Map Reading

simonhead

I was out for a ride yesterday and a young couple approached absolutely lost as their GPS had frozen up. OK its Surrey so they were not likely to remain lost for long. My wife has also called me on a number of occasions lost as the car sat nav has lost signal and she is in a panic. I learnt to read a map as I was a Scout but should map reading be part of the National Curriculum?

pblakeney

Map reading will not be of much assistance if no one carries maps any more.

team47b

I was out in the new forest and met a couple who were lost and had no idea where they had parked their car, they had a map but had not bothered to locate the car park on the map before setting off and didn't know where they currently were on the map either!

so had they learnt how to read a map, as I had at school, they would have been fine. I think it was once part of geography lessons.

I asked them what other cars were in the car park, luckily there was only one, mine, so I was able to show them the way back on the map

markhewitt1978

simonhead wrote:

should map reading be part of the National Curriculum?

Is it not? It was when I did my Geography GCSE, reading OS landranger maps was part of the exam.

It can be patchy I suppose - I remember when I was 15 we went on some team building walk in the forest type thing, they gave us maps of the paths which they told us to turn in the direction we were headed so we'd know which way to go. The guy doing it was having trouble so I took over and put it back to North up as it should be!

DesB3rd

Pretty sure we did OS features and learned how to interpret contours etc in geography at pre-GCSE level but I wouldn’t say this was navigation as such; no techniques like finding handrails, triangulating your position from identifiable features and compass reading.

As someone who works with technical drawings I’m well aware that some (often generally intelligent) people are just useless at extracting information from & otherwise understanding abstract paper representations of material 3D realities; you can put map reading on the curriculum but some people will never be able to do it with any proficiency…

capt_slog

Map Reading?

It's already been taken care of.........

http://www.livingreading.co.uk/reading- ... pocket-map

sungod

it should be

i can't believe how baffled some people are when it comes basics of direction, even in urban areas it's useful to be able to figure out which way is which when going for a random wander in unknown streets

tell them that way is whichever based on time and sun, they either think you're making it up or burn you as a witch

as for situational awareness, don't get me started, i want a cull of the lacking

it's that kind of day, grrr

team47b

I Look at a tree, I see which side has the most branches, that's south, or face the hour hand of my imaginary analogue watch towards the sun and dissect the angle between that and the twelve this is also south I head this way as I live in the south, if I get wet I have gone 2.5km too far

smoggysteve

You would be surprised (or maybe not) how big map reading is in the military. A gps may be good at telling you where YOU are but it isnt so good at telling you what is around you and which is the quickest easiest route to take.

If you can read a map and figure out where you are quickly instead of having to rely on technology which may not be 100% reliable. GPS signals can be effected by lots of things and give false readings. IF you are using a phone you may not have a good enough signal to get a fix.

sungod

^^^this

map+compass+enough to survive+deep sticks with things to fall off

get back in decent time

enjoy

DesB3rd

Meh, forget about getting all Ray Mears; I know a fair few who couldn't make sense of an A-Z if their phone went flat...

peat

Schools want to drop teaching kids how to write with a pen because 'It's becoming increasingly less relevant', so i don't think they will teach them how to read maps.

solosuperia

I know it is a bit of a mountain bike thing.......... But I recommend Orienteering on Bikes.
That tests your map reading skills, I haven't done it for a few years I do hope GPS devices have been banned.
Always made me smile when I saw some superfit young guy tearing about like a mad thing only to finish behind me in the final reckoning.
Why?
Because a judicious bit of planning before starting off saved you time in the end.
My top tips think about the contour lines and plan a circular route so you always knew how far from the finish you were come what may.

capt_slog

team47b wrote:

I Look at a tree, I see which side has the most branches, that's south, or face the hour hand of my imaginary analogue watch towards the sun and dissect the angle between that and the twelve this is also south I head this way as I live in the south, if I get wet I have gone 2.5km too far

The new version for urban dwellers?

I think that most satellite dishes point roughly south, certainly for Freesat and Sky in the UK it's about 150 degrees.

tangled_metal

I've had to turn people's maps round a few times. Been up in the hills and had a blazing row with two mates about which way the map should be. They even used a bloody compass but read north as south! What annoyed me most the bloody hills were obvious. Turn the map 180 degrees out and the hills were nothing like on the map. One guy was a cocky know it all who reckoned he knew everything about map reading. The other lass admits she would get lost getting out of bed sometimes.
Map of reading is.sometimes about common sense. We all know that is not a common thing to have these days.

pblakeney

Tangled Metal wrote:

The other lass admits she would get lost getting out of bed sometimes.

To be fair, it can be quite tricky if you don't know whose house you have woken up in.

tangled_metal

PBlakeney wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:

The other lass admits she would get lost getting out of bed sometimes.

To be fair, it can be quite tricky if you don't know whose house you have woken up in.

Trust me, she'll only ever wake in her own bed...alone!

pblakeney

Tangled Metal wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:

The other lass admits she would get lost getting out of bed sometimes.

To be fair, it can be quite tricky if you don't know whose house you have woken up in.

Trust me, she'll only ever wake in her own bed...alone!

Harsh.

trekker12

I'm obsessed with maps. I have a decent collection of OS maps - mostly modern and some historical ones. The aim is to have the whole of the UK on my bookshelf based on buying a map each time I go on holiday.

I agree with the point above about the military and I learnt about walking in the hills with the Air Cadets followed by a brief fling with the TA, a map teaches you more about direction it tells you about the terrain, history and geology of an area. It should be taught at schools I seem to remember covering it in some lessons but had already gone into greater detail in the cadets.

markhewitt1978

trekker12 wrote:

I'm obsessed with maps. I have a decent collection of OS maps - mostly modern and some historical ones. The aim is to have the whole of the UK on my bookshelf based on buying a map each time I go on holiday.
.

