Heather's doing the Pennine Way with a group from Ipswich, and that's highly organised, with GPX's. I've been out a couple of times, dropping the bike at the start end point of a day, and leaving the car at the start point. I did a three day stint last week, starting in Middleton-in-Teesdale, then going via Langdon Beck, Dufton, and onto Alston. So I left the car at Langdon Beck, and the bike at Alston.
On Friday, rain was forecast from 3pm, which meant that it made sense to walk from Great Dun Fell to Langdon Beck to pick up the car, and avoid a ride over Yad Moss. If I followed the streams and rivers I knew I couldn't get lost if the mist came down. So I set off with no map, and no possibility of mobile reception. There were occasional signs outlining the access area, with 'You are here', usefully indicated. I missed a useful track shown on those, but I can read landscape and vegetation, so I wasn't much bothered about going 'off-piste'.
I'm not sure I would have done that bit of exploring if I hadn't encountered a Pennine Way walker with an earpiece, listening to some music, or perhaps a podcast, while following GPS instructions. Obviously we were undertaking the same physical activity, but I experienced a feeling of cultural dissonance, stemming from the pre-ordained nature of his task. I've got no aversion to sharing experiences, but there is something to be said for reinforcing your own knowledge of an area through 'doing', rather than following.
I did get some nice shots over the three days, which will chime with LEL riders.