GPX files of Cambrian Way Route

The following GPX files can be downloaded and imported into the Ordnance Survey's Getamap Service or into any other mapping software or GPS unit that supports this format. If you are already a registered user of Getamap Login Here. To download these files, just click each link and then select either Open or Save. Files are normally saved in your Downloads folder unless another folder has been selected. Alternatively CambWayGPX.rar (last updated 9/8/2011) is a zip file containing all the GPX files.

There are three levels of access to the service giving different facilities as follows:

1. Guest Access - Free but with limited facilities to view maps and to view routes emailed by other people or imported from GPS files.
2. Registered User - Wider range of facilities including drawing and saving routes online, exporting to GPS either directly or to local files, and printing map sections. A charge is made of £1 per A4 page at the time of printing, but half page maps can be printed FREE.
3. Subscriber - Access to the full range of facilities and unlimited A4 printing for a £30 annual subscription.

Please note that these files have been created by transferring the route from the 6^th Edition of the Cambrian Way Guidebook (2008), as closely as possible, onto the online O.S. maps. In places where there was some uncertainty as to the correct route on the O.S. maps, an attempt has been made to follow paths visible on aerial photographs, though some of these are difficult to find or follow. This means that there may be places where the route plotted is not the best practical one. Feedback to george@gtleisure.co.uk would be greatly appreciated on any problems with these route files. There is, of course, no obligation for walkers to take the exact route, as the Cambrian Way can be considered completed by having walked a continuous route taking in all the checkpoints, but the objective of this exercise is to define the route as accurately as possible to assist walkers, particularly in bad weather, and to avoid errors when transferring the guidebook route onto O.S. maps.

Importing Files to Getamap and Printing

Getamap has a considerable amount of help online to get you started, but it also has quite a number of its own little quirks that it doesn't tell you about, some of which are listed at the bottom of this web page.

To import a GPX file into Getamap, click on the leftmost icon under 'Tools' and locate the file from wherever you saved it. On the panel to the left, ensure that 'On my map' has been expanded to show the list of routes currently loaded, each of which should be shown with a blue flag and a title of 'Cambrian Way Section x'. If several have been loaded, a scroll bar appears, but it is very faint so can easily go unnoticed. Under each title is a 'Go to' link, which will locate that route on the map and the map will zoom in or out so that the whole of that route section is visible. Note that the program is very slow and each action may take several seconds to complete unless you have the latest high spec PC and fast broadband access.

For those who decide to pay for A4 prints or to take out an annual subscription to the Getamap service, the print preview facilities are good and make it easy to select the print area required for each sheet. However, for those wanting to use the FREE service, the facilities are considerably reduced, making it rather tedious to ensure that there are no gaps between sheets, nor excessive wasted overlap. To assist with this, the following table shows a grid reference to select for the centre of the page using the Locate box. If you have had to zoom back in again after repositioning, click Locate again to ensure the map is properly centred before printing.

These references assume that sections of the 1:25,000 maps are required at normal size. This is the case when the measure bar at the bottom right of the map shows 500m, and the balloon symbol shown by 'Locate' is central to the map shown on the screen. The table indicates also which route files are relevant to each printed sheet, including those for optional route variants. Note that having too many routes loaded at any one time can slow down Getamap, so it is best to 'Remove' those that are no longer needed.

Each time the Printer Icon is clicked, there is a warning saying 'Do you want to Save your map?' This refers to making a copy of all the routes that are currently loaded into your online 'On my map' folder. This is very slow and achieves little, as all the routes are already held in your GPX files and are quicker to load from there. However, if you have added any addition waypoints or comments of your own, you may wish to answer 'Yes' and then give a name to your file. Note that the current version of Getamap fails to update the panel on the left whenever you Save or Export a map, so it will still show 'Untitled Map' even though you have just named it. The proper name will only appear if you 'Remove' the map or route and reload it.

