OS Champion

Andrew White

OS Champion

Meet OS Champion Andrew White – Dog-owning walking filmmaker and writer from Yorkshire.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

I’m a writer, filmmaker and broadcaster, and my passion for walking led me to set up a website designed to get even beginners out walking – Walks Around Britain. Over the years, the brand has grown from just a website, and today, I’m also the lead presenter and showrunner of the Walks Around Britain TV and radio series.

I’m also the creator and writer of the mystery/crime series “The Walker Mysteries” with the first book in the series released in February 2022, and I’m currently writing books two and three. I also write regularly for outdoor magazines.

I live in the city of Doncaster, in Yorkshire, with my wife, two daughters and six (yes six) border collies.

Why do you love the outdoors?

It’s where I become alive and feel myself. I’ve always been interested in landscapes, history, heritage and nature – and that sums up the outdoors for me.

How do you get outside?

I guess you wouldn’t be too surprised if I said walking (!) but I also enjoying cycling – and I’ve recently took up kayaking too… so there maybe a new TV series there…

What’s your favourite route?

As a Yorkshireman, I’d happily spend the rest of my outdoor life in my home county – so much to see here – but I also love the Isle of Man, the Peak District and North Wales.

My favourite walk though is in the Peak District – it’s a lovely little jaunt up Mam Tor direct from Edale railway station.

Mam Tor route in OS Maps

Paper map for Mam Tor: OS Explorer OLI

Have you got any adventures planned?

I’m currently filming for seasons six and seven of Walks Around Britain, so I’m travelling all over Great Britain filming walks.

What’s the most essential thing on your kit list?

Other than the request OS Explorer map for where I am, it would have to be flask of hot water for a cuppa soup!

Who inspires you to get outside?

My fellow Champs Alan Hinkes, Eli Bishop, Glyn Dodwell and Katie Tunn.

What do you prefer: Paper or digital map? (Controversial we know!)

Both – I never leave home on an adventure without either, because each have unique plus points. I love to be able to hold, fell and touch a physical OS Explorer map, and know that I have all the information I need of the immediate local area I’m in at my fingertips, safe in the knowledge I’m not going to be caught out by a lack of signal or batteries dying on me. But then I also love the digital OS Maps app for being able to pinpoint my location in the landscape precisely and for the ability to have all my walking routes instantly available at the touch of a screen.

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