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Are the British Ordnance Survey maps really as accurate as she
claims?  I've never seen a high resolution (<= 30') map that was 100%
accurate, where I had knowledge enough of the terrain to detect the
errors.

It was rather a nice read, thanks for sharing it.

On Nov 13, 2010, at 4:43 PM, Peter Fogg wrote:

> An essay for those interested in maps:
> http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/road-to-
> nowhere-20101112-17r37.html
>
> You can tell the good lady is from the Big Smoke.  If she'd spent
> more time in remote places she'd have known that when you get to a
> place like Hungerford you don't just drive through it.  You stop
> and, first of all, take on fuel.  Even if your tanks are near-full
> - whether you'll find any more further on is never guaranteed, and
> the person selling fuel is potentially a good source of information
> about what lies ahead.  Then you visit the pub.  If the place is a
> stepping-off point to really remote places you're also expected to
> register with the cops.  Its just common sense really, but you can
> expect to be quizzed about how well-prepared you might be for the
> next leg, including your mapping resources.
>
> As you drive out from the relatively well-populated coast into the
> relatively bereft-of-people interior, you go from ignoring other
> motorists to acknowledging them.  Then when you get further out, if
> another vehicle approaches from the direction you're going then you
> both stop - blocking the road, but that's rarely a problem - so the
> drivers can have a leisurely chat, driver's window to driver's
> window, elbow to elbow, about the weather and the price of ewes
> and, what interests you most, what's ahead.
>
> In two words: local knowledge.  The good lady is dreaming with her
> whimsical insistence on mapping accuracy.  As if there was such a
> thing.

   

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