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By Luke, 20, May, 2013 8:00 am

This week from Monday through to Sunday you’ll find us at the Digital Shoreditch festival, an event that attracts hundreds of speakers from the most innovative and successful companies and organisations across creative, technical, start-up tech and digital spaces and beyond. During the week, we’ll be exhibiting, speaking and promoting our digital products and services amongst some of Tech City’s most talented digital and technical creative individuals.

The festival has a different theme each day, comprising of panel sessions, key note speeches and discussions – kicking off with today’s “What Tech City” theme. During the day, festival goers will collectively explore the many companies and organisations that make Tech City what it is, focusing on developing new ways to exploit the potential for growing global engagement and improving our digital economy and society.

Continue reading 'Digital Shoreditch festival 2013 – hear how we’re involved!'»

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By Gemma, 28, November, 2011 8:00 am

The New Forest offers miles of traffic free cycle routes

Today on the Ordnance Survey blog we’re going to talk about traffic free cycle routes. In Great Britain we’re blessed with 10 000 miles of traffic free cycle routes and today we’re going to share our top five locations with you.

Traffic free cycle routes are denoted on Ordnance Survey maps in one of two ways – first there is a trail of orange circles and the other is a red number in a clear box – denoting that it is part of the national cycle network.

The following are our top five locations for traffic free cycling in Great Britain – do you agree with our choices?

1. Peak District
   The Peak District offers miles of traffic free cycle routes including disused railway lines and some parts of the Trans Pennine Trail. Visit Peak District offers a selection of downloadable routes that take in quiet country lanes and traffic free routes.
2. Edinburgh
   There are some great traffic free cycle routes around the Scottish capital and surrounding area. Sustrans offers a downloadable guide to some of these routes that will take you around Edinburgh, Fife and the central borders area.
3. New Forest
   There are some great traffic free routes that go across the New Forest National Park. Whilst you may not have cars to deal with – you may come across the occasional New Forest pony on your route! With the area not being known for its hills – the relatively flat terrain is great for gentle cyclists like me!
4. Brecon Beacons
   The Brecon Beacons have 6 dedicated traffic cycle routes that offer distances suitable for half day and full day rides.
5. London
   There are some great stretches of traffic free cycling in London. There are large parts of the Thames Path that you can cycle along without the fear of a taxi, bendy bus or anything else getting in your way.

So these are our top 5 suggestions for traffic free cycling in Great Britain – where are your favourite routes?

Photograph: Gillian Moy via Geograph

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By Gemma, 23, November, 2011 8:00 am

Here on the Ordnance Survey blog we usually provide you with walks of the week that are in rural locations. Today I thought we’d head into a city instead and take a walk around London. Having lived in London for a while I always preferred to get around the city on foot rather than by public transport. It often felt quicker and it meant I got to see a side of London I wouldn’t usually get to see.

On our walk today we're heading over the Millennium Bridge towards St Pauls Cathedral

Today our walk is 4.5miles long and I would allow 2 hours to complete it (not allowing for browsing in the shops / have a drink at a cafe!!). The walk starts at Waterloo Station (as that’s where my train from here in Southampton would get into) but there are various other tube stations along the route including Charing Cross, Westminster, Leicester Square and St Pauls that are within very easy reach of the route. The route has been plotted for you on OS getamap.

Walking out of Waterloo Station we head down onto the South Bank, past the Royal Festival Hall and head east. At a weekend there is plenty of street theatre entertainment along this part of the Thames. We walk underneath Waterloo bridge and past the National Theatre. If you decide to walk this in the summer make sure you keep an eye out for their Watch this Space festival with free theatre, music and dance events outside the theatre. Continuing along we pass Gabriels Wharf with it’s delightful craft shops, cycle hire and cafes. The next place of note is the Oxo Tower followed by Sea Containers House. As we continue along the Thames Path, we pass under Blackfriars Bridge where we come to Tate Modern. This is where we cross to the north bank of the river going over the Millennium Bridge.

Crossing over the bridge we continue walking straight ahead of us until we get to St Pauls Cathedral. This is where we make a left turn and head along Cannon Street and onto Fleet Street. As Fleet Street becomes The Strand we pass the High Courts of Justice and make our way onto the Aldwych and into Theatreland.  Walking past the Aldwych Theatre we turn right after the Novello Theatre and head in towards Covent Garden, after turning left onto Russel Street.

We'll be walking past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament back over Westminster Bridge

Covent Garden is the perfect place to while away many an hour either listening to buskers, watching street entertainers, having a relaxing drink or browsing through the shops. Once you’ve had your fill of Covent Garden head along King Street and then Garrick Street until you come to Leicester Square.  You want to head to the diagonally opposite corner of the square to the one you’ve entered – you’re looking for Panton Street where you take a left turn along Whitcomb Street that will bring you down into Trafalgar Square.

