Map reading.....info

[benp1]

Hmmm, I really like that OS map wallpaper. I really do like the idea of having a huge OS map on the wall, even if it's only of my local area

Our dining/kitchen table that we eat (and play) at has a world map table cloth on it. It's excellent, the kids love it too

[faustus]

I'll put my hand up to being a paper map 'believer', and still use them almost exclusively on bike rides. I just think there is a different spacial orientation in my brain that understands maps, and I learnt a great deal from years of being a scout. Still use them for car navigation sometimes; easily managed to drive 1200 miles to the Alps, Mount Ventoux, and home again with only a single wrong turn just using a map book.

My discomfort with gps comes from the over-focus on following a trail without (or less of) a wider landscape/landmark context. Even large screens and zooming in-out don't help overcome this to a degree. I think it is the way a map forces you to triangulate yourself in relation to other things (places, landmarks, etc.), and most importantly for me, it makes you pay attention and remember lots of detail about your surroundings and journey that help you to stay 'unlost'.

I have a 1 year old son, and i'll be making sure he learns to read a map properly. Luckily we have a big shelf of them at home too.

[RIP]

Right with you there on the 2nd para Faustus (misnamed I believe - as a map-user you haven't "given up your soul for no good reason" unlike... ). "over-focus on following a trail" - one of my issues with it too. Obviously if one wants to follow a pre-set trail then GPS may be a good tool for that job, albeit needing external power at some points, so fair play to adherents - it's just a different way of riding. But for us wandering tramp minority, a scrap of paper every time. I know it's been said that GPS, Spot etc have saved people in dodgy situations, but I think there's an argument that, like cycle helmets, they may encourage people to over-extend themselves, believing they have a safety net (a net which often has to be reeled in by an external agency after the cockup ...). I haven't had any of these things, or even a phone for most of my riding life, and am still here, after a few odd scrapes (both physical and geographical). And there's the little butterflies of sensuous pleasure every time I open a map which ain't to be underestimated either .

[Lazarus]

and most importantly for me, it makes you pay attention and remember lots of detail about your surroundings and journey that help you to stay 'unlost'.

IME that is much easier to do at walking pace with a map in your hand looking around that when riding a bike.
I just think maps are less bike friendly.

[RIP]

"map in hand" is true to an extent, although WADR I would disagree that maps are "less bike friendly" - bike riding unfriendly maybe, but as per my comment under "water" - just stop. Still think this can come down to whether you are following an exact line, or not, and whether you're riding just for the reasons of non-stop riding, or not. Those of us biased to one or the other, might be biased towards the associated navigation equipment. I reckon I can often/usually keep the next few miles of the route in my head after a navigation stop - I can "see" the map as well as the route across it.

[Mariner]

Apologies if this has already been covered but has the OS Puzzle Book been discussed.
I saw it today in a book shop and was not aware of it til then.

[Blair512]

Apologies if this has already been covered but has the OS Puzzle Book been discussed.
I saw it today in a book shop and was not aware of it til then.

I got it for xmas, looking forward to hours of hunting for churchs and counting farms when we head up to our caravan in the summer!