I spend most of the day at a desk. Ever since embarking on a computer science degree 22 years ago, I have probably been consigned to this type of existence. I’m not complaining, though. It’s comfortable, not too far from coffee-making facilities, and I can get to the toilet quickly. Other than a bit of conversation, there isn’t much else that I need on a day-to-day basis.
But I’m left wanting more. Being so deskbound is not great for my joints, my muscles, or my eyes. It can have an adverse effect on my mental health. And it’s not going to do anything to address that middle-age spread that the doctors keep telling me is coming.
It’s time for a change. Not to my job. I love my job and have no plans of pursuing something different. No, the change needs to come in how I view my time outside of my working hours, and that’s why I’m glad to have discovered the fun and insanely useful Go Jauntly app.
Homescreen heroes
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps that we couldn’t live without. Read them all here.
Go Jauntly is a walking app for everyday outdoor adventures. It’s that little bit of help I need to discover nature-filled walking routes and enjoy fun new walking challenges. With unlimited walking trails to enjoy, the app helps people get out and about every day. You can say goodbye to bulky walking maps that never fold back into their original size and say hello to the pocket-sized encyclopedia of urban walks.
The app has a collection of features designed to get you walking. They’re simple, easy to navigate, and all accessible through the navigation bar located at the bottom of the app.
The first of these is the map tab, which enables users to find walks near their home or around where they’re vacationing. Each walk is identified with a Go Jauntly logo, and if you zoom out, these logos will group together and change their indicators to numbers. To help with navigation, all you have to do is tap on one of these numbers, and the map will automatically zoom in on that area.
When you’ve found a walk that you fancy doing, you can choose to make it a ‘fast route’ or a ‘green route’. The latter will automatically take you through green spaces, assuming they’re not too much of a detour. The map layout makes it easy to decide which route is going to suit you best.
Another feature of Go Jauntly is the ‘Walks’ tab, which offers up a series of links to help you explore the world around you. These links are collections of walks that the Go Jauntly team has curated, helping take the guesswork out of finding a good walk. I’m a big fan of these.
Up the ante and take a walking challenge
In almost all areas of my life, I love a bit of competition to keep the motivation going strong. So, I was glad to see a ‘Challenges’ tab built into the heart of the app. This offers pre-made challenges, including ‘Walk 2025 Challenge’, ‘Advent Challenge’, and ‘Winter Wanders’. You can even create your own challenge if you’re feeling adventurous.
To track your progress, you can connect your fitness tracker, or if you prefer the hard way, you can add the walks manually. As you work through the challenge, Go Jauntly will award you badges so you can visually see your progress. I’m a sucker for a badge, so I was caught hook, line, and sinker.
Discover walking routes for yourself
Go Jauntly is 100% free, but if you’d like to support the app’s mission and unlock additional features, then you can upgrade to a Premium subscription. This costs $4.99/£4.99 a month or $29.99/£20.99 a year.
The Premium subscription provides 100% access to curated walking routes, the ability to create AI-driven circular walks, and functionality that lets users download their favorite routes for offline mode.
Walking is fun, free, and easy. It’s good for us physically as well as mentally, and if your walks are an alternative to a trip in the car, then it’s good for the planet too. Go Jauntly has helped me fall in love with walking, and I’m sure it’ll do the same for you.
Download Go Jauntly on iOS or Android and get exploring!
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paulo.n.hatton@gmail.com (Paul Hatton)
