Buying an Outdoor GPS? Compare UK Retailers Side-by-Side
Yes — we are an official Garmin retailer.
Outdoor GPS Shop is a trading brand of Shepherds Walks Ltd (company no. 09826678, Rothbury, Northumberland), an official, Garmin-authorised UK retailer. Shepherds Walks Ltd is listed on the Garmin UK dealer locator.
Our sister site GPS Training is the same company, the same warehouse and the same team. Every Garmin unit we sell is brand-new UK stock with a full Garmin UK warranty - never grey import, never refurbished, never parallel import.
Who we are: Shepherds Walks Ltd
Shepherds Walks Ltd is a Northumberland-based outdoor business, trading since 2015. We run several brands, and two of them sell GPS:
Outdoor GPS Shop (outdoorgpsshop.co.uk) - our best-price site. Same official stock, stripped-back service, lower prices.
GPS Training (gpstraining.co.uk) - the UK's largest retailer and trainer of outdoor GPS devices. Full support and free training included.
Both sites are operated by the same legal entity, from the same premises, by the same people. If you have seen Shepherds Walks Ltd on the Garmin dealer locator and wondered whether that covers Outdoor GPS Shop - it does. It is one company.
Real UK consumer rights - you are buying from a registered UK company, not an overseas marketplace seller.
Proper returns - handled here in Northumberland.
Grey-import units are often cheaper for a reason. If it goes wrong, you are posting it abroad at your own cost.
📊 GPS Retailer Comparison Table
When you are buying an outdoor GPS unit or GPS watch, price is only half the story. The support you get afterwards is the other half. Here is how the main UK retailers compare.
Retailer
Official Garmin Retailer
GPS Unit Set-Up
Quick Start Guide
Telephone Support
Email Support
Free Training
Extras (Trade-In, Manuals)
Outdoor GPS Shop Shepherds Walks Ltd
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌
GPS Training Shepherds Walks Ltd
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
✅ BaseCamp manual, trade-in
Garmin Direct
✅ Manufacturer
❌ No
❌ No
✅ Yes
✅ Yes
❌ No
✅ Buying straight from the manufacturer
Ultimate Outdoors
✅ Yes
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌
Active GPS
✅ Yes
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌
Blacks / Go Outdoors
✅ Yes
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌
Millets
✅ Yes
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌ No
❌
Most established UK retailers are authorised to sell Garmin - that part is table stakes, and we have marked it honestly. The real difference is what happens after the box arrives. Comparison based on publicly available information and correct at the time of writing.
Which is best for you?
Want the lowest price? Choose Outdoor GPS Shop — official Garmin stock, your unit arrives fully set up with a Quick Start Guide, often 10–50% cheaper than other retailers.
Want expert support and training? Choose GPS Training — same official stock, plus telephone support, email support and free online training included.
Want to buy from a big chain or brand-direct? Expect little or no GPS-specific support once it is in your hands.
Frequently asked questions
Is Outdoor GPS Shop an official Garmin retailer?
Yes. Outdoor GPS Shop is a trading brand of Shepherds Walks Ltd, an official Garmin-authorised UK retailer listed on the Garmin UK dealer locator. All Garmin products sold on outdoorgpsshop.co.uk are genuine UK stock supplied with a full Garmin UK warranty.
Is GPS Training an official Garmin retailer?
Yes. GPS Training is also a trading brand of Shepherds Walks Ltd and sells under the same official Garmin dealer account. GPS Training is the largest retailer and trainer of outdoor GPS devices in the UK.
Why does the Garmin dealer locator say "Shepherds Walks Ltd" and not "Outdoor GPS Shop"?
Because Shepherds Walks Ltd is the registered company name, and Outdoor GPS Shop and GPS Training are its trading brands. Garmin lists the legal entity. One company, one dealer account, two websites.
Are Outdoor GPS Shop and GPS Training the same company?
Yes. Both are owned and operated by Shepherds Walks Ltd (company no. 09826678) from Unit 1b, Coquet View, Rothbury, Northumberland. Same stock, same warehouse, same team. Outdoor GPS Shop is the best-price site; GPS Training is the full support and training site.
Do the Garmin products come with a UK warranty?
Yes. Every Garmin device we sell is brand-new, UK-specification stock supplied through official channels, with the full Garmin UK manufacturer's warranty. We do not sell grey imports, parallel imports or refurbished units.
Which other brands are you an authorised retailer for?
