When people first hear about Walkmates, they sometimes ask: “So… it’s basically The Ramblers then?”
The short answer: no. Walkmates and The Ramblers are very different — in structure, purpose, and how you actually use them. The Ramblers are a brilliant organisation with a proud history, but Walkmates is built on an entirely different philosophy.
The Ramblers: a membership club
The Ramblers is a registered charity and campaigning organisation. Their focus is on access, rights of way, and protecting the countryside. Membership gives you access to a structured network of local groups, guided walks, and organised activities.
It’s a club model: you join, you pay a subscription, and you become part of a defined community. There are committees, leaders, and formal programmes. It’s more like joining a sports club than firing up a social app.
The Ramblers App
The Ramblers app is an extension of their club system. It offers members access to walking routes, events, and group-led activities. But the app is built on the same principles as the organisation:
- Routes are curated centrally, not by members.
- Walks are typically organised through local groups.
- Participation is largely one-way: you join what’s been planned.
In short, it’s an app for accessing what the Ramblers are already offering, not for shaping your own community.
Walkmates: open, flexible, social
Walkmates starts from the opposite angle. It isn’t a club — it’s a platform. No committees, no gatekeeping, no “joining the right group.”
Anyone can:
- Create a walk — whether it’s a big hill day or a quick stroll after work.
- Join a walk — open to all, no membership card needed.
- Connect with others — message, share, check in, and build your own walking network.
Walkmates is deliberately flexible: some people will treat it like a dating app for finding hiking buddies, others will use it to run big social walks, and others will just dip in to see what’s happening locally. It’s built for how people actually walk today — spontaneous, social, and varied.
Two different purposes
- The Ramblers: protect countryside access, campaign nationally, run structured walking groups.
- Walkmates: make it dead simple for anyone, anywhere, to find company for a walk or to share a route.
Both are valuable. One isn’t “better” than the other, but they serve different needs. You wouldn’t compare the National Trust app to WhatsApp — they exist for different reasons.
Why the difference matters
If you just want to look up a guided walk, The Ramblers app works fine. But if you want something open, lightweight, and built around people rather than programmes, that’s where Walkmates comes in.
Walkmates is:
- Free to join.
- User-driven.
- Open by default.
- Social first.
It’s the difference between joining a club and walking into a campfire circle — one is about structure, the other is about connection.
Final word
We love The Ramblers. They’ve done more than anyone to protect footpaths and access to the countryside. But Walkmates is not “the Ramblers with an app.”
It’s something new: a social walking platform where the map belongs to everyone, where no one “owns” a walk, and where you can be on your own, but not alone.