Walk Times and Walk Timing System

Our Walk Timing system is a guide to how long we think each walk should take to complete.

It is based on the distance covered and the ascent made - along with the need to stop occasionally to look at the scenery (and take a breather!).

We allow 1 hour for every 4.5km (3 miles) of flat terrain covered and then add another hour for every 300m (1000ft) of ascent (which is when you are likely to admire the scenery more often).

We then convert this calculation into a grade from 1 to 9. See Walk Grade System for more information

This means that a 9km walk that climbs 450m would take approximately 3.5 hours (9km = 2 hours + 450m ascent = 1.5 hours). No allowance made for the type of terrain, though if this is particularly difficult or unusual, mention is made in the text.

This system is consistent and used on every go4awalk.com walk.

While we have found this time estimation to be pretty accurate, you probably walk at a different rate to us. Therefore, do several go4awalk.com walks and compare the difference between your time and our estimation. You can then work out your own personal factor to multiply our time estimation by to get your estimated walk time.

For example, you do walk d175 in 3.75 hours, walk d254 in 3 hours and walk c222 in 5 hours to give you 11.25 in total. We estimate d175 should take 4 hours, d254 should take 3.75 hours and c222 should take 7 hours. That's 14.75 hours in total.

Therefore your walk time factor is 11.25/14.75 = 0.76.

Next time you go walking, say c177, multiply our time estimation by your factor (3.75 x 0.76 = 2.85) and expect to finish the walk in just over 2 3/4 hours.

This is just a guide though.