A (Very) Short Walk to Check the Tide

In fact, no walk at all thanks to the clever folk at A Short Walk. They've designed a mobile phone program which can instantly calculate and display the state of the tide at just about any location in the world. You can then go on to predict tide times for any minute, hour, day, month or even year. It only costs £5 for the one-off download and, says Dan of A Short Walk: "That's it, no hidden charges, no subscription, no internet access. Plus, because everything mobiletide needs to work is stored onto your phone you don't even need mobile reception for it to work."

Dan tells me that he and his Zelah-based colleagues "are all surfers, ex land-locked sad and fat corporation workers who saw the light and now try to make it work in the motherland."

I can relate to that - though apparently most of the people behind Mobile Tide are off snowboarding right now. So I guess we shouldn't feel too sorry for them - and, with a product like this, it looks like they're making life in the far west work alright.

By the way, check out also Surf Hog's very cool site. Surf Hog is based in Hayle and in the line-up a lot. He also has an eye for surfing coverage in the nationals and spotted the Peruvian surfing cat story recently.

Comments

[CalActive]

What a brilliant idea! I haven't heard about this new device but you can guess what I'm getting now. Thanks for sharing!

[Gavin]

It's always the simple ideas!! Downloaded it last week and it's brilliant, just wish I'd thought of it!!

[Sarah Jones]

Found loads of info on the mobiletide site www.mobiletide.co.uk , even found a demo version. Easy to download, well recomended. It's the same guys who do the tide clocks you see everywhere, I was given three as wedding presents so I now know what the tides doing in the kitchen, bathroom, living room and now on my phone!

[Simon]

I was put off thinking it can't be that useful and only cost £5 but it is and it does! I have it on my phone and everyone I show it to downloads it. Soon everyone with any interest in the ocean will have it. Incredibly useful locally and the fact you can check out the tide at Waikiki is just cool.

[Buzza]

Brilliant! I now have something else to do on my phone apart from text girls! Good work tide dudes!

[Amy]

There is a delightful walk that I take at the weekends with my dog, a section of which can become cut-off by a high tide. It is a huge relief to know that I can check the tide as I set off, as I'm walking and again once I get there - not that I am particularly nervous or anything! A help for ocean-dodgers as well as ocean-lovers!

[Dave Durston]

Great idea, I already have your tide clock and this looks great.

[Ollie]

Ingenius idea! Downloaded it and it works great. I do lot of travelling around the country so this will be very handy.

Cracking idea. Thank you

[Louise]

We use mobile tide for our kitesurfing school in Cornwall. As kitesurfing lessons can only take place at low tide this system is a real asset to our business. We can now access the information we need to plan lesson times with customers even when we are out of the office.

[Carol]

We go bird watching along a beautiful stretch of coast near where we live and although we are used to the tides in that area we are planning to do a lot of touring in the UK now that we are retired and being able to dial up the tide times anywhere in the country is great.

[Steve W]

As a very active person living in South Wales the idea of a tide clock which is accessible by phone is a great idea. Whether i am surfing, training for triathlons or just fishing for sea bass i can always rely on mobile tide. It is also nice to see a company not taking their customers for granted by tying them to expensive subscriptions. I hope Dan and the people at Short Walk keep up the fantastic work.

[Jason Eggins - Australia]

A recent trip to England, a friend's recommendation and one easy download and now I have the tides here in Oz. It's very handy seeing as I surf almost every day. Saves looking up websites and once it's done, you don't have to pay any more (unlike most other mobile apllications). Cheers Dan, you're a GENIUS!

[Richard]

I do a lot of cliff climbing around the country and this download makes it so much easier to plan my weekends away without having to look up tide tables as, contrary to the opinion of most of my friends, I’m not always logged on to the internet. With this device I don’t need to be!

[dave]

Being an enthusiastic birdwatcher I've found this little device extremely useful for guaranteeing that I get to the mud flats and get set up at just the right times for watching and photographing the waders as the tide turns and the birds move up the beach towards my hide. Thanks for being such a clever clogs.

Dave

[sandy]

With this download there is no longer any need to hunt around the house for the tide table before setting off on a coastal walk - the tide information I require is now at my fingertips.

What a brilliant idea - wonder why no-one thought of it before!

[Frank]

I’m trying to make it as a scenic photographer so travel round the country a lot. To be able to dial up and find out the state of the tides for that perfect picture saves me time and makes life a whole lot easier.

[Ann]

We’ve just moved up north near some lovely sandy beaches. This tide down load is going to be really useful when the grandchildren come to stay!