Privacy notice
Last updated: 26 September 2026 · Optional statistics version 1
Contact and privacy requests
Use the message form and select Send privately. Include an email address if you would like a reply. Private messages are kept out of the public comments. Please do not include sensitive information or identity documents in the form.
Comments and messages
When you submit the form, the website stores your chosen name, comment or message, optional email address, submission time and moderation status. An approved public comment displays your name, comment and date. Your email address is visible to John in the protected editor, but is not returned in the public comments feed.
This information is used to moderate contributions, respond to messages and maintain a useful hiking community. The lawful basis is legitimate interests in running the website and communicating with visitors. Providing an email address is optional; without it John may be unable to reply privately. Submitting a comment does not sign you up for marketing.
Optional visitor statistics
Visitor statistics are off until you choose Allow statistics. Declining does not limit access to any hike report or other public content. The lawful basis for optional statistics is your consent, which you can withdraw below as easily as you gave it.
When allowed, a random browser identifier links pages visited, visit times, first and last visits, view counts and approximate country. The hosting network supplies the country; the statistics database does not store your raw IP address. This identifier is pseudonymous, not fully anonymous. John uses the information to understand readership and improve the website, not for advertising or personalised decisions.
Browser-linked visit records are kept for 30 days, then converted into daily page-and-country totals with no browser identifier. The old records are deleted during that cleanup. Records collected before this consent system were introduced have been replaced with these anonymous totals. Totals cannot be traced back to a particular browser.
Cookies and your choice
If you allow statistics, jha_statistics holds the random identifier for up to 90 days. A server-side record stores when you agreed, the notice version and the expiry date. If you decline, jha_privacy remembers that choice for up to 90 days without a visitor identifier. Both cookies are restricted to this site. After the choice expires, statistics stop until you allow them again.
Editor browsers use jha_exclude, lasting up to one year, to exclude their visits. Essential hosting and editor sign-in cookies may also be used. The previous visitor identifier and statistics settings in local storage are removed when this version loads. Essential connection information, including IP addresses, is still received by hosting providers to deliver and secure the site.
Withdrawal stops future statistics and removes this browser’s remaining linked visit records and consent record, retaining only anonymous totals. Your choice applies to this browser; repeat it on other devices. Clearing cookies resets your choice to statistics off.
Visitor statistics are off until your choice has been checked.
Email updates
If you choose to subscribe, the signup link opens a form hosted by Mailchimp. Mailchimp collects your email address and any optional details you provide on that form, together with subscription and confirmation records, for John to manage and send hiking updates. You must confirm your email address before joining. Subscription is optional and based on your consent; you can read the website without subscribing.
Use the unsubscribe link in any update to stop receiving emails, or contact John using the private message form above. Subscriber details are managed in Mailchimp while you remain subscribed. Mailchimp may retain an unsubscribe record to prevent further emails and to record your preference; contact John to request deletion or ask about records held.
Mailchimp may record email delivery and engagement information, such as opens and link clicks, depending on campaign settings. It may process information outside the UK. See the Intuit Global Privacy Statement for Mailchimp’s processing and transfer information. Comment email addresses are not automatically added to the mailing list.
Hosting, maps and other services
The site uses OpenAI Sites and Cloudflare infrastructure to deliver pages and store site content, comments and statistics. Access to the editor is restricted to John. The interactive map loads resources from jsDelivr and OpenStreetMap; some images load from Unsplash. Those services receive connection information when your browser requests their content. External links, including Facebook, take you to services with their own privacy practices.
Providers may process information outside the UK. Their privacy information describes their processing locations and transfer arrangements: OpenAI, Cloudflare, jsDelivr, OpenStreetMap Foundation and Unsplash. Contact John if you need further information about a particular disclosure or transfer.
How long information is kept
- Browser-linked statistics: 30 days; anonymous daily totals are retained for long-term readership comparisons.
- Consent records: until the 90-day consent expires or you withdraw, whichever comes first.
- Pending public comments: 30 days from submission.
- Private messages and their contact details: 90 days from submission. If a matter is still ongoing, contact John again before that period ends.
- Email addresses on published comments: removed 30 days after submission.
- Published comment names and text, and hike reports and photographs: kept while part of the relevant report or discussion, subject to moderation and requests for review or removal.
Cleanup runs automatically when the site’s privacy or comment service is used or John opens the editor. If there is no activity, deletion occurs on the next such request. The 30-day statistics window supports monthly comparisons; short message retention limits unnecessary storage. Hosting providers manage their own operational logs and backup retention separately.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may ask to access, correct, delete or restrict use of your personal information. Data portability applies where the legal conditions are met. If processing relies on consent, you can withdraw that consent without affecting earlier lawful processing. This site does not use your information for automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
Your right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, such as comment moderation and responding to messages. Optional statistics instead rely on consent: use the controls above to withdraw. Contact John about other processing or records. If your request concerns a comment or photograph, identify the page and contribution so it can be located.
Requests are normally answered within one month; John may need proportionate information to verify a request. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or call 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this notice
This notice will be updated when the website’s use of personal information changes, including changes to email subscriptions. The date above shows the latest revision.