Maps (and Charts If You Like)

[johnb]

My grandson decided to visit the Broads last weekend, I thought I would be helpful and give him the postcodes of the various places he had visited with us on the boat. I thought I would be helpful and also supply a road map to help give him perspective (what is near where etc,). He was absolutely horrified that I thought he would take a paper map book with him! I explained how I thought this would help him, but apparently, he has mobile which will "do all that" for him. I love to read a proper book rather than Kindle, anything of any importance I print off rather than reading it on a screen. Is this the end of my world as I know it? Is it time for me to shuttle of this mortal coil? I must admit we have to use a SatNav as we often travel to places unknown to us, but we never travel without a map. Surely, I can't be alone?

[SANTED]

I’m with you on this one.

I like to use a Sat/Nav not a phone but I’ve always got an up to date map in the boot to plan the route first and then as a back-up if the Sat/Nav breaks down

[Lulu]

I always have a map in the car. Technology is all very well until you run out of battery or something. Im very dubious about Sat Navs and dont rely on them totally since one told me to do a U-turn on the M11! 

We have a good old fashioned map of the Broads on the boat. Dont need anything else :)

[rightsaidfred]

No you are not I don't even use a SatNav, Maps and a polite request have always served me well, I guess I am not alone in despairing for the younger generations who seem to have lost the capacity to think for themselves and rely on technology for everything, thankfully I wont be around when they are running the country and the world. 

Fred

[Timbo]

As a landscape archaeologist maps, mapping and cartography is a passion of mine. I have drawers stuffed full of maps, atlas and charts from the latest OS maps in various scales to some quite ancient and valuable maps and charts. For me, a map is just more than a 'picture' of 'where I am' or 'how to get to somewhere'. I read maps like most people will read a history book. I follow the contours left by glaciation, follow the rivers, valleys and tracks of early human colonisation and the monuments ancient and modern in the landscape.

Although I'm not a 'purist' as such, in that I will use modern technology in cartography as well as satellite imagery, but I will always have a map in my pocket or pack. You would be amazed, or probably not, at the number of students attending my lectures on landscape archaeology that would arrive unable to read a map. Not just read a map but 'know' where they are. By that I mean they are unable to draw a map of their locality, the country they live in or of the world. I used to winnow through students in my first lecture by two exercises. First getting them to draw a map of Britain and the British Isles. Secondly, I would ask them which direction was north from where they sat. I'd then go through the room and eject students who didn't know where north was and then I'd check the quality of their map. If there was no pig and witch...there's the door 'try again next year'. 

The problem with most modern methods of mapping and navigation is that, as johnb rightly points out, they are very, very localised. Kids using their phone or laptop very rarely zoom out. And as the map automatically rotates to align to north, hand the kids a paper map and they will invariably look puzzled and then set off in the wrong direction.

One of my favourite maps that I own is a street map of London dated 1847. But my favourite maps, of course, are those of the Broads. I love the historical maps held by Norfolk County Council. You can search these online here http://www.historic-maps.norfolk.gov.uk/.  My favourite modern maps of The Broads are quite unconventional. I really like The Metro Map of the Broads.

And for fans of the Coots Club these two hand drawn maps I grabbed from an Arthur Ransome site are really quite interesting!

[Lulu]

I love the metro map. Never seen that before

[MauriceMynah]

1 hour ago, Lulu said:

 Im very dubious about Sat Navs and dont rely on them totally

Quite right too. The Satnav should be used as an ancillary to the brain, not a replacement for it.

Though in my case...!!! :-) 

[ExSurveyor]

I get lost even with a sat nav,  I just ignore it and have it on mute,  except for the speed camera alarm.

These days I rely more on sat nav than maps as I can update it monthly,  plus the old memory is still a bit fuzzy from the brainfarts.

 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I have a UK road atlas in my car at all times. My 11 year old Peugeot 407 DOES`NT have a sat nav, and when we bought Karen a brand new Honda HRV last year, we declined the sat nav option. At home i have an old 2 miles to the inch UK road atlas which we always take on holiday, as the large detail is easy to read, though i really need a new one, as some of the "planned roads" or "roads under construction" have now been finished. However, i do use google satelite view to find out exactly what road names are, and what strategic points to look for, although even some of the views are now outdated. It`s how i plotted my road journey to an NBN meet at Salhouse Broad.  I hate modern technology as, like others have said in the past, it takes away peoples ability to think, and even when it goes wrong, they believe it has to be right.  

It`s good to be a ludite.

[ZimbiIV]

St, isn't posting on an internet forum modern technology?

paul

[MauriceMynah]

SpeedTriple, My map is older than your Peugeot, and my Satnav is older than my map!

[Timbo]

Oi Vaughan! Just a passing thought...have you looked at the Ransome maps above with Bill Saunder's theory on Broad excavation in mind? Rather interesting I thought! 

[grendel]

I dunno Tim, I always put the roaring donkey further upstream from Potter Bridge.

[Cockatoo]

The only place I read real books now is in the bath. Others I read on my phone. It means if I have to wait anywhere I always have my book with me plus it's backlit so I can read in bed without a light on :)

 

[TheQ]

I like the hand drawn maps...Oh I see the Swan Pub moved onto the Sailing club Island..., Funny none of the Sailing clubs to my knowledge was mentioned in the S&A series...

