Map reading.....info

[fatbikephil]

Same with engineering design - the 'puter can do it all, but you need to know how to do it by calculation so you know when the computer is talking sh*te. After using a map and compass, using the GPS is easy but having the map nous means you can appreciate terrain, place yourself in an area and know which direction is right. But is all about where you are. In the dales for e.g., following rights of way, nav errors are rare and even if you get it totally wrong, your never far from civilisation. Up in the Cairngorms its a different matter and several people have died due to getting nav wrong. Last winter there were several call outs by the CMRT who had to go looking for people who were (quote) "Navigationally Challenged". Most seemed to be older people ironically given the OP. Mebbes younger people aren't going anywhere near the hills these days and if they are its after doing D of E so they may well have all the skills they need.....

[RIP]

"I actually mentioned to someone the other day that the WRT would probably be much more popular if you removed the planning / navigation element and just handed out gpx files for people to follow ... maybe there should be two options?"

I don't get that vociferous about many things, but....... ABSOLUTELY NOT!.

Maybe you were being tongue-in-cheek and I've been "had" there .

This thread is one of those that just keep on giving - top post John .

[BigdummySteve]

I use OS maps, on my large phone. I often browse maps of areas in just because I like looking at them, the whole world represented with lines and symbols, loved maps as a kid and I still love them. Last summer while we were in north Devon I was looking at the maps and saw some interesting contours, the family went along with my mad idea and we discovered Heddons mouth.

While I have paper maps at home I’m one of those who leaves them there, could I still navigate with a map and compass? Probably, I very much read the maps on my phone, as such even if I am following a trail I still use OS mapping and browse the surrounding area which gives me a sense of the larger topography of the area.

I’d love a kindle like OS map devise, large screen in colour with the whole country in glorious 1:25K, two weeks battery life, just an occasional GPS update....
I feel most of the gadgets we have for navigation put the map in second place, I’ve had two Garmin,s .....

[In Reverse]

people are asking "which map software for my phone?", "what on line route planning?".......

Why wouldn't people be asking for advice on these things if they're new to a hobby? Loads of people on here ask exactly the same questions on a regular basis.

This is a good thread but that's an absoluely dreadful OP John

[Bearbonesnorm]

I don't get that vociferous about many things, but....... ABSOLUTELY NOT!.

Don't worry Reg, it was a fleeting moment of madness, a thought dismissed as quickly as it appeared ... all is safe

[RIP]

I knew all along that you were having us on there. Ahem. I've jumped back down off the chair now . I'll find the funny side of anything but seem to have just discovered my limit .

[Mariner]

What goes around ...........


https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019 ... nt-any-map

[benp1]

Stupidly I bought 2 of the same paper map (Lake Vyrnwy, despite having an actual list of all the OS maps I already have so I wouldn't do that. So I took it back to the shop and swapped it for one I didn't have. Which then made me check how many OS maps I have already, currently over 40 now! Quite pleased with that

I really do like a paper map. I spent a good little while poring over them when I was on hols in Snowdonia last week.

I have to say that I often don't take one bikepacking, but for hillwalking I always have one with me

[RIP]

Nice little library of 'em there Ben. 114 x 1:50 here, with 32 Landrangers - nowhere near enough for me :). Along with loads of antique ones - they're quite fun to navigate with today: on my trip from Stoke to Manchester a while ago I used a 1948(?) map which surprisingly worked quite well! Mate of mine struck lucky once when his local library had a clear-out and he scooped a FULL SET of flat rolled 1:50's. Beautiful things indeed. Can't imagine anyone saying that about a gizmo .

[whitestone]

There is a reason ours are arranged in numerical order Ben

We've got 1, 2, 3, ... lots and lots

[Bearbonesnorm]

Ooh, just counted up. 185 on the shelf and each one, a hundred untold stories ... 18500 stories, that'll keep us busy

[voodoo_simon]

Only 45 here, more than 1 map per year of my life

If a picture tells a thousands words, that’ll be, ermmm, lots

[mechanicaldope]

I have 114, 115 and OL23. Any guess where they are for?!

[BigdummySteve]

What goes around ...........


https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019 ... nt-any-map

Oh no Stanford’s map shop....it’s going to cost.

