Author Topic: Which paper maps.  (Read 3631 times)

Percy

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #15 on: 13:09:29, 03/03/19 »
But OS 1:25k maps show walls even fences in upland areas that are important for navigation, these are not on 1:50k maps.
Yes, I think these are vital features for a walking map.


They are even more important for navigation in lowland farming areas - being the wrong side of a hedge might mean you're only 2 metres off course but it may well end in a fight through brambles and barbed wire when you find the gate or stile is in the adjacent field.

astaman

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #16 on: 13:09:48, 03/03/19 »
A number of years ago I bought a bundle of old pre-metric OS maps at an auction. They are lovely things because the colour is so rich and dramatic compared with Landrangers etc. They are out of date of course but above a certain altitude things change at geological pace so it's less important. Generally I like the 1:50,000 series but have no problem with the greater detail on the 1:25,000.

GnP

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #17 on: 13:20:02, 03/03/19 »
Yes, I think these are vital features for a walking map.


They are even more important for navigation in lowland farming areas - being the wrong side of a hedge might mean you're only 2 metres off course but it may well end in a fight through brambles and barbed wire when you find the gate or stile is in the adjacent field.
When you zoom in from 1;50k to 1.25k on the Ordnance survey mapping app, the footpath route can change by a surprising amount in position. I do wonder which is supposed to be the correct position of the path in reality & I have never gotten round to checking when out and about. I just tend to trust the 1.25k scale more, even though it isn`t always correct out on the ground.
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

astaman

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #18 on: 17:42:04, 03/03/19 »
When you zoom in from 1;50k to 1.25k on the Ordnance survey mapping app, the footpath route can change by a surprising amount in position. I do wonder which is supposed to be the correct position of the path in reality & I have never gotten round to checking when out and about. I just tend to trust the 1.25k scale more, even though it isn`t always correct out on the ground.


I know what you mean. There is a late-neolithic homestead on the hill behind where I live that is accurately mapped on the 1:50,000 but is missing from the 1:25,000. I don't understand that at all.

richardh1905

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #19 on: 17:48:36, 03/03/19 »
A number of years ago I bought a bundle of old pre-metric OS maps at an auction. They are lovely things because the colour is so rich and dramatic compared with Landrangers etc. They are out of date of course but above a certain altitude things change at geological pace so it's less important. Generally I like the 1:50,000 series but have no problem with the greater detail on the 1:25,000.



I've got some of those. The topographical detail on mountains is nowhere near as good as on the modern 1:25000 though, especially craggy areas.
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richardh1905

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #20 on: 17:51:48, 03/03/19 »
Italian and Spanish ones are "Oh dear".



The map of the Gran Paradiso area in Italy that I went to many decades ago was very good - but it wasn't Italian!


And as for Spanish maps - when in the Benasque area of the Pyrenees in the 1980's, we discovered that a path marked around the southern shore of a lake was in fact a near vertical cliff!
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BuzyG

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #21 on: 19:05:09, 03/03/19 »
Any 1:25000 OS map - the cartography is superb, and sometimes I can just sit and 'read' a map almost as if it were a book.


I know exactly what you mean.  I can spend hours studying an OS map.  I can honestly say I enjoy reading a map than any book. 


One bonus of that is I have learned to memorize routes, in areas I have never visited before.

happyhiker

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #22 on: 08:24:09, 04/03/19 »
Without doubt, the 1:25000 OS maps for me. I love the detail and the marking of field boundaries is useful for navigation. I also appreciate the marking of the Access Areas. There are some super walks 'off piste'.


Have recently started using the laminated maps. I am in two minds about these. They are robust certainly but heavy and you cannot fold them so as to have the relevant bit showing in a map case. I tend to print off a section of map, and put this in my map case, rolled up in elastic cord which I have added to the top of my rucksack. The maps are mostly back up, useful/interesting information and the sheer pleasure of looking at them, as I mostly use GPS for navigation.