Table of Grid References for printing Free Half Page Maps at 1:25,000
Section	Route(s) Visible	Map Centre Points for free 1:25,000 prints at normal scale (500m shown on measure bar)
Cardiff to Risca	Section 1	ST170774   ST143794   ST138816   ST143836   ST168851   ST192862   ST213880
Risca	Sections 1 & 2	ST216901
Risca to Abergavenny	Section 2	ST241926   ST260949   SO290019   SO290043   SO280067   SO275091   SO275115
Abergavenny	Sections 2 & 3	SO290139
Abergavenny to Capel-y-ffin	Sections 3 & 3A	SO285162   SO275185   SO285208   SO285231   SO280254   SO277277   SO250300
Capel-y-ffin	Sections 3 & 4	SO245323
Capel-y-ffin to Crickhowell	Sections 4 & 4A	SO223345   SO203322   SO210299   SO210276   SO210253   SO215230   SO225207
Pengenffordd Diversion	Section 4A	SO184306
Crickhowell	Sections 4 & 5	SO215184
Crickhowell to Storey Arms	Sections 5 & 5A	SO195166   SO168166   SO141156   SO114150   SO087157   SO060167   SO045190   SO035203   SO008215
Talybont Variant	Sections 5 & 5A	SO099180   SO099203   SO110216   SO072203
Storey Arms	Sections 5, 6 & 6A	SN981210
Storey Arms to Llandeusant	Sections 6, 6A & 6B	SN954210   SN927195   SN900195   SN873195   SN846205   SN819220   SN810243
Llwyn-y-celyn Hostel Variant	Section 6A	SN974220
Ystradfellte Variant	Section 6A	SN946187   SN942164   SN928141   SN901150   SN874160   SN847165   SN840188
Llandeusant Variant	Section 6B	SN805223   SN783248
Llandeusant (road near Talsarn)	Sections 6, 6B & 7	SN800266
Llandeusant to Rhandirmwyn	Section 7	SN790289   SN773300   SN763323   SN770346   SN775369   SN785392   SN785415
Rhandirmwyn	Sections 7 & 8	SN775438
Rhandirmwyn to Strata Florida	Sections 8, 8A & 8B	SN775461   SN775484   SN775507   SN765530   SN745545   SN755568   SN752591   SN740614   SN735637
Soar y Mynydd Variant	Section 8A	SN785530   SN780553
Strata Florida	Sections 8, 9 & 8B	SN740660
Strata Florida to Devil's Bridge	Section 9	SN767660   SN794670   SN794693   SN804716   SN790739   SN775755
Devil's Bridge	Sections 9 & 10	SN748765
Devil's Bridge to Dylife	Section 10	SN738788   SN758811   SN785825   SN785848   SN800871   SN820894   SN820917   SN830930
Dylife	Sections 10 & 11	SN857943
Dylife to Commins Coch	Section 11	SN850970   SN860993   SH857016
Commins Coch	Sections 11, 12 & 12A	SH855039
Commins Coch to Dinas Mawddwy	Sections 12 & 12A	SH855062   SH870085   SH880108   SH870131
Cemmaes Variant	Section 12A	SH845050
Dinas Mawddwy	Sections 12 & 13	SH850144
Dinas Mawddwy to Barmouth	Sections 13, 13A & 13B	SH823144   SH796144   SH769140   SH742136   SH715126   SH688140   SH661136   SH634145
Minffordd Variant	Section 13A	SH734117
King's Hostel Variant	Section 13B	SH678150
Barmouth	Sections 13 & 14	SH620165
Barmouth to Maentwrog	Sections 14, 14A & 14B	SH630211   SH650234   SH660257   SH660280   SH660303   SH655326   SH665349   SH675367   SH675390
Rhinog Alternative South	Section 14A	SH640255   SH640270
Rhinog Alternative North	Sections 14A & 14B	SH670303   SH678326   SH695349
Trawsfynydd Variant	Section 14B	SH705362   SH695385
Maentwrog	Sections 14 & 15	SH675413
Maentwrog to Beddgelert	Sections 15 & 15A	SH670436   SH655459   SH655482   SH628455   SH601460
Beddgelert	Sections 15 & 16	SH601483
Beddgelert to Pen y Pass	Sections 15, 15A & 16	SH633504   SH613527   SH620550
Pen y Pass	Sections 16 & 17	SH640559
Pen y Pass to Llyn Ogwen	Section 17	SH654582
Llyn Ogwen	Sections 17 & 18	SH659605
Llyn Ogwen to Conwy	Sections 18 & 18A	SH665628   SH692640   SH692663   SH700686   SH710709   SH729732   SH746749   SH760772   SH775778
Rowen Hostel Variant	Section 18A	SH745727

Additional Notes on Using Getamap

There a number of points to note about the way that Getamap works at present (August 2011). Some of these may be considered as bugs in the software and may be fixed in later releases, some are deliberate limitations of the free service and can be overcome by paying for an annual subscription, and others are likely to remain for some time.

• The first thing to note is that Getamap is very S L O W. This is partly due to the fact that the software itself is quite large and has to be downloaded into a web page every time it is used, and also that a large amount of data has to be downloaded for the maps. All of this is understandable, but what is not so obvious, is the large amount of time taken to handle route files. Getamap uses Microsoft's Silverlight Browser Add-on, and this is extremely inefficient in the way it handles the waypoints that make up a route. Every time any action is taken involving a waypoint, it appears to re-evaluate every point along the route using 100% CPU for considerable periods of time. For routes with just a couple of dozen waypoints, this is not too bad, but when there are a few hundred, every action takes several seconds to complete, especially if you do not have a top performance PC. If you try to take any other action with the mouse whilst this is going on, there is quite a possibility that it will either be ignored or that the result may not be what you expected. For instance, by trying to drag the map, you may move a waypoint or create the start of a new route. The service would, most probably, run far more efficiently if it were driven by software installed on the PC but, having been in contact with the Ordnance Survey about this, there is no intention of changing from Silverlight at present. This approach is most likely because of the way they have decided to charge at the point of printing, which would be difficult to control with downloaded software, so the poor performance is likely to remain an issue that has to be lived with at present.
• The Cambrian Way files vary in the number of waypoints they contain, but are generally less than 300, at which level slow performance is becoming a significant factor, so some patience is required when using the service. If anyone has problems with some of the larger files, please contact me and I can split them into smaller parts.
• Once a file, or files has/have been imported into Getamap by use of the leftmost icon under 'Tools', there is often confusion about when a particular route has been selected and what happens when the mouse is clicked on a waypoint, on the line of the route, or elsewhere on the map. This depends largely on whether the 'Draw' icon (second from the left under 'Tools') is selected. This toggles on or off and is highlighted when selected, allowing modification of an existing route or the drawing of a new route. The following table shows what happens with this either selected or deselected.

