Ordnance Survey maps

[py_megapixel]

Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on the best places to order OS maps from, for fairly reasonable prices?

I have a few I'd like to pick up from somewhere (I say 'pick up', I really mean order online) but I've not bought any for ages and I thought some fellow "outdoorsy" people on here might know some of the best places to buy them from.

 

[Gloster]

Stanford’s in London. I have never bought on line from them, although shopping in person is a risk as I am liable to come out with stuff I never knew existed.

 

[Techniquest]

I've only bought one, in anticipation of buying more eventually as part of a discovering more of the countryside. Yeah, that failed miserably when I got halfway and I had massive pain in my quad muscles. This was during the peak of the pandemic too, so I couldn't just wait it out for a bus home.

However, I got mine direct from OS. I didn't see the point ordering through a company I'd never heard of before, thus had no trust of. I've been burnt by that already this year, so I don't order from companies I don't trust

 

[Bletchleyite]

They tend to go for RRP so rare for there to be a discount, so just buy from wherever is most convenient.

You can also subscribe to the OS Maps service (about 20 quid per year) and print your own!

 

[DerekC]

The OS Maps service is excellent - well worth the money IMHO. As well as viewing and printing the maps you can take them with you on your phone and it will tell you exactly where you are. (Just don't get caught with a flat battery!).

 

[Bevan Price]

Occasionally, WH Smith shops have special offers for O.S. maps - worth a look if you have a nearby Smiths, but they may only stock "local" maps, not a full range.

 

[apk55]

https://dash4it.co.uk/ are excellent. I have used them many times (and so have many members of my walking club) with no problems. I normally buy the active laminated version and they normally have most in stock. Delivery by post within a day.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

https://dash4it.co.uk/ are excellent. I have used them many times (and so have many members of my walking club) with no problems. I normally buy the active laminated version and they normally have most in stock. Delivery by post within a day.

Also go along with apk55.

Usually go for paper version for 1:50000 scale OS "Landranger" type maps but always the more expensive laminated equivalent for 1:25000 OS "Explorer" maps which will actually be used outdoors.

 

[swt_passenger]

You can also subscribe to the OS Maps service (about 20 quid per year) and print your own!

+1 for that. I can knock out a reasonable size disposable map on an A3 printer if I need a hard copy, that’s almost always a much bigger area than I need at 1:25000

 

[Hardcastle]

Dash for it online they include postage they dispatch usually the same day if ordered by mid afternoon always reliable & fast plus discounted plus if you have a promotional code even more so i ordered two explorer maps last week for under £11 normal price £8.99 each.

 

[Cowley]

I’ve been slowly collecting OS maps for years now. I also inherited my grandparents and my fathers collections (so 1950s and 1970s/80s), I can quite happily pass an hour just picking them off the shelf and imagining the different areas they represent, and because I like a trip away camping in the van I still buy them if I’m missing one of a particular area. God I love OS maps!

A few years back I took all of them out into the garden on a baking hot day and laid them out to see how much of the mainland UK I had and I was pretty pleased to find that I had getting on for over half of it, and it was MASSIVE!
Obviously some of them overlapped each other but it was certainly quite impressive.

I’ll try and do it again next summer as I’ve bought quite a few since I did it from places like charity shops, boot sales etc.
Love the things...

 

[Bald Rick]

Stanford’s in London. I have never bought on line from them, although shopping in person is a risk as I am liable to come out with stuff I never knew existed.

Another vote for Stanford’s. Always RRP, but you can get lost in the shop for hours (ironically )

The OS themselves have an online shop, and regularly do offers on landranger and explorer maps.


Going slightly OT, anyone else feel that reading an OS map is almost like a language? When I swap to google maps, or indeed any other type, I find my brain trying to translate it into OS.

@Cowley - great idea about putting them all in the right place in the garden. One deduce that your garden must be at least 20 metres x 10 metres. I hope you put a stake in the lawn where you were to scale...

 

[Cowley]

Going slightly OT, anyone else feel that reading an OS map is almost like a language? When I swap to google maps, or indeed any other type, I find my brain trying to translate it into OS.

Yes definitely. I’m too used to having the detail so that I can make sense of my surroundings.

