How do I make a route card for a Scout hike?

Plot your route on the map, dropping checkpoints at the key points, then let the planner work out the distance, ascent and walking times. Add grid references and escape routes, and print the finished route card. The Scoutworks route planner builds the card from your route automatically, free during your trial.

Can I export my route as a GPX file?

Yes, and for free. Ordnance Survey’s own tool needs a paid premium account to export a GPX; the Scoutworks route planner exports GPX at no extra cost, so you can load routes onto a GPS device or another app.

Can I print maps at OS scales for navigation lessons?

Yes. Print your route at 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 with the OS grid, so young people practise on the same scales they’ll use on the hill. The map is OpenTopoMap, not OS mapping, but the grid squares match a paper OS map when you print at actual size.

What should a route card include?

A good route card lists each leg with its start and finish grid references, the bearing, the distance, the height climbed and an estimated time, plus escape routes and checkpoints. The route planner captures all of these as you plot the route.

What is Naismith’s rule?

Naismith’s rule is a way of estimating how long a walk will take: allow 1 hour for every 4 km, plus 1 minute for every 10 metres of ascent. The route planner uses it to estimate the time for each leg of your route.

Can I check whether groups are following the route?

Yes — if you’ve plotted a route, you can overlay it in the Scoutworks live location tracker and see at a glance whether teams are sticking to the planned route or have drifted off it.

What is an escape route?

An escape route is a quicker or safer way off the route if the weather turns or someone is struggling — for example a shorter path down to a road or checkpoint. Marking escape routes is part of planning a safe expedition, and you can record them on your route card.

Can I use this for Explorers doing their Duke of Edinburgh expedition?

Yes. The planner is well suited to the walks Explorers and Network do towards their DofE, producing a route card with distances, timings and escape routes. It sits alongside the rest of your group’s planning rather than in a separate app.

Is the Scout route planner free?

It’s included with Scoutworks and free to use during your trial — create your group to open it, with no separate mapping subscription needed. After the trial, Scoutworks is £150/year per group with every tool included.

Scout tool · Adventures

Scout route planner

Plot a walk or hike on base maps or satellite imagery with the Ordnance Survey grid overlaid, get distance, ascent and walking times worked out, export a free GPX and print a route card — built for Scout hikes and Explorer expeditions.

Start your free trial Read the guide: Planning a walk or hike route

my.scoutworks.app

What is the Scout route planner?

The Scout route planner is a tool inside Scoutworks for planning walking and hiking routes. You plot your route on base mapping or satellite imagery — with the standard Ordnance Survey grid reference system overlaid — dropping checkpoints as you go, and the planner measures the distance and total ascent and estimates each leg’s time using Naismith’s rule. When you’re happy, it turns the plan into a printable route card.

You can export your route as a GPX file for free (Ordnance Survey’s own tool needs a paid premium account to do that), and print your route at 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 with the OS grid, so the grid squares match a paper OS map. The map itself is OpenTopoMap, not OS mapping. It’s made for Scout hikes, nights away and Explorer and Network expeditions — including the walks Scouts do towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award — and it works with the live location tracker, so you can overlay a planned route and see whether teams are following it. Free to use during your trial.

How to plan a route and make a route card

From a blank map to a printable route card in five steps.

1
Plot your route
Click along your route on base mapping or satellite imagery — with the OS grid overlaid — dropping checkpoints at the key turns, features and rest stops.
2
Read off distance and ascent
The planner totals the distance and the height gained as you go, so you know how demanding the route really is.
3
Get your timings
Walking times are estimated with Naismith’s rule, so you can plan when to set off and when you’ll be back.
4
Add checkpoints and escape routes
Note grid references, checkpoints and escape routes — the details a good route card needs and a supervisor will look for.
5
Print or export
Print the route card, and print your route at 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 with the OS grid for navigation lessons. Or export a GPX file — free, with no premium account.

Naismith’s rule — how walking times are worked out

Naismith’s rule allows 1 hour for every 4 km (2.5 miles) of distance, plus an extra 1 minute for every 10 metres of ascent. It’s the standard rule of thumb for estimating how long a hill walk will take, and it’s how the route planner calculates each leg’s timing.

A 12 km walk with 300 m of ascent ≈ 3 hours walking + 30 minutes for the climb = about 3½ hours.

A map, a route card and a GPX in one place

Dedicated mapping tools are great for drawing a line on a map. The Scout route planner adds the parts Scout leaders actually need — a route card, true-scale printed maps with the OS grid and a free GPX — inside the platform you already run your section from.

	OS Maps + a paper route card	Scoutworks
Real mapping	Yes, with a paid subscription	Base maps + satellite, OS grid overlaid
GPX export	Needs a paid premium account	Free
Printed 1:25k / 1:50k maps	A subscription feature	Print them for navigation lessons
Walking-time estimates	Sometimes	Naismith’s rule, per leg
Route card	Typed up separately in Word or Excel	Generated from your route, ready to print
Live tracking	A separate system, if any	Overlay the route to check teams follow it

What the route planner does

The OS National Grid, overlaid

Plot on base maps or satellite imagery with the standard Ordnance Survey grid reference system overlaid.

Distance & ascent

See the total distance and height gained as you build the route.

Naismith timings

Walking times estimated per leg so you can plan your day on the hill.

Route card

Grid references, checkpoints and escape routes captured into a printable route card.

Free GPX & printable maps

Export a GPX at no cost, and print at 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 with the OS grid for navigation lessons.

Works with live tracking

Overlay a planned route in the tracker to see whether teams are staying on it.

Frequently asked questions

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Scout route planner

What is the Scout route planner?

How to plan a route and make a route card

Plot your route

Read off distance and ascent

Get your timings

Add checkpoints and escape routes

Print or export