• Zooming in or out using the slider bar on the screen retains the same grid reference in the centre of the screen, but using the roller wheel on the mouse does not.
• The map area shown on the screen is determined by the resolution of the screen and its aspect ratio and does not necessarily match the print area, although they have, by default, the same centre point. The paid-for Full Page print preview allows the print area to be selected by dragging it on a map, but the free Half Page print preview just shows the area based on that in the screen centre. As each preview takes some time, it can be a nuisance selecting the exact position that you want, which is why the table of print centre grid references has been produced.
• O.S. Grid lines are numbered on the Full Page prints, but not on the Half Page prints. The Half Page preview shows the grid reference of the cente point, but this does not appear on the print itself.
• The colour and transparency of routes can be selected by Subscribers but not other users. By default, routes drawn and saved to online map files are in solid blue and routes imported from GPX files are in semi-transparent black, but print almost as black.
• By default, circular markers are drawn at each waypoint. These can be removed, if preferred, by using 'Hide' under the Route Settings tab at the bottom of the map. This only controls markers on the Route currently selected, so if more than one route is visible, each one has to be selected before 'Hide' is selected. The route lines can be controlled by the use of 'Hide' under 'On my map'.
• Saving and Loading of files from online map files is very slow, whereas locally held GPX files are considerably quicker (though still quite slow).
• Scroll bars are provided, when necessary, under 'On my map' and 'Route card', but are a rather faint colour and not always readily noticed, so if you cannot see a route that has been loaded, you may have to scroll down to find it.
• Information on the 'On my map' panel is not updated when maps or routes are saved either to online maps or GPX files. This is only updated when they are reloaded. The name of a Map is the name given when saving it online. A Map may hold several Routes, and the names of these are defined under the 'Route settings' tab when the route has been selected (this may be different from the filename given to it when saved as a GPX file using 'Export').
• Comments can be added to waypoints, but these are not saved to GPX files, only to map files saved online. Subscribers are also able to add photos to waypoints. Comments and photos can be added from the balloon that comes up when a waypoint is clicked without the 'Draw' icon being selected. Comments also show on the Route card.
• In theory, all of the Cambrian Way GPX files could be imported and saved to one online map but, in practice, this would take an incredible amount of time and would be unlikely to complete successfully. Better to load just a few files at a time and 'Remove' them when no longer required before loading others.
• Having a large number of routes loaded at any one time does not greatly affect performance when dealing with each individual route, but dragging of the map is made considerably slower.
• The map scale required (1:25,000 or 1:50,000) can be selected from the Print Preview for Full Page maps, but the scale of Half Page maps is determined by what is currently showing on the screen. The scale of the map to be printed can be ascertained from the measure bar to the bottom right of the screen. For Leisure maps they are follows:

2km - 1:50,000 map reduced to half size
1km - 1:50,000 map at normal size
500m - 1:25,000 map at normal size (Tables above are based on this)
300m - 1:25,000 map enlarged to double size

Known Software Bugs in Getamap

Accuracy Problems

A number of problems have been reported to Getamap Technical Support, but have not yet been resolved (as of 24/02/2012).

• When Exporting routes to GPX files and then reloading them, the routes are faithfully reproduced, but the OS Grid References, viewed by clicking on Waypoints, have a constant error of -90 metres N and +80 metres E. The Latitude and Longitude are shown correctly. When first plotted, the Grid References are correct, but go wrong on reload when they have to be converted back from Latitude and Longitude in the GPX file. There is no problem when saving and reloading from On My Map, only when doing so from GPX files (and probably from KLM files).
• A section of Aerial Photograph in the Black Mountains in the areas around SO 217 341 is about 100 metres out of register with the OS map. Footpaths on the Aerial Photo are displaced to the East of their map positions.

Usability Problems

• When several routes have been loaded and are displayed under On My Map, clicking Remove on one of the lower ones results in the top one being removed from the list. The one that has been clicked loses all the waymarking points despite being still displayed under On My Map, and the first route on the list still has its Waymarks shown even though it is no longer shown under On My Map.
• Clicking Go To on the top route of the list under On My Map results in its title being shown in Bold, but clicking Go To on a route further down the list still leaves the top route shown in Bold even though the correct route and route information is displayed both on and beneath the map. This is probably related to the previous problem.
• Clicking a Waypoint causes the On My Map Panel to close and the Welcome panel to open. This only appears to happen under certain circumstances, generally after loading the first route from a GPX file, though it also happens at other times in a rather random fashion.
• There are several other odd quirks in the way things happen, particularly when trying to start a new route when another one is still displayed. Sometimes a new starting point is plotted, but at other times a Waypoint is appended to the previous route. Again this may be connected to the previous problems.

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