From here we’re heading down Whitehall, past Downing Street and onto Parliament Square where we see the Houses of Westminster and Big Ben. Turning left at the Parliament Square we’re headed across Westminster Bridge and then head east again, back along the South Bank, passing the London Eye where a right turn brings us back to Waterloo station and where we started.

So that’s taken you on one of my favourite walks around London – where is your favourite London walk?

Photographs: Geograph

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By Gemma, 21, November, 2011 8:00 am

What will you buy the map lover in your life this Christmas?

Today on the Ordnance Survey blog we’re getting you ready for Christmas. At about this time last year we provided you with some ideas on what to buy the map lover in your life for Christmas.  We thought that we’d have another scout around and see what gifts are available this Christmas.

So let’s start with the obvious option from us – Ordnance Survey maps! In particular we have our OS Select maps that you can site centre on any location you like within Great Britain and then personalise the cover with your own message. We also have OS getamap where for just £30 you can subscribe for one year and have unlimited access to Ordnance Survey mapping, download authored routes and print A4 extracts of mapping at home.

If you’re looking for something slightly different – here are our top five map related Christmas gift options:

1. Relax after your long walks with this compass cushion – just make sure that it’s always pointing in the right direction!
2. How well do you know your local area? Get an OS Landranger Map jigsaw of your local area and see how quickly you can put your neighborhood back together!
3. It’s a small world – and these are bite sized ones! These chocolate globes are perfect for a snack on your post Christmas lunch walk!
4. Learn more about the history of your house with my house history portfolio – contains map extracts and documents pertaining to the history of your house.
5. Keep hold of your money in this map wallet – made in part from recycled milk and water containers.

What other map related gifts have you seen this Christmas?

Photo: ryter89 via Flickr

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By Gemma, 16, November, 2011 8:00 am

Friday is the annual fundraising day for the BBC Children in Need appeal. With that in mind it seemed that there was only one appropriate place that we could feature for our walk of the week this week – the market town of Pudsey in West Yorkshire.

The Church of St Lawrence and St Paul in Pudsey

Let’s first have a bit of a history lesson about Pudsey. The town was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday book as Podechesaie and Podechesai although it believed to be around much earlier – back in the 6th century when it was the centre of the Kingdom of Elmet. Elmet was an independent Brythonic kingdom between the 5th century and mid-7th century and later became the West Riding of Yorkshire.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the town was known for it’s production of wool and then in the late 19th century cricket became an important part of the town. Some of the best cricketing talent in England learned to play the game in Pudsey including Sir Len Hutton, Herbert Sutcliffe, Ray Illingworth and more recently, Matthew Hoggard.

With it’s location between the two industrial towns of Leeds and Bradford, during the industrial revolution Pudsey seemed to spend most of it’s time covered in soot and pollution. Being in a slight valley meant that the pollution used to hang in the air.thankfully though those days have now gone!

Our walk today takes starts and finishes at the Bankhouse pub (OS grid reference SE217 320) which is situated to the south of the town – the perfect place to reward yourself after your walk!

The route for the walk is available on OS getamap and is 6.62miles (10.65km) which should take around 2 hours 30minutes to walk. If you’re looking to explore a wider area OS Explorer Map 288 – Bradford & Huddersfield covers the Pudsey area.

Are you planning any fundraising walks for Children in Need this year? If so – where are you going?

Photograph: Bill Henderson via Geograph

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By Gemma, 14, November, 2011 8:00 am

This week is geography awareness week and where better to celebrate it that here on the Ordnance Survey blog? Organised by National Geographic, the week is an annual event that celebrates all that is geography and how to make the most of it. Each year the week has a theme – and this year the theme is Geography: The Adventure in Your Community.

Have you looked at an Ordnance Survey map that covers your local area? If not – do so. You may find that there are things that you never knew about right on your doorstep. We’ve been at events in London where we’ve shown maps of the city and people found parks, footpaths and open spaces in their neighborhoods that they hadn’t realised were there before. Have a look at your local Ordnance Survey paper map or online at OS getamap – what can you find in your area?

How are your map reading skills? If you think they could do with improvement – have a look at our map reading section on the Ordnance Survey website where alongside a series of map reading films from Simon King we also have map reading booklets to download for you to read through.

Here at Ordnance Survey we have a dedicated education team that works closely with schools and the Geographical Association on teaching geography in schools. We also have a dedicated website called Map Zone that aims to teach geography in a fun and engaging way to children aged 7 to 16 years.

Ordnance Survey also works closely with one of the partners of national geography week – Mission Explore. The website provides location based geography missions for children (and adults) of all ages. You can collect points and badges as you go. Compete with friends and family to see who can complete the most missions.

How are you celebrating geography awareness week?

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By Gemma, 9, November, 2011 8:00 am

The Dalhousie arch welcomes you into Edzell

Today on the Ordnance Survey blog we’re taking a walk in a part of Scotland that I used to visit regularly in my summer holidays. We’re going to Edzell in Angus.

