According to this link, the Ordnance Survey appear to have finally seen reason and are opening up their mapping on-line from next year onwards.

Walk Eryri will hope to make full use of this, but remain a strong supporter of the principle of copyright free mapping as created on Open Street Map as they can be placed in downloadable route cards and used as seen fit. We're still hoping that this is what it appears to be.

Pics to follow. I just got an email from Aqua3 who are now offering site centred non-laminated plastic maps. I’ve already got one of their laminated maps, one that covers the Moelwynion as the OS maps put them on the corner of four maps. I’d wanted one for the Carneddau and Glyderau too, but baulked at the £25 price tag. Fortunately, these new Aqua Superlight maps come in at a much better price of £15, so i treated myself. I also decided this was a good opportunity to put a brief review of all the different types of waterproof maps available.

1- Harvey plastic Mountain Maps.(85g / £12.95) These are really tough plastic maps. I remember trying to rip the corner off one of these, but there was no way. Having been field tested for two years, often in a mesh pocket of my rucksack, these maps have proven themselves to me. They’ve been worn white at a couple of seams, but this wear and tear still leaves them useable and much less noticeable than similar wear on a laminated or paper map. I also like the 1:40,000 scale as it shows the whole of North Snowdonia on one map.

The OS Landranger does that as well, but with none of the detail that Harveys have packed into this map. I love the way it’s been height shaded as well, reminding me of some of those beautiful old one inch tourist maps you could get. The rear of the maps often have extra information, such as summits in 1:15,000 and geological maps. This is the lightest map along with the other Harvey offering, but then this map has a greater coverage as well. Despite the scale, they still manage to show walls and fences in upland areas which to me are a vital aid to navigation. The downside of these maps is that they’re only available for limited areas. Snowdonia, Peaks, Dales, Lakes, Ben Nevis and the Cairngorm areas are covered my a map apiece. Another is the scale. 1:40,000 is just not on most compass romer scales and you’ll have to buy one from Harveys. Ultimately they’ve less detail than the usual Explorer maps, so are less useful for very detailed navigation. Score - 9/10 (but like Marmite, just as easily a 4/10)

2 - Aqua Superlight Site Centred plastic Maps (105g/£14.99). I bit the bullet and got one for the Carneddau and Glyderau that cross from one OS sheet to the next. The maps are much less bulky than usual laminated maps and similar to the Harvey Mountain Map. Of course, there’s the advantage that for £14.99 you get a waterproof map to your specification. This compares favourably to the usual laminated OS maps at £13.99, but which do come double sided for many of the more popular walking areas. It goes without saying that the quality of the map is superb, as are all OS maps, and as a competent navigator I’m always happy to see the extra information contained at this scale. Like the Mountain Map, it will fit in your trouser pocket, so you can always have it to hand. How the print will fare in the rain I’m yet to see. It’s also less tough than the Mountain Map, as I managed to rip the corner quite easily. I think that the toughness of these maps are the only problem, and to compare fairly to the Mountain Map will take me another two years. Score - 8/10, but could easily be more if they’re tough enough!

3 - Aqua Evolution Site Centred Laminated Maps (130g / £24.99). Again this is site centred, but a laminated map. At £25 a pop, it’s probably the most expensive map you’ll ever buy. I treated myself to the Moelwynion when they were £19.99 each and I baulked at paying that much for a map. That said, it has proven tough enough, but in common with all laminated maps that I’ve used extensively, water does work its way into the seams and edges sooner or later. It’s similar in size to the Aqua Superlight, but a little stiffer so it won’t fold as easily into a pocket. Score – 7/10 (mainly due to price!)

4 - OS Explorer Active (200g/ £13.99) One of the best options for laminated maps, especially if you walk often in one area. They’re tough, but heavy. That said, they’re not indestructible. I’m on my second Snowdon sheet, while the Mountain Map’s still serviceable. I reckon to make them last though that it’s worth keeping them dry and in your pack. Too much keeping in a mesh pocket was the end of my first copy! It’s probably not the done thing to open it out and use it to sit on wet grass though. Score – 8/10 Tough, cheap and good coverage – but could be tougher!