[Lazarus]

3 maps of the areas I still walk - not likely to take a GPS for that
Lakes[ south] Snowdonia and home area.
Dont need any more i have a GPS and all the OS maps of UK on my phone, computer and GPS

I suppose its like music some want the physical albums some just want 5000 on a server. Same with maps some of you just want to keep them there is a word for this possible Luddite or something positive like that

I do remember pouring over maps back when it was the only option and the one thing they do give you is the scale of your adventure

[RIP]

The analogy is more like 'would you rather gaze at the real Mona Lisa or just view her on the security cameras' .

I think you're probably getting the feeling that us mapists are pushing our corner a little too zealously and you're probably right. Still, that's what tiny minorities have to do when trying to convince the unfeeling masses of the righteousness of their cause .

Excuse me now, I'm just off to pore over a particularly sensuous copy of 1916 Buxton (Buxom?) and Matlock.... sigh... some of those contours really are quite shapely...

[Bearbonesnorm]

I just like maps. Here's a half inch Bartholomew, printed on linen so none of yer new-fangled paper nonsense. It's 74 years old and still a thing of great beauty - how can you not love staring at it?

[benp1]

That's lovely. I have a special London one that was created as part of the national park city campaign, it's just nice looking at maps of cool things

I feel slightly inadequate with my 40 odd maps now, I shall go and cry to myself alone in the corner

Bob, they're actually organised in numbericak order, as is my list. I'm just a complete dope, don't understand what made me order the same one twice, I clearly just didn't check properly!

[RIP]

You're never alone with a map Ben .

Gawd, that Bart, I think I'm in lurve. Even got Ceulan mine marked on it.

[Bearbonesnorm]

May only be of interest to Reg but ... a set of YHA 'log books'. Printed in the late 40's early 50's by the Merseyside YHA and each one covering a specific area that would have being accessible from said city by bike. They were only printed in small numbers so it took me about 4 years of searching to track down a full set. I'm sure this makes me somewhat sad but it also makes me happy

[Blair512]

Passed my NNAS bronze award at the weekend, amazing how much info is drawn onto a map you never see until it's pointed out to you. I may do a few map based trips this year to help hone the skills I was taught.

[johnnystorm]

I have a couple of sections of Bart's maps of mid-wales of a slightly newer vintage than Stu's I don't know much about art but I know what I like....

IMG_20190108_212655.jpg (74.63 KiB) Viewed 2985 times

[BigdummySteve]

If you love maps this is exciting
https://www.lovemapson.com/collections/ ... 5589624893

I’ve also found a few places that do large sections of OS maps, flat and laminated. I need a study.

[BigdummySteve]

Oh my...they even do custom wall tiles and wallpaper
Hmm Mrs D has been asking about redecorating the bathroom

[Alpinum]

Read maps on the loo?
Dotted line sickness?

Yes and yes.

103 1:25000 Swisstopo maps. Plus a bunch of 50k and other random stuff including a shelf filled with various guide books and some alpine books which actually don't belong there.


Some rare maps of Asia's greater ranges and regular maps of other places we've been to.


Some of my jewels are 4 100k maps of Switzerland from 1917. Amazing to see how much things have changed. When I look into very old peoples eyes, I think of that map and a near car free world, where every road is gravel.

But lets face it, they (paper maps, not old people) are of limited practical use. Before a big trip I get an overview on large-ish scale papermaps (if at all) to get a rough idea of the topography. Most of the work from there on is done on the computer. US and Russian military maps may show old tracks the internet didn't know about 15 years ago. Google Earth was still very young and only available for Windows computers, but today the internet has these maps freely available, including sat imagery (from different sources) which mostly have a have a resolution you can spot tracks. Funnily enough, the military maps are often wrong, misleading and this often has a large impact. All part of the adventure though.

My mobile phone has a bunch of different map apps.
OSMand, Gaia, 2 Swiss topo, Norwegian,  Swedish and UK topo, a hand full of ATLOGIS topo from var. countries too (especially their Russian military map for some areas of the world the only, near useful map at all) and Google Earth.

I have a 'map' bookmark on the web browser and it's quite a list. Google Earth is by far used most, next to Basecamp and online services.

Maps are just tools, like the about 5 compasses I must own, 3 GPS devices (excluding the phone and the sat comm) and one sat comm.

My name is Gian. Am I map addicted?

....people want everything given to them on a plate these days. They want their routes given to them as a download onto a gadget....

I often get asked for the GPX for a particular route I've ridden. Some peeps are either incapable or too lazy to study a map/the web for ideas on where to ride.[...]

There are many other reasons why some ask for a track/route...