GnP

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #23 on: 09:06:41, 04/03/19 »
This looking at maps just for pleasure..Is it just a man thing or are there any women on this site who enjoy gazing at detailed maps...would love to hear. :)
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

Dovegirl

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #24 on: 09:44:04, 04/03/19 »
This looking at maps just for pleasure..Is it just a man thing or are there any women on this site who enjoy gazing at detailed maps...would love to hear. :)


I love looking at OS 1:25000 maps. You can learn so much about the landscape from them and find interesting features to include in a walk. I enjoy seeing how I can link up paths into a good route. Although I rarely use paper maps for navigation, now that I use gps, I often get them out when I have a pit stop as I like to see the walk in the wider context.


fernman

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #25 on: 09:50:52, 04/03/19 »
This looking at maps just for pleasure..Is it just a man thing or are there any women on this site who enjoy gazing at detailed maps...would love to hear. :)

Sounds like a prelude to an ad on a dating site:
Map gazer, loves walking and the outdoors, seeks similar  :smitten:

GnP

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #26 on: 10:10:41, 04/03/19 »

I love looking at OS 1:25000 maps. You can learn so much about the landscape from them and find interesting features to include in a walk. I enjoy seeing how I can link up paths into a good route. Although I rarely use paper maps for navigation, now that I use gps, I often get them out when I have a pit stop as I like to see the walk in the wider context.
I am much the same. I love my etrex gps,  but in an odd way it makes me feel closed in, using it on its own, until I look at the map and appreciate what is all around me.

Sounds like a prelude to an ad on a dating site:
Map gazer, loves walking and the outdoors, seeks similar  :smitten:
;D ;D Ok well if there are any like minded females...but I do not like being a passenger in a car & even less following on a hike. My mate lead a few times when we were hiking but his indecision used to drive me mad...I would rather take a wrong turn quickly, than ponder ten minutes at a footpath junction as to which is right or wrong...I just want to walk, even if its in the wrong direction, not stand around... ;)

& PS Fernman...shouldn`t that be map Geezer.?

 
« Last Edit: 10:14:08, 04/03/19 by GinAndPlatonic »
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

April

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #27 on: 22:15:14, 04/03/19 »
This looking at maps just for pleasure..Is it just a man thing or are there any women on this site who enjoy gazing at detailed maps...would love to hear. :)
;D
I love paper maps too, I could spend hours looking at then. Defo not just a man thing  :)
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Strider

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #28 on: 22:41:33, 04/03/19 »
I enjoy looking at maps that aren't even of real places so I must be a proper map geek  :)
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Snowman

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Re: Which paper maps.
« Reply #29 on: 01:00:33, 05/03/19 »
Interesting thread, and nice to see that some people still actually navigate rather than simply get told by a computer chip where to go (pun intended).


I personally think that Explorer (1:25000) maps are necessary for navigation in open areas (my local one is Dartmoor for example).   A while back I walked the Cambrian Way, and found the Landranger (1:50000) fine for the earlier, more built up areas perfectly functional, but once on the Brecon Beacons the Explorer was king.   It's also worth mentioning that since OS is a public service, they are very good at listening to their customers (i.e us).   It is therefore worth informing them of any issues.   On the Cambrian Way walk there was one point (near the source of the Severn) where there was a gap of about a mile between two of the Explorer maps that didn't appear on either of them.   I bought the 'missing' map because you never know what might be there, and sure enough, there wasn't anything to worry about. I wrote to OS who replied, promising to look at it for future publications despite pointing out that the Cambrian Way isn't an official National Trail.


With regard to foreign mapping, aren't we lucky to have the OS?   OK French maps may be messy but they are usually accurate.   Spanish?   I still have two overlapping maps bought at the same time that have a named place in two different locations.   Greek?   How does anyone get anywhere?  I also have a map of the Mount Elgon National Park (border of Uganda and Kenya) that shows nothing (including grid lines) but contour lines.   That really does challenge the navigator, even with a GPS since there's no map datum info either.

 

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