Alongside Garmin, Shepherds Walks Ltd is an authorised UK retailer for Suunto. We also stock GPS watches and accessories from other leading outdoor brands.
Where are you based?
Rothbury in Northumberland, in the north east of England. Our premises are not open to the public - we are an online retailer - but you can reach us on 01669 621044.
✅ The bottom line
At Outdoor GPS Shop we keep it simple: official Garmin stock, great prices, ready-to-use GPS units and a Quick Start Guide to get you going. Perfect if you know your way around a GPS or just want the best deal.
If you would rather have ongoing training, telephone and email support and extra resources, head to our sister site GPS Training for the full package. Either way, you are buying from Shepherds Walks Ltd - an official Garmin retailer.
I bought this to replace a Montana 700 on the deck of my sea-kayak. The USB socket was dying, and it’s too heavy really for where i was using it. No physical buttons, just a touch screen, weren't really workable on the sea all the time either. Before the Montana the GPSMAP 66 was what I used at sea. This was the best unit at the time and worked really well. Small screen, light weight, physical buttons, AA batteries that lasted over 3 days. All good really. Soon to go to eBay!
The H1 has big shoes to fill. It does look very capable. The buttons work in a similar way to the 66, so it’s very familiar. The larger screen helps for mapping. But no corner fields as I’d got used to on the Montana. With the touch screen off it’s easy to control and for me the interface needs very little tweaking. Mapping and compass are easy to get to out of the box as it is.
Switching the Compass to CDI and turning routing off makes it work on the sea exactly the same as the 66 and the Montana 👍🏻. I can’t see all that much of the map when I have 4 data fields on display. But I can live with that. The Action button on the side cant be configured to toggle the touch screen, with is a big -ve.
Activity tracks and courses seem to be readily accessible nicely. But saved activities building up over a few days cant be moved into a collection on the device by the H1. I have to do this in Garmin Explorer, which isn’t Garmin’s best ever software tool. I try and stay away from that as much as possible!!
Having different profiles available is good too. I have only 3 : Kayaking, Walking and Driving. Though I wont use it much while walking. I prefer the simplicity of my Fenix for following courses and recording walks. The talky Toaster Map is very good too., much better than the Garmin Topo mapping. Though for real detail I use either a paper map or a selection of mapping on the phone.
The InReach capability I look forward to playing with. I recently bought an InReach Mini 3 Plus which I used on my last paddling trip. This ‘just worked’ sending comms over satellite when we had no mobile signal in the Far Northwest of Scotland. The subscription is now suspended so it really just a replacement for my soon to be eBayed PLB. I wondered if I should get inReach on my next GPS. I decided if I did I could simplify further my kit list. I can easily use the SOS button if I want to while on the sea, so all very +ve I think.
One ‘quirk’ is the spine mount. It can be threaded top and bottom with 12.7mm thin webbing tape, if you can find any! It’s an imperial size, not really sold anywhere I can find. Garmin won’t sell me a few m or more of their tiny tape loop things without a carabiner, a bit -ve in my mind.
I can work around it by threading the slots with Dyneema Paracord so I can fix it to my spray deck well enough I think and detach it at the end of the day to charge, etc.
Overall I am quite pleased with the GPSMAP Hi1 Plus. It will do a great job for what I want. I look forward to seeing exactly how long the battery lasts over a few days use 🙂.
PS … it did get stuck in the endless reboot cycle once 😮. A quick search of youTube revealed a fix involving a long press of the power button to switch it off, then hold down the page and enter buttons at the same time while pressing the power button once. It churned away and fixed itself 👍🏻.
Well worth the Upgrade from the gpsmap 67 if you have the cash. Finally easy to use better screen and ui.
Top service and best price around fron outdoor gps.
Don't get me wrong it's a luxury purchase for me, update from fēnix 7 but it's loverly with great features. Very happy 👍 fast delivery good quality usb c to hdmi included. Recommended seller with good videos on YouTube
Great advice over the phone and super fast delivery. Also purchased all the extras so was able to get out and about as soon as it arrived. Fantastic service.
It dose what it says on the box
It’s absolutely brilliant boiled water in a matter of minutes
And the delivery was exceptional as you can see from the photos it’s blowing a gale up in the Lake District and not once as it blown out
Surprising easy, for Garmin, to setup and pay for registration for the first month.