5 - Harveys Superwalker Maps (85g/£9.95). Same scale as the Explorers, with extra information for walkers. Boggy areas are marked in a blue on all Harvey maps, which has been useful on a number of occasions. These Superwalkers can look rather sparse in comparison with OS maps, but this simplicity is one of their advantages. They also show paths that are not on the OS ones, and discerning paths on the ground rather than rights of way is much clearer.

All the information you’re likely to need as a walker are on there, with only the superfluous information (boundaries) removed. They’re printed on a tough and waterproof paper, so there’s no danger of water getting into the seams and ruining them. Unfortunately, they have poor national coverage. While most of the popular mountain areas are covered, South Snowdonia is only covered in the Rhinogydd area (but a fine map!) Even the Snowdonia ones are missing out some essential sections such as Nantlle and the entire northern half of the Carneddau, which means they rarely find their way on my walks. Score 7.5/10 – as the coverage is rather bizarre.

6 - OS Explorer Landranger Active (175g/£12.99). Similar to the Explorer active, but at the 1:50,000 scale. Ideal for an overview, and cheaper, but it’s all down to taste as to how useful these maps are. I’ll admit to rarely using this scale – other than planning at home when they provide a good overview. I miss the walls and fences found on other maps when navigating. Other than that they’re similar to the OS Explorer, but with very limited coverage of only the more popular areas. 7/10

I find that a good combination is the Mountain Map (if available) and any Explorer map for extra detail. Recently, i’ve started to think that a decent map case and paper maps is the way to go. The problem with laminated maps is that they offer little grip for a compass and the lighter maps are almost impossible to handle in strong winds. Unfortunately, i lost my Ortileb case in the Peaks so i’m back onto the waterproof maps. The laminated ones are nigh on impossible to beind across the seams, but the Mountain Map and the Aqua Superlight could slot into a map case for extra protection.

Who told them then?

Own up, someone said i was making a fortune from this site? I am apparently a commercial site now.

Apparently, you’re not allowed to use the new OS Open Space mapping on your site if you’ve got adverts on the site. Well, sorry, yes OS. I apologise. I make so much money from the advertisements that it not only covers the nominal few pounds a year i pay for my hosting but also means i make a very comfortable living.

C’mon OS, this isn’t a very smart move. You’re just penalising the small guy again. Not only were the digital mapping fraternity fleeced by your licences, now you want to limit the mapping to so called, ‘non-commercial’ websites. I can understand that it’s not allowed for some of the commercial sites, but there are so many keen outdoors people out there who run small dedicates sites. It costs them. I doubt many of them will not be out of pocket, once they’ve paid for their hosting, not to mention the man hours they put into it. And many sites put ads on their sites which help a little, but still don’t make the books balance. And if they get enough to get a new pair of boots out of it, then good for them.

Despite all that, they do provide the best maps on the planet, Google Maps really doesn’t cut it. Either i take all the ads off (and be even more out of pocket unless i get money for my hosting elsewhere), or I’ll have to set up a separate Domain with no ads on it and link to that one from my webpage - what a pain. And an unnecessary one at that.

Rant Over!

P.s. While i’m at it, click on some of the ads to increase my obscene wealth further!

’You may have read the article on the BBC here about the Cartographic Society’s complaint that modern online maps are ‘wiping out history’.

One free topo map, but no OS data in sight. Created with NASA altitude information and personal GPS files only.

I’d have said that this is more down to the Ordnance Survey’s restrictive map licencing policy than any other factor. Of course people are going to turn to cheaper alternatives, which are unlikely to meet the exceptionally high standard set by the OS. A quick look now at Google Maps will show that they’ve added some pretty nifty contour mapping, but still not as good as a ‘proper’ OS map. If you provide geographical information on the web, then you need some sort of mapping. Unfortunately, the royalty free maps are of a lower quality (look at the ‘map’ layer on Google Maps and the better maps either too expensive, or with draconian licencing policies for free use. To download the map in the image above, cick here.