On the day, the route is
clearly arrowed and marked along the way; but at the North Cornwall Tor you
can also use the GPX files to navigate the routes in several different
ways. Firstly, it’s probably best to download the GPX file(s) of interest
onto you computer. The best way to do that is to go to the outline route
map page of the website.
Before you do be ready to ‘right-click’ the file
you want and then ‘save target as….’. When you
have done this you will be prompted to download the file and ‘Save as’ At
this point you can specify where you want the file to be downloaded to on
your computer and what you want to call the file. Call it what you like but
just be sure not to change the ‘Save as type’ as you need the file to be
saved as a gpx file. When you click ‘Save’ the
file will download from the North Cornwall
Tor website to the location you specified on your computer.
This link takes you
straight to the outline route map page from where the GPX files can be
accessed: http://www.northcornwalltor.co.uk/outlineroutemap.htm
Now you have a GPX file
specifically for the North Cornwall Tor. Basically the file is co-ordinate
data for the points you pass on the route. These are some of the things you
can do with that information:
1) If you have google earth installed on you computer you can open the
GPX file and examine the route layed over aerial
photography and/or map information. Google earth is free and can be
obtained from here
Although free, it comes
from a reputable provider and wont damage your PC!
When installed you can
‘File, open..’ and browse to your GPX file. Do
make sure you have selected the correct ‘file of type..’
at the bottom of the box. As the file opens google
earth will fly to Cornwall
and you will see a light blue line overlay. This is a representation of the
route from about 50kms above the earth. In the layers box (should be bottom
left) be sure you have the roads layer ticked. Also make sure you have the
path selected in places. Now try Tools, Play tour to “fly” along the route.
Experiment with Tools, options to play with speed, height, elevation,
control etc.
2) If you have INSTALLED
mapping software like Anquet, Tracklogs
or Memory Map you can open the GPX files straight onto whatever map
overlays you have installed. You can then used the
functionality of the software to print your own detailed maps, calculate
distances, speeds and times etc.
3) If you have a GPS
device, in most cases, you can load the data onto you device. When you ride
the route you have no need to worry about where you are going or if an
arrow is missing – simply follow the instructions on your GPS.
