A new resource for hill and mountain walkers and runners promises a one-stop app for planning days out.
The Hillcast app is a specialised digital tool that allows outdoors fans to check the weather forecast and suitability for hiking, discover a huge range of routes and learn of the best parking spots for the hills across the UK– all in one place.
The brainchild of keen walker and runner Matt Burrows, from Pitlochry, Perthshire, Hillcast covers more than 2000 hills including Munros, Corbetts, Donalds, Fionas, Marilyns, Wainwrights and Nuttalls, with more information being added all the time.
The founder said: “Like everyone else who is a keen runner or walker in the UK hills, I have spent many, many hours checking lots of different resources for weather forecasts, as well as route guides and then trying to work out the best place to park for each outing, whether by looking at OS Maps or Google Maps.
“I’d need to cross-reference the lot — and even after that I was still not always sure it would be worth the drive.
“Then, one day I was running in the hills, and I suddenly thought, what if there was a platform where I could see all this information in one place? The idea grew from there.”
Developing the Hillcast app
Matt has been grateful for the support of a number of different groups and organisations, including the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH) the Relative Hills Society, WalkHighlands and Wainroutes.
Matt, whose main job is a tiling and plumbing business, said: “The Hillcast app has taken a lot of time and hard work to create and collate all the relevant information.
“But I’m a bit of a digital geek and so I’ve actually enjoyed the process of it all.
“Just now the app is free to use and I am hoping that the general public will help to add information where it is missing, especially where to park for each hill route. This is something that can be challenging on some of the lesser known hill routes.”
My thoughts: Hillcast app
Like Matt, I’m one of those people who spends a great deal of time cross-checking different weather apps, routes on various website and in books and then, once I have decided where I want to go, I need to consider the parking options.
As I work my way through the mountains of less visited lists, such as Corbetts, Fionas and Donalds, the parking can sometimes be trickier than the actual walking route finding.
So, I really like the idea of the one-stop app where there is a wealth of information in one place.
I have not had a great deal of time to fully test the app – that will come – but my early assessment is, it’s smart and clever.
I asked Matt what weather forecasts he uses because Scotland’s weather and various forecast sites can differ so much. He says that he has found, through experience, that a combination of UKV weather and ECMWF charts (this one is new to me) offers the most reliable forecasts for the hills and mountains.
At a glance, the app shows a rating out of 100 for the weather forecast and up to seven days in advance. This rating considers the wind, rain and temperature and marks it out of 100.
There are weather ratings shown on maps and in a list of hills, as well as according to different areas. You can see, at a glance, the best places to visit for the most favourable weather across the UK and also filter to different areas, or places closest to where you are.
The app even asks “Where should I go this weekend” and it lets you search for hills, or hill areas, as well as lists of mountains such as Munros and Wainwrights.
Many of the Scottish mountain routes link to WalkHighlands routes, while the Wainwrights link to Wainroutes. Matt plans to collaborate with route providers where he can, but he is keen to tell me he will not simply be taking routes from sites, rather he will credit the route providers that partner with them.
As well as the route, there is a link to driving directions (links to Google maps), the route in the OS Maps app, and mountain safety advice (link to, eg MWIS).
As an example, I decided to see what options there are for tomorrow and not too far from home.
I tapped Friday, then chose “near me” and “within a 50 miles radius” (there are also 25 -mile and 100-mile options).
I picked “all hills” but it is also possible to narrow down by hill lists, such as Munros, Corbetts, Fionas, and up popped a list of hills with the best score for the weather. I was also able to see these as a map.
I learned that the best area for him walking is north-east Scotland, including the Grampian hills, Lochnagar and Cairngorm.
I was also pleased to see that my usual theory that if you head for the lower mountains, such as the Fionas, rather than the Munros or Corbetts, the weather improves accordingly. It’s very easy to see this display on the app in Hillcast.
The app is sophisticated at its heart but also very easy to navigate and offers a huge wealth of useful info. The app details are amazing with info such as hill and mountain route distance, ascent, where the summit ranks in terms of height among similar mountains, a brief description of the mountain, and a wealth of weather info.
The weather detail is fantastic. Time will tell as to whether I come to trust the weather in this app though. I think we all become settled on the apps we prefer thanks to experience but I am keen to see how it fares.
There is sun up and sun down information, too, plus a locator map and then links to Route Guide, Driving directions, the route in OS Maps, and Mountain safety advice. There are also paper map details.
The only issue I have is that when you click away from the app, for example, to OS Maps or WalkHighlands, you need to refind the Hillcast app on your phone to do another search. I am guessing there is no way around this. Also, when switching from “list” to “map” the day is lost, so you need to make sure you click again on the relevant day. I found myself surprised that the weather had suddenly changed from the list to the map, but I realised this was because I was looking at the wrong day.
My advice is to have a look at the app while it is free. In time, a subscription / cost is likely to be introduced although Matt hopes to keep some levels of the app free at all times.
You can help
Hillcast is always open to corrections, updates or suggestions from walkers and runners. Your own experience is exactly how Matt wants the app to work.
He said: “The more data and feedback we get about the hills, routes and parking, the better we can make it for users of the app.”
Get in touch with Matt at matt@hillcast.app.