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Kindle Books

20 Yorkshire Walks with only one map OL21

Kindle book - My Lanzarote. 10 walks and a personal view

Kindle Book And A Pub For Lunch

20 Walks in the Yorkshire Dales with only one map OL2

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

what3words

What3words (with whom I have no connection) is potentially such an important safety aid, I have decided to include a page to explain briefly what it is.

Described by the BBC as "the app that can save your life", this app has the entire globe divided into 3m (10 ft) squares. Each square has been given a unique series of three words which will never change. The particular square you are in is identified via the app in conjunction with GPS information. It provides a very precise way of locating exactly where you are and is recognised by the emergency services and Mountain Rescue.

In an emergency situation, being able to give three words over your mobile phone is much simpler and more certain than giving an Ordnance Survey reference, when a mistyping, misreading or "mishearing" of only one number can invalidate the information.

For example, the OS reference for the trig point on Helvellyn is NY 34170 15159. In practical terms, this would be shortened to NY 342 152, or would be if you round up the numbers, always assuming you have read your map or GPS receiver correctly in the gale/driving rain! If somehow in the panic this was wrongly sent/received/typed as NY 342 252, rescuers could be looking for you somewhere east of Threlkeld!

This picture has the what3words grid overlaid on the Google satellite view of the cross shaped shelter on the top of Helvellyn.

As you can see, each of the 4 sections of the shelter actually has its own unique three word sequence which is accurate enough for anyone. The words make no logical sense in relation to each other but are allocated at random. Similar sounding words are not associated together.

For all the details about what3words and to get the app for your phone, see their website what3words.com

All information on this site is given in good faith and no liability is accepted in respect of any damage, loss or injury which might result from acting on it.