JuliaS wrote:MRG1 wrote:I'm going to say this quietly then put my crash helmet on and duck.
I tend to use digital maps based on the Openstreetmap data.
Most of my walking tends to be on paths of some sort and these maps show many of the paths missing from the OS maps.
I dont know why you need a crash helmet? you make a valid point
Its true that there are paths shown on Open Street Map that are not depicted on OS maps. Sometimes though the reverse is true and OSM (at least in England/Wales) does not distinguish between ad hoc paths and public rights of way. I also find OSM surface detail to be very inferior compared to OS and to the degree that its not up to that required for navigation. What I tend to do if exploring a new area is to compare footpaths on OSM and if necessary print out as a supplement to my OS map so I have the additional path data
I thought I might need a crash helmet because OSM maps can sometimes be a rather decisive topic, they're a very "marmite" thing.
Indeed, the OSM maps tend not to differentiate between rights of way and any old path, thankfully that's not a huge issue for me though because the vast majority of my walking is in Scotland.
I certainly agree that the OSM maps can be a bit dodgy if navigating in open country, the surface detail isn't great but that appears to be changing slowly but surely.
I have variants of maps based on the OSM data that incorporates some of the latest LiDAR surveyed contour lines and Ordnance Survey open licence data (such as OS contour lines, rock data and water data).
These can very easily be layered so I have a digital map of OS contours, rock data and water data with the OSM paths overlaid.
My biggest gripes with the OSM based maps is that
A: very few map producers have decided to put all the info on one map
and
B: when they do they tend to make those maps so finely detailed that it's sometimes difficult to make out on a rain lashed / sunny hillside.
I should also mention (for the benefit of anyone reading this thinking that OSM maps sound like the Messiah of maps) that I've also had at least one situation in which I've been thrashing about the countryside thinking (or shouting) "well OSM said there's a path here."
The fact that they aren't professionally surveyed means that one person's idea of a path can be another person's idea of hell on earth.
Of course I'll always make sure that I also have the digital OS 25k and 50k maps as well as the appropriate OS paper map and my compass.
But I tend to find that the OSM paths more than sufficient for most of my walking.