What a Route Card Actually Is

A route card is a written summary of your day on the hill: where you're going, which way you intend to go, roughly when you expect to be at each key point, and what you'll do if things don't go to plan. It takes ten minutes and costs nothing. It is also one of the most consistently recommended habits in British hill walking, and one of the most consistently skipped.

The point isn't paperwork. It's this: if you don't come back when expected, the person holding your card can give the police or the local mountain rescue team a clear, specific starting point. That turns a vague "he went up somewhere near Wasdale" into a search with a sensible beginning, a likely line and a realistic time frame.

Why It Matters So Much in British Hills

Our hills are not especially high, but they are remarkably good at catching people out. Weather arrives faster than the forecast suggests, cloud bases drop without warning, and a summer afternoon can turn into a cold, wet evening within an hour. Day length changes dramatically through the year, so a route that is comfortable in June is a torch job in November.

Phone signal is patchy at best in the Lakes, Eryri, the Pennines and most of the Scottish Highlands. Even where you have a bar or two, a dying battery in horizontal rain is no substitute for a plan made at the kitchen table. A route card is the bit of preparation that works when the technology doesn't.

What to Write On It

Keep it to one side of A5. A card nobody can read at a glance is worse than useless.

• Start and finish points — where you're leaving the car or the bus, and where you intend to end up.
• Your intended route — named summits, cols, ridges and valleys in order, with grid references for the key points. Six-figure references are enough.
• Timings — an estimated arrival time for each checkpoint, not just the summit.
• Escape options — two or three descents you could take to cut the day short, and where they lead.
• Party details — how many of you, names, and a mobile number for each.
• Group and vehicle — car make, colour, registration, and where it's parked.
• Call-by time — the hour at which someone should start worrying.

Getting Your Timings Somewhere Near Right

The classic starting point is Naismith's Rule: allow one hour for every five kilometres, plus one minute for every ten metres of ascent. On British fell terrain, most walkers are better off using four kilometres per hour rather than five, because rough paths, boulder fields and boggy ground slow you down far more than the maths suggests.

Then add contingency. A third on top of your total is a reasonable rule of thumb for a full day, more in winter or with a big group. Add time for stops, photographs, layers, food and the inevitable faff at a tricky stream crossing. Never plan a route that only works if everything goes perfectly.

Be honest about your own pace. If you've finished recent walks well under your estimates, adjust upward rather than congratulating yourself. If you're consistently slower, your card should say so. The whole document is only as useful as its accuracy.

Handing It Over Properly

Leaving the card on the hall table isn't enough. The handover is a short conversation, and it needs to include three things: who to ring, when to ring them, and what to say.

• Who — your nominated person, who should know they're the contact and be willing to act.
• When — the call-by time, typically an hour after your expected return. Make clear they shouldn't wait until morning.
• What — dial 999, ask for the police, and state that a hill walker is overdue. They should have your card to hand when they do.

It also helps to leave a second copy in your vehicle, somewhere visible from outside. It's a long-standing convention in popular fell areas and gives searchers an immediate confirmation that you're out on the hill.

Small Habits That Keep It Working

Keep a template — a simple document or a page in a small notebook — with the headings already written in. Fill in the blanks, photograph it on your phone as a backup, and hand the paper copy over. If you're walking solo, this matters more, not less. If you're in a group, one card covers everyone, but somebody has to actually own it.

Update your plans if they change. If you abandon the ridge and drop into the valley instead, that's useful information — but only if someone knows. And when you get back, ring your contact. It costs a text message and it means they'll happily do it again next weekend.

None of this is dramatic or complicated. It's just a habit: write it down, be realistic about time, name your escape routes, and tell someone reliable. Do that and you've already improved your odds on every hill day that follows.