Site Updates and New Tools

It is only February, and—like buses you wait ages for—the Griffmonster websites have seen two major updates within six weeks of each other.

The site was overdue for a significant refresh. Work commitments over recent years meant that maintenance and improvements were left unattended for longer than intended. Hopefully, things will now settle into a steadier rhythm, with only incremental updates in the months ahead.

The first round of updates at the start of the year focused primarily on under-the-hood improvements. The most recent changes concentrate on the front end, improving usability for new visitors and bringing a more consistent design across the site.

What Has Changed

• A new home page – Less cluttered, fully responsive, and designed to provide clear access to all key areas of the site. Font-based icons are now used to reinforce a consistent visual theme.
• Unified search pages – Lists and walks have been combined into single search interfaces, with results displayed simultaneously on both map and list views.
• New search functionality, including:
  • A location search that defaults to the user’s location (where available), while also allowing place name and postcode searches.
  • A collection search, accessible from collection pages and linked references within walk pages. (These correspond to Blogger labels, though “collection” is a clearer description.) Some collections remain hidden, such as archived pages and deprecated news items previously used before Facebook became the primary news channel.
  • Adjustments to the text/keyword search widget so that results align more closely with the rest of the site. This still uses Blogger’s built-in functionality and therefore remains paginated, whereas other searches display all results on a single map and/or list view by querying site feeds.
• A flexible layout that optimises screen space, particularly on larger displays where search results are now presented in columns.
• Expanded top menu navigation, making it easier to move between key sections when using mobile devices.
• A new GPX Route Creator, described in more detail below.
• Greater prominence given to the Hiking Time Calculator, a utility I use regularly—particularly when planning routes involving public transport. After calibrating it against several previously completed walks to determine an accurate average walking speed when hiking with regular companions, it has become a very practical planning tool.
• Similar structural updates have also been applied to the Rhodes site, although these are less extensive due to the smaller number of walks currently listed there.

Overall, these changes should make the site easier to navigate, more intuitive for new visitors, and more efficient when searching for walks tailored to specific requirements.

GPX Route Creator

The new tool can be found on the GPX Route Creator page.

For many years, all walks have begun with route research, followed by plotting on an online mapping utility and exporting the result as a GPX file. Over time, many different tools have been used, with GPS Visualizer being one of the most consistent since GPX files became widely used alongside traditional OS maps. For the Rhodes walks in particular, GPX tools were invaluable when reliable mapping was not available.

It has long been an ambition to develop an in-house GPX creator—not necessarily to replace established tools entirely, but as both a learning exercise and a practical addition to the site.

An earlier alpha version was built using customised open-source code and quietly hosted on the site. While functional, it was cluttered, somewhat temperamental, and difficult to use on mobile devices. It never quite achieved the simplicity that was intended.

That version has now been retired and replaced with a new build created from scratch. Although still considered a beta version, it is significantly cleaner and easier to use.

Key Improvements

• Use of the full page width, with sidebars, header, and footer removed to maximise map space.
• A full-screen map option for all devices.
• A collapsible and draggable control panel for route creation, including undo, clear, and export functions.
• A snap-to-path toggle to assist with accurate route plotting—particularly helpful when working on a mobile device.

Initial testing has been very positive, and we have already used it to create numerous new routes in place of external tools.

One limitation is the absence of elevation data within exported GPX files. Elevation support was explored using the Open-Meteo Elevation API, but request rate limits frequently resulted in HTTP 429 responses. As a result, this feature was removed. Elevation data can still be added afterwards using external tools such as GPS Visualizer.

Overall, we are pleased with what has been achieved so far and would welcome any feedback from those who use it.

Looking Ahead: Undocumented Routes

The broader future direction of the site is also under consideration—not its existence, but its purpose.

When the site began in 2010, it functioned primarily as a personal blog documenting completed walks, with the hope that others might find the information useful. Over time, the emphasis has shifted. The core objective now is to record validated walks and provide GPX downloads that others can confidently use. While a personal narrative element remains, it is no longer the primary focus.

During the planning process for new walks, multiple routes are often developed, though only some are ultimately undertaken. Over the years, this has resulted in a substantial collection of researched routes that have not been personally walked but do exist as fully developed GPX files.

The question now is whether these should be made publicly available as undocumented routes.

In the UK, where routes often follow established Public Rights of Way protected by legislation, there is a reasonable basis for sharing such routes even if they have not been personally validated on the ground.

This is not the case for the sister site, Great Rhodes Walks, where Greek paths and tracks do not carry the same legal certainty. A route cannot be assumed to be passable unless it has been physically walked, and even then access conditions can change without formal notice.

For the UK site, releasing a limited number of clearly labelled undocumented routes may be worthwhile as a trial. The response will help determine whether this becomes a more permanent feature.

We shall see.