Great Britain: OS 25K Explorer Maps "ACTIVE MAP" WATERPROOF EDITIONS

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Laminated waterproof editions of the Explorer & Outdoor Leisure mapping, this series of detailed topographic maps from the Ordnance Survey replaced the earlier, green-cover Pathfinder maps. The Explorer series is now complete and covers all of England, Wales & Scotland. Some sheets for popular areas like the National Parks, are still branded as Outdoor Leisure (OL) maps, but are now included in this series as the cartography is the same as that in the Explorer Maps. The Explorer maps offer a substantial improvement on the Pathfinder series, with greater use of colour, larger area per map, and stronger emphasis on information for ramblers and tourists.

These highly detailed maps show all the administrative boundaries, settlements as small as isolated farms, road network down to unfenced roads and country tracks, and field boundaries (hedges and drystone walls) which make navigation across the countryside much easier. Steep gradients on roads are indicated. Various landmarks, eg. powerlines, archaeological sites, windmills, churches and lighthouses are shown, and additional graphics indicate natural terrain features such as cliffs, scree, mud and vegetation variations. The contour interval is 5 metres in the lower parts of the country and 10 metres in the uplands, and spot heights are marked. Each map covers an area of 30 x 20km (i.e. approx. 19 x 12 miles), with some double-sided maps covering more, as indicated in the individual descriptions. The maps are fully GPS compatible, with the National Grid shown at 1km intervals and latitude and longitude indicated by margin ticks at 1'.

Explorer maps show a large amount of information for ramblers and tourists. Public rights of way are shown (except in Scotland), together with other routes with public access: National Trails and Recreational Paths, permitted paths and bridleways, and selected cycle routes. Open access land created under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is marked. Tourist information includes caravan and camp sites, Park & Ride locations, recreation/leisure/sport centres, museums, historic buildings, English Heritage and National Trust sites, rural pubs, etc. The map legend is in English only, except for the tourist information content which is also in French and German.

Maps in this series are only published as folded versions. However, it is now possible for us to print flat OS maps through the OS Select system, with the added advantage of centring the map on a location of your choice with your own picture on the cover.

For more information go to our OS Select page.