After 1 month I plan to suspend the monthly subscription and use it only as a PLB replacement most of the time when on day trips. When we do some extended sea-kayaking trips in May and September I can re-enable on the cheapest plan to be able to communicate when there is no mobile signal. This is all very straightforward in the Garmin Messenger app 👍🏻.
(I climb the mountain so I can see the world, not so the world can see me)
Great GPS functionality - locks on quickly.
Suunto coach comes free with the app and has AI training plans, so, you don’t have to subscribe to such things separately.
Battery life is great.
I bought the GPSMAP H1 online but picked it up from the Office in Northumberland as I was on holiday in the area a few days after I ordered it. I spoke with Jon, a really helpful and friendly guy. The staff at the office were good too.
This device is really great. It came with some helpful documentation printed off by the shop. To get the best out of it use Garmin express and Garmin base map on either a Mac or a Windows computer.
However, setting up your own courses on screen is fairly simple too. The preloaded maps are perfectly good, but if you want Ordnance survey maps there's a slot for an SD card. You can switch the touch screen off which is dead handy if you want to keep it in your pack or pocket whilst walking.
The pictures I have attached show a course I did on screen. Also a bearing on the Humber Bridge. Apols for the quality but I needed three hands really.
Overall I'm delighted.
It's a complex thing so if you haven't had one before, take a couple of hours to mess about with it before going out and field test it on a walk you're familiar with.
Bought the H1 GPS with the additional 1.5 maps .
Arrived all checked over with card installed and set up for me. Thanks guys.
Delivery was fast , works great straight out the box and can’t fault the service.
The H1 works great after familiarise myself around the menu options.
Took it out with me, for a test on a local walk. After I’d loaded up a route into it from Garmin explore app. Works great, very impressed with the touch screen feature .
Added a screen protector and silicon soft case, for some extra protection . 😊
I had a Montana before this which was good but this is much better in that it has buttons and it’s more compact.
The service from Outdoor GPS is also worth a mention as they were outstanding.
My daily cycling routine involves 32km, and these Suunto Wing 2 have significantly improved my rides. I enjoy listening to music while staying aware of traffic. The lights are a fantastic feature for evening rides.
They also perform well in strong winds.
Overall, I love them.
Very happy with my purchase!
It comes setting up straight from the box and with lots of useful information and paperwork.
The person who answered on the phone was friendly and helpful.
100% recommend!
Excellent service from start to finish. Very responsive to my questions and clearly knowledgeable about the product. They took the time to explain things properly rather than giving rushed answers, which gave me confidence in the purchase. Delivery was smooth and everything arrived exactly as described. Would definitely use them again.
Lovely large screen to view and so many different activities to track. Excellent analysis after each activity which can be accessed on my phone or iPad and I can compare stats for same routes. Still getting used to all the functions to make the best of everything.
From start to finish I cannot fault Outdoor GPS Shop. Great price and great communication.
I love my watch, it is packed with features and is well made.
I will definitely be back for my next one, though hopefully this will last me a while.
Cheers
Reviewed various GPS units and wanted the extra confidence whilst out solo in the fells to be able to communicate with family. This ticks all the boxes.
Great seller, Great watch. Exactly what i wanted and delivered promptly.
You can't ask for anything more.
All of my friends are asking me about the watch and where i got it from at this heat price.
Very well pleased.
Martin B
Ok piece of kit. But the Spine mount does not seem to latch very securely. I can lift it off very easily. It does not inspire confidence it will stay in place when used in extremis. I will have to use it a few times to see how well it works.
Great service, prompt delivery.
Still getting used to the device but it seems simple enough. Hope I never have to use it in an emergency but knowing it is there is provides reassurance.
I upgraded to this from my previous Garmin MAP67i.
The H1 is very good, although a little heavier. It’s a shame Garmin have chosen to remove the nice bold/ wide magenta line on courses that I plot. The thinner course line with the arrows is fine but not great in poor conditions.
It only now seems to be available using tracback.
For some reason the satellite is still much slower than using the explorer app on the phone, which is problematic in storms (having recently returned from a Norwegian expedition).
Irritatingly the screen often zoomed out of the course resulting in difficulty reverting to it again.
Garmin still have a lot of work to do and I still find it clunky despite the touch screen improvements and convoluted and laborious processes involved to find things. Good to see they have removed the ludicrous routes & tracks thing and can just focus on a created course.
But I really do hope Garmin reintroduce the previous wide magenta line function on the next software update.
I go to some of the remotest places on the planet so this would be appreciated.