I also have a drawer stuffed with maps, as I used to buy a new OS map for where ever I was living. even if only for a short Time.

I also have a couple of old Linen printed OS maps of where part of the family comes from.

I have a small UK atlas in the car, but always on a long journey have the nag in the box switched on. I don't need her to go anywhere, as I used to travel the country for work. However, if you get a crash  they divert you off onto some minor road, she is handy for getting back onto route without stopping digging the map out and haveing a read.

I'm also a fan of the Norfolk County council site for local maps.

And a fan of the NLS, the National Library of SCotland which has online OS maps from when they started till today, for the whole of the UK. https://maps.nls.uk/

[Vaughan]

12 hours ago, Timbo said:

Oi Vaughan! Just a passing thought...have you looked at the Ransome maps above with Bill Saunder's theory on Broad excavation in mind? Rather interesting I thought! 

I did indeed! Particularly around Barton, and Gt Hoveton Broad which, as shown, would actually be Hudsons Bay, which we know is all that is left of a big expanse of reed-beds. Interesting that the railways are also shown and the M&GN was not built until 1893, so that puts a bit of a date on it.

As for maps, I was taught by the Army how to drive a Land-rover with a map in one hand and I have been doing something similar ever since!

[MauriceMynah]

26 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

 I was taught by the Army how to drive a Land-rover with a map in one hand

What were you doing with the other hand? .............or shouldn't I ask?

[Vaughan]

Saluting, of course!

If it moves, salute it - if it doesn't, paint it!

[CambridgeCabby]

I do find having the free app Waze , a sat nav, running on my phone very useful , it warns of speed cameras and mobile speed traps , not that I speed of course, and also advises of accidents on route , potential obstacles such as a car stopped on the hard shoulder ahead and offers alternative routes.

It is interactive and when on a busy route it is amazing how many are online in the vicinity 

[MauriceMynah]

Is using Satnav on a mobile phone whilst driving legal? Could a particularly jobs-worth bobby do you for it?

[CambridgeCabby]

If it’s in a cradle and you do not touch it it is fine 

[SANTED]

My thoughts as well.

[webntweb]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

I did indeed! Particularly around Barton, and Gt Hoveton Broad which, as shown, would actually be Hudsons Bay, which we know is all that is left of a big expanse of reed-beds. Interesting that the railways are also shown and the M&GN was not built until 1893, so that puts a bit of a date on it.

As for maps, I was taught by the Army how to drive a Land-rover with a map in one hand and I have been doing something similar ever since!

The maps seem to be a redrawing of earlier ones as some of the railways would have gone by the mid 60s but the typeface for the place names seems to be Arial which wasn't introduced until 1982.

[Speleologist]

I am a great lover of maps, charts and traditional navigation. However I also like to embrace new technology when it is of benefit. As such I now use my phone for all road journey navigation. It has several advantages:

• The maps are regularly updated
• It knows and shows where I am
• It can re-route me around delays and hold-ups
• It gives voice instructions
• It shows the best lane for approaching a junction
• It can be configured with voice instructions
• It shows speed limits (and warns me if I exceed them)

For these reasons I no longer bother with carrying a road atlas.

At sea I have a different approach. The first assumption at sea is that anything electronic is inherently unreliable, as it requires power. Therefore I regularly make manual plots onto paper charts and use manual course to steer calculations. However I also make heavy use of electronic charts and other electronic tools (depth gauge, fluxgate compass, AIS, Radar etc.). I maintain that the ability to manage easily without electronics is key, but I ue them when they are there.

I take a similar approach in the mountains and hills, where I often use electronic versions of Ordnance Survey maps, but always carry a paper map and a compass (and have the ability to use it).

Cycling I normally go all electronic, with a combined cycle computer and satnav, enabling be to navigate without stoppiing to consult the map.

On the Broads these days I rarely need to refer to a map, but when I do I sue the Ordnance Survey 1:25000, for its excellent detail, either on my phone or on paper. I find that these days there is no worthwhile navigators map of the Broads and I sorely miss Hamiltons Navigatons, although I still take my copy of the last edition with me.

[LondonRascal]

Well, I have to disagree. I am all for the technology, but also really against Sat-Navs.

The reason is the Sat-Nav as a unit will be history like the Cassette Tape in five years so enjoy them while you can now. The fact is they had their 'prime time' but they offer very little for their cost and having another unit when your smartphone can either run the same App from Tom Tom or Garmin further tells me the things are yesterday's tech.

The issue is you have competing firms loosing market share and money - they just can't long term keep up with the mapping services as this all needs to be paid for and this is where Google (and Apple) win since they can and do invest hundreds of millions of dollars into their mapping services. So the best sat nav? It's Google Maps.

The other benefit of Google Maps is how it helps even those without a car. I had to get from Brundall to Ludham Bridge. It was able to tell me the train times from Brundall, and the connection at Norwich. When I got to Wroxham I knew where the bus stop was, what nus to get and when it was due. When I needed to call the boatyard to tell them I was on my way but did not have the number saved in my phone, Google Maps knew my destination and in a tap I had the details and number to call George. I simply could not imagine now not having this in the pocket to rely on because all those services can be got elsewhere, but not quickly and not so easily and sometimes not for free.