. For a fathers day present I got the OS 1:50,000 landranger map for approx 10 miles around my house framed, I just like to stand and look at it from time to time!

infineto

Another good thing about map reading is finding the PH public house to the untrained map reader

BelgianBeerGeek

markhewitt1978 wrote:

trekker12 wrote:

I'm obsessed with maps. I have a decent collection of OS maps - mostly modern and some historical ones. The aim is to have the whole of the UK on my bookshelf based on buying a map each time I go on holiday.
.

. For a fathers day present I got the OS 1:50,000 landranger map for approx 10 miles around my house framed, I just like to stand and look at it from time to time!

Now that's cool. Another unashamed map nerd here, OS or otherwise. I even like A-Z street atlases. Mrs BBGeek is into her sailing and charts are also fascinating.
I am also appalled at the lack of map-reading that happens. My geography teacher used to work for the OS and we were well-versed in them before I went onto Scouts. Made map-reading in the army easier, anyway. I was astonished to find the OS also did extensive maps of northern Germany for us squaddies (fewer PH signs, though )
I blame GPS and sat-nav. When you are on a fog-bound hill or moor, there is real satisfaction in navigating your way off with map and compass.

BelgianBeerGeek

infineto wrote:

Another good thing about map reading is finding the PH public house to the untrained map reader

My local OS map still has public phones marked on it! I wonder how many are still there? I mean to buy a newer copy and just compare them. I really must get out more.

SmellTheGlove

DesB3rd wrote:

Pretty sure we did OS features and learned how to interpret contours etc in geography at pre-GCSE level but I wouldn’t say this was navigation as such; no techniques like finding handrails, triangulating your position from identifiable features and compass reading.

Nail/head. Map reading and navigation are not the same thing.
Everyone should thank you for sparing them my version of what you just wrote.

tangled_metal

We got taught to do sections from os maps in geography. Then I did geology which then taught us to include the geology under the surface based on outcrop locations of the same rock layer. Fascinating taking contours and those colourful geology maps and getting a cross section showing the folds in the rock layers under your feet.
Nothing to do with navigation of course. I learnt that from my dad on walks. Don't know how because he often had us following sheep trods passing them as marked paths on the map. Then cubs and scouts taught it. I knew a lot before they taught it. I took up orienteering too. I was totally unfit, useless at normal.cross country but add in navigation and I easily rose up the leader board. I just had an instinct for navigating. I still think schools should teach orienteering to school kids. Indeed it could be a school sport. We did it at our school. Often using maps in the town. We'd get grid refers to for hydrants. Those yellow signs with a capital H all had unique numbers so teacher could make sure we'd been there. All helps in learning navigation.
OS do these smaller area maps now, based on a place or GR. About half size or smaller. On plastic paper too IIRC.

Giraffoto

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

trekker12 wrote:

I'm obsessed with maps. I have a decent collection of OS maps - mostly modern and some historical ones. The aim is to have the whole of the UK on my bookshelf based on buying a map each time I go on holiday.
.

. For a fathers day present I got the OS 1:50,000 landranger map for approx 10 miles around my house framed, I just like to stand and look at it from time to time!

Now that's cool. Another unashamed map nerd here, OS or otherwise. ...

I'm such a map nerd I once contacted the OS with a correction

bianchimoon

another map nerd, many years ago I pasted one wall of our utility room with a laminated large format print of the north of england OS map 8'x7' that I mark all the routes I've done on it

smoggysteve

Think I could have a little side business selling OS maps here. So long as you want Salisbury Plain. Got hundreds of them knocking about.

DeVlaeminck

I was out walking near Youlgreave/Youlgrave (seems to go by both names) the other week and stopped to examine my map when the farmer whose land I was on approached me to help. He did point us in the right direction but he insisted, and we didn't argue, that the OS map was wrong and in fact the path was in a different location to indicated and that this often led to people going wrong. I always assumed an OS map was definitive but according to him not.

Anyway I've done a little bit of walking over the years and never found map reading to be so difficult that it would require teaching - but then I accept that my walking has been largely in the lowlands or the more commonly trodden areas of the Peak rather than remote areas. Is navigation really a skill that would benefit your average walker do you think or add interest to a walk - if so is it something that can be self taught or does it require instruction ?

markhewitt1978

I particularly like some of the old maps here http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/ especially in the North East the place was riddled with railways everywhere. Mostly you can trace their route on the modern day satellite images by field boundaries, lines of trees etc.

tangled_metal

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Is navigation really a skill that would benefit your average walker do you think or add interest to a walk - if so is it something that can be self taught or does it require instruction ?

Navigation is a benefit to all walkers. If you are walking in lowland areas you might one day go to an area in conditions where navigation skills are essential. The number of times I've been up in the Lakes in bad weather with lowland walkers struggling with navigation. However on a good day the open, upland areas can be easier to navigate than lowlands IME. Less opportunity to follow the wrong wall or fence and end up turned around having to retrace. At least in the hills you can see the shape of hills around and orientate the map.

It can be self taught, with the help of books and good magazine articles. Courses are good though and you will learn to actually use more skills on them. However I have never done courses and have a wide range of navigation skills in my arsenal. Plus many years of experience too but I still get lost. it happens to the best and I am not the best neither. My skills are more relevant to open country as that is where I walk most up in the Lakes, Dales, Forest of Bowland, Scotland, Wales, etc.