 

[Butts]

I've only bought one, in anticipation of buying more eventually as part of a discovering more of the countryside. Yeah, that failed miserably when I got halfway and I had massive pain in my quad muscles. This was during the peak of the pandemic too, so I couldn't just wait it out for a bus home.

However, I got mine direct from OS. I didn't see the point ordering through a company I'd never heard of before, thus had no trust of. I've been burnt by that already this year, so I don't order from companies I don't trust

See what happens when you give up smoking ?

My Brother recently retired after working for the Ordnance Survey from the age of 17 to 60.

The changes in technology and methods of knowledge assimilation were incredible - from pencils to computers in a working lifetime.

 

[oxfordray1]

https://dash4it.co.uk/ are excellent. I have used them many times (and so have many members of my walking club) with no problems. I normally buy the active laminated version and they normally have most in stock. Delivery by post within a day.

I second dash4it. Used them loads and have never had a problem. They also frequently email me additional discount codes. Thus I normally pay only 60% of the RRP for OS maps.

 

[Essan]

Most of mine were bought from libraries or charity/antique shops (generally about £1 each) ......

But for new, I agree dash4it is your best bet

 

[Bletchleyite]

Going slightly OT, anyone else feel that reading an OS map is almost like a language? When I swap to google maps, or indeed any other type, I find my brain trying to translate it into OS.

Yes, and I find other countries' mapping services grossly inadequate.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Oct 2020 ==

@Cowley - great idea about putting them all in the right place in the garden. One deduce that your garden must be at least 20 metres x 10 metres. I hope you put a stake in the lawn where you were to scale...

I wonder is there anywhere (e.g. a museum) that has them all laid out with a glass surface on top so you can walk around virtual Britain and look at it? Could do that for hours.

 

[Busaholic]

I’ve been slowly collecting OS maps for years now. I also inherited my grandparents and my fathers collections (so 1950s and 1970s/80s), I can quite happily pass an hour just picking them off the shelf and imagining the different areas they represent, and because I like a trip away camping in the van I still buy them if I’m missing one of a particular area. God I love OS maps!

A few years back I took all of them out into the garden on a baking hot day and laid them out to see how much of the mainland UK I had and I was pretty pleased to find that I had getting on for over half of it, and it was MASSIVE!
Obviously some of them overlapped each other but it was certainly quite impressive.

I’ll try and do it again next summer as I’ve bought quite a few since I did it from places like charity shops, boot sales etc.
Love the things...

You may not be sitting on a goldmine, but particular issues of particular maps attract collector interest, usually because of the 'cover' in the case of both Landranger and the more recent Exploerer maps. The old green Pathfinder maps are always being looked for, both by certain collectors and some of the 'old guard' who claim they've never been adequately replaced by the O.S. and still wish to take their chances with them on tracing footpaths currently. Regarding discounts, when I was mapselling anyone who wanted to order quite a few would get offered a 10% discount, maybe even 15% on twenty or more, delivery to my shop within 48 hours and, if I liked the look of you, might not even ask for a deposit, let alone full payment up front. Beat that, Amazon!

 

[cb a1]

Yes, and I find other countries' mapping services grossly inadequate.

Went to New York about a decade ago. Could find maps for Manhattan but nothing for Brooklyn.

Having (stupidly with hindsight) hired a car from downtown Manhattan, I had to drive to the hotel in Brooklyn.

Ended up using a Subway map as I knew which subway station the hotel was close to. Find subway station, check position of sun, work out direction from subway I was at to subway next to hotel, head in general direction hoping to find another subway station ...

 

[edwin_m]

You can also subscribe to the OS Maps service (about 20 quid per year) and print your own!

Be cautious if you have an inkjet printer. Your map may vanish as soon as it starts raining.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Be cautious if you have an inkjet printer. Your map may vanish as soon as it starts raining.

A good idea to buy a laminator as well, they're not expensive.

 

[Bald Rick]

I wonder is there anywhere (e.g. a museum) that has them all laid out with a glass surface on top so you can walk around virtual Britain and look at it? Could do that for hours.

On hands and knees, with glasses removed, surely.

