Regarding the Matter of Mapping
Without decent mapping, we’d never get around the hills like we do. GPS is all well and good but it’s only now that OS mapping is appearing on some devices and, even then, there is nothing quite like the broader view that a paper map gives you. A compass is essential equipment too but, without a map, it’s nowhere near as useful.
Comparison between wares being purveyed by different providers has lain in my mind for a while but time and getting cold feet because of a certain feeling of ill-qualification have stymied these propositions. Instead, I have opted for a round up with some summary musings. I have subdivided paper and digital mapping here but the lines are very blurred. For one thing, the likes of the Ordnance Survey and Harveys licence their data to the makers of digital mapping software and then there’s the matter of Ordnance Survey Ireland and Ordinance Survey of Northern Ireland providing their own digital mapping products too. Even so, I have stuck with the paper/digital split, as imperfect as it might be.
Paper Mapping
Even in this very digital age, there’s nothing quite like perusing a large paper map for the ultimate in planning flexibility. Even with the large screens that we have nowadays, the larger expanse of a map retains its very strong appeal. With that in mind, here’s a collection of mapping providers serving the Britain and Ireland:
Mainland Britain is probably blessed with the best mapping for walkers in the world and just one look at an Explorer sheet should confirm that. I started on Landrangers (1:50000) but the need to find the exits of fields after entering them drove me to use the slightly more expensive Explorers (1:25000) in their place. The standard mapping is far from waterproof so map cases are a must for those damper days or the more expensive Aqua variants are another option.
I have to admit that mapping for walkers wishing to wander in the countryside in Eire is not up to the lofty standards of the U.K. OS but it is still not bad. The 1:50000 Discovery series is the main offering and it covers all of the Republic. 1:25000 mapping is rather thin on the ground and seems to be magnified variant of the Discovery maps for selected areas such as the Dingle Peninsula and Macgillycuddy’s Reeks.
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
Pick up one of their Discoverer 1:50000 maps and you’ll be surprised how like their OSi Discovery counterparts they are, the similarities are eerie. That’s not to say that there aren’t differences because my map of the Mourne Mountains has a townland map on the back of it (addresses in Ireland can feature this designation as well as nearest village/town and county). Though no longer a distinct organisation, the trading name will continue and digital mapping provision is part of their remit too.
This map publisher might not provide the same coverage as the OS but its mountain area maps are worthy additions to the market place. Their SuperWalker series covers many mountain areas in their native Scotland as well as England, Wales and Ireland. These maps come in plastic wallets and have a level of waterproofing applied to them; I had one out on a damp muggy midge-infested day spent around Kinlochleven and it wasn’t the worst for wear after its ordeal. You won’t find things like field boundaries shown but the general presentation is far more punchy that what you from the OS. I certainly find them usable and, in the case of Eire, they probably produce the clearest mapping for areas such as the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, the Wicklow mountains and Connemara. Prior to OSi’s expansion of their 1:25000 range, Harvey maps would have been what you used if you wanted larger scale maps than what the OSi offered.
Digital Mapping
In comparison to poring over a paper map with an opisometer, digital mapping really does show its advantages at the route planning stage. For those of a frugal nature who are willing to sacrifice a little something on the flexibility front, printing out digital maps might prove cost-effective too. Loading the digital data into a GPS receiver would curtail further the cost of the endeavour of having a map with you out on the hill. That’s not something that I have ever done so I cannot really comment on the capability for any of the software that I have been using but I’ll add some user experiences to the commentary in the listing below where I can.
There are two ways to get Anquet: as a package in a shrink-wrapped box or by downloading its main software free and using that to download maps. I have been using the latter and it has proved to be that software that I have used most, though I have encountered flakiness with it on some Windows systems (technical question that comes to mind: has its using .Net got anything to do with it?). I am under the impression that older versions might have been more stable and threw less messages but that may be only my experience. Otherwise, it works well and the capability to download mapping data as you need them is a definite plus point. 1:25000 mapping does appear to attract a seemingly extortionate premium in comparison to what is charged for their 1:50000 equivalents. Still, it does work well and, while route planning is clunky, it does work for me. Panning around with the hand tool is a nice touch and there’s the ability to search for places and get multiple results too. In a way, it is easy to see why magazine reviewers like it.
While Anquet was temporarily unavailable to me (the reasons involve techno-babble so I won’t be labouring you with them here), I decided to give Quo a go after hearing how competitively it priced its mapping. Once upon a time, there are two versions of the software: one that is free and another for which you pay a modest sum. Naturally, the latter possessed more features than the former but those days are now gone and the full package is free for everyone now. I was led to believe navigation was more clunky than Anquet’s because I didn’t find the panning function. Subsequently, I set that piece of ignorance to rights when I discovered that holding down the right mouse button did the trick (I don’t know about you but I would have expected that holding the left one would have been the norm). Mapping data is sold by the tile and you need to buy at least six at a time to make an order but the pricing is good, even for 1:25000 data. In addition, there are bundles that are priced enticingly too. Installation was painless and the software always runs flawlessly and without complaint. Route planning is done in a manner very similar to Anquet so there’s been next to no learning curve for me and it seems to fit my purposes. I am sure that there’s more to its talents than what I have described but I’ll report on that as and when I use it.
There was a time when all digital mapping packages came in shrink-wrapped boxes and some have moved away from this model faster than others. Of these two, Memory-Map has just made the move into the downloadable map business with its Digital Map Shop while Tracklogs would appear to be sticking with the old model as far as I can see. I cannot say that I have used either of them myself so only a cursory commentary can be provided here. In various reviews, I have seen Memory Map’s praises being sung while Tracklogs would appear to work well while offering nothing really special.
The trouble with most of the digital mapping offerings that you’ll find on this page is that they are all Windows only. Refreshingly, Routebuddy is the exception with its mix of USA and UK mapping for OS X, iPod (using WiFi for location purposes, apparently) and iPhone. Though I have never been numbered among devotees to Apple’s offerings apart from having a 2006 iPod, it always good to see that it’s not all Microsoft-centric. Now, if only someone did something for Linux; well, it is what I use at home…
None of the major players in the U.K. digital mapping market offer any Irish mapping data so it falls to the OSi to do the needful. Trail Master is a series of DVD’s containing the mapping data along with the software to work with them. The whole country isn’t covered but most mountain areas are so there should be something for the avid hillwalker here.
In addition to Trail Master DVD’s, this is the other source of mapping data for Eire. Walking maps for France and Switzerland are always available for those wanting to explore those areas. I get the impression that this service is very new and needs rough edges like download server capacity sorted before too long. If you want to know more of my thoughts on GeoLives, please take a look at this entry.