Edzell is a village that is situated about 5miles north of Brechin. Originally it was called Slateford but was renamed after a nearby hamlet in 1818. The focus of the village is the broad main street that runs straight through it, seen to the right here through the Dalhousie arch. The arch was constructed in 1887 to commemorate the deaths of the 13th Earl of Dalhousie and his wife who died on the same day. There is a similar arch in the neighboring village of Fettercairn that commemorates the passage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who made a Royal progression through Edzell and stayed in Fettercairn whilst traveling through Angus and Kincardineshire in 1861.

Another landmark of the village is the Inglis Memorial Hall (the tower of which can be seen in the background through the arch above. This Gothic style building was a gift to the village from Sir Robert Inglis in memory of his father.

The Shakin' Brig is the focus of our walk today

On all of my trips to Edzell it was a must that we took a walk down to the Shakin Brig that spans the North Esk river. It was always the challenge to get onto the bridge and see how far it would shake before going down to the rivers edge to skim stones.

We’re starting our walk at the recreation ground, Edzell Muir, that is located at the north end of the village where ample parking is available.  The route we’re taking is 3.72miles (6km) long and should take 1 hour 15minutes (not allowing for time to “play” on the shakin’ brig or skim stones in the river! The route has been plotted on OS getamap and the area that we are walking is covered by OS Explorer Map 389 – Forfar, Brechin and Edzell.

So now you know where one of my favourite childhood walks was – where were your favourite walks from your childhood?

Photographs: Geograph

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By Gemma, 7, November, 2011 9:00 am

The days are getting shorter and the weather is certainly getting colder but these are not reasons to stop celebrating all that it great about the outdoors. Later this month is the annual Kendal Mountain Festival and today on the Ordnance Survey blog I thought we’d have a look at what is planned.

Running from 17 to 20 November, the Kendal Mountain Festival is one of the largest and most varied outdoor festivals in Europe. It brings together a varied programme of films, lectures and parties with some fantastic names from the outdoors present including Andy Kirkpatrick, Cameron McNeish and Kenton Cool.

The centre point of the festival is the Kendal Mountain Film Festival where over 50 films are screened (from over 200 entries). They are all hoping to be able to walk away with one of the ten awards that are up for offer. Who will win??

The festival really does seem to have something for everyone – no matter what your activity of choice is to enjoy the outdoors. There’s a bike night, snow sports, climbing and endurance sports events to whet the appetite for your own future adventures.

If you’re headed to the festival and planning to go walking – don’t forget your Ordnance Survey maps. You can also plan your trip on OS getamap before you go.

Are you heading for Kendal for the festival? What are you looking forward to the most?

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By Gemma, 2, November, 2011 8:00 am

This time last year on the blog we posted an article about how different towns around Great Britain celebrate bonfire night. Some places celebrate with the traditional bonfire and fireworks display – others have their own unique way of celebrating. Last year, along with some friends, I decided to go to one of the more unique bonfire celebrations that we featured in the blog – I went to Lewes and I thought that in anticipation of bonfire night 2011 I would write about it.

The fifth brings together the bonfire societies of Lewes including Waterloo seen here.

Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, and historically was of all of Sussex. The town is covered by OS Explorer Map 122 (Brighton & Hove) and OS Landranger Map 198 (Brighton & Lewes). If you visit the town during any other time of year I suspect that you’d think it a lovely place, a typical county town. However if you visit on bonfire night you may come away with different opinions! There is a reason why Lewes has the title of the Bonfire capital of the world!

First of all – it must be stated that if you are of a nervous disposition or have a weak heart – this isn’t the place for you to be on November 5th! You have been warned!!

Procession of the martyrs crosses forms part of the celebrations

Continue reading 'The bonfire capital of the world – Lewes'»

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By Gemma, 31, October, 2011 8:00 am

Happy Halloween!!

Today we’re celebrating Halloween on the Ordnance Survey blog. Before you all start making your jack-o-lanterns and going trick or treating I thought I would take you through the background to Halloween.

History of Halloween
Although the name wasn’t used until the 16th century there is belief that the origins of the festival dates back to Roman times and their feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds or from the festival of the dead, Parentalia. It is also believed that the origins come from the Gaelic festival of Samhain (original spelling – Samuin) that was a harvest festival celebrated on 31 October – 1 November – the name translates in old Irish as Summers End. The name Halloween is believed to be a derivative of the Scottish All-Hallows-Even dating back to 1556 – which translates as being the Eve of All Hallows Day (All Saints Day – 1 November).

Halloween is often associated with ghosts, ghouls, witches and spiders. It has become a common fixture in many a Halloween party to tell one another ghost stories whilst many television and film companies show Halloween-themed / horror films at this time of year that are designed to give you a fright!

Keep reading for a trick or treat…

Continue reading 'Happy Halloween'»