 

[30907]

My starting point if I am going somewhere in the UK is the local library - every one I have ever belonged to has had a nominally complete set of 1:50k and some 1:25k, often in the special laminated version. Not always the latest update, but only the major roads are likely to change, so they are OK for practical purposes.

Anywhere I have lived I have bought local maps in both scales.

Obviously this suggestion is no use if you are a collector...

 

[Cowley]

@Cowley - great idea about putting them all in the right place in the garden. One deduce that your garden must be at least 20 metres x 10 metres. I hope you put a stake in the lawn where you were to scale...

About 9 years ago we bought the bottom corner of the field out the back of ours from our neighbours (who’ve since become very close friends). So I think I must have done this not long after that but before we started turning it into a proper garden.
If I was to do it again I’d have to turn it the other way around and have Scotland pointing towards the house.
It’d be great to take a photo with a drone actually...

I’m missing quite a bit of Scotland above the Inverness/Applecross line still although I do have some of it, but always on the lookout for bargains.

You may not be sitting on a goldmine, but particular issues of particular maps attract collector interest, usually because of the 'cover' in the case of both Landranger and the more recent Exploerer maps. The old green Pathfinder maps are always being looked for, both by certain collectors and some of the 'old guard' who claim they've never been adequately replaced by the O.S. and still wish to take their chances with them on tracing footpaths currently.

I’ve not got many of the Pathfinder maps although I just found these six, and there may be more in a box somewhere though:



Like you say, none of it’s really worth anything, I just adore the things.

 

[route101]

I love OS maps. I only have 2 for the Glasgow Area. I have access to Digimaps, which has OS and Historical OS mapping. I find it far more enjoyable looking at OS maps than Google maps.

 

[Bald Rick]

I’m missing quite a bit of Scotland above the Inverness/Applecross line still although I do have some of it, but always on the lookout for bargains.

I have quite a bit in that area. Lots of contours...

 

[mrgreen]

I'm another satisfied dash4it customer; fast delivery, prices well below shops.
By the way, the National Library of Scotland now has massive free online mapping that covers GB, not just Scotland.

Map images - National Library of Scotland

maps.nls.uk

There's nothing more recent than the 1950s 1:25,000, but it includes earlier OS editions, as well as Bartholomews. The later maps (2nd edition onwards) are geo-referenced, so you can view them overlaid or side-by-side with Bing aerial views or lidar scans.
The first edition (1860s) 6"and 25" OS which have to be viewed as separate sheets: https://maps.nls.uk/os/
There's lots of other goodies on the site including older maps and a lot of old town plans.... it's a wonderful resource.

 

[cb a1]

I'm another satisfied dash4it customer; fast delivery, prices well below shops.
By the way, the National Library of Scotland now has massive free online mapping that covers GB, not just Scotland.

Map images - National Library of Scotland

maps.nls.uk

There's nothing more recent than the 1950s 1:25,000, but it includes earlier OS editions, as well as Bartholomews. The later maps (2nd edition onwards) are geo-referenced, so you can view them overlaid or side-by-side with Bing aerial views or lidar scans.
The first edition (1860s) 6"and 25" OS which have to be viewed as separate sheets: https://maps.nls.uk/os/
There's lots of other goodies on the site including older maps and a lot of old town plans.... it's a wonderful resource.

The folks over at the Society of British Road Enthusiasts have collated the maps of members and put them online (and also link through to some of the NLS maps too) - https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/

The map fader function is great to simultaneously merge an old map with Open Street Map

 

[Mcr Warrior]

National Library of Scotland online map resources often mentioned on here, good for looking at old station or track layouts, especially if an area covered by six inch to the mile maps or better.

 

[John Webb]

Nice to know there are so many OS map enthusiasts about! I've got almost the whole of England covered at 1:50,000, although some maps were inherited from my father or aunt and so are 30+ years old. Always got the 1:25,000 maps for places I've been on holiday to as well as the local area.

I recommend the GEOGRAPH website - based on the OS 1km grid squares, this works on the basis of members posting photos taken in each 1km square, or of a square. You don't have to sign up to view the site, only if you want to post photos. OS mapping at several scales (but only covering a small area) is available to show the location of photographic subjects within the square.