking inspiration via his influential “@talesbyjosh” Instagram account.
He scooped the Media/Online Walking Champion award as well as the overall title, beating many dozens of entries to the awards.
Joshua, who works as a financial analyst, said: “Winning this award is a deep honour, and I hope that my achievements will inspire others to connect with and care for Scotland's natural spaces.
"As a first-generation immigrant in Scotland, I consider myself fortunate to have quickly become acquainted with the Land Reform (Scotland) Act and its provisions for accessing wild spaces.
"The ability to freely explore Scotland's natural spaces has been of immense benefit to my physical and mental wellbeing, and I am passionate about sharing this privilege with others.”
Joshua moved to Scotland about a decade ago from Nigeria and has been exploring the nation on foot ever since.
He is a co-founder of the popular Black Scottish Adventurers, a group that now has hundreds of members and thousands of social media followers.
Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport presented Joshua with his award during a walk in Holyrood Park and sent her congratulations to the eight other Scottish Walking Award category winners.
Ms Todd said: “It’s been wonderful to meet Joshua and hear his passion for raising awareness of the benefits of walking. That’s certainly a passion I share.
"We want more people to walk and wheel more often. It is vital to our aim of creating a healthier nation and people like Joshua who give so much time, commitment and enthusiasm to helping others are vital in making that happen.
"I would also like to extend my gratitude and warmest congratulations to all the other worthy winners who continue to champion walking in Scotland.”
The category judges were Fiona Paterson from The Daily Mile Foundation, Fiona McInally from Cairngorms National Park Authority, Professor Nanette Mutrie from University of Edinburgh, Richard Barron from ScotWays and Bridget Jones from NatureScot. The directors of the three organising charities selected the overall champion.
The category judges were Fiona Paterson from The Daily Mile Foundation, Fiona McInally from Cairngorms National Park, Professor Nanette Mutrie from University of Edinburgh, Richard Barron from ScotWays and Bridget Jones from NatureScot. The directors of the three organising charities selected the Overall Champion.
