Earlier this year on the blog we were talking about how often we supply mapping to numerous television programmes and films being made in the UK. On the flip side, as we go about our daily business as the national mapping agency for Great Britain, we’re capturing the buildings that are used for filming many programmes and films as part of our data.
Would you recognise the locations of your favourite programmes on a map? We’ve pulled together eight mapping extracts featuring locations from six televisions programmes and two films. Can you tell us the name of the location or address being featured on the map and the name of the programme or film that it featured in? For example, you might recognise Chatsworth House on a map and know that it featured in Pride and Prejudice as Darcy’s house – and no, that isn’t one of the answers!
Continue reading 'How well do you know your filming locations in Great Britain?'»
It’s that time of the week when we’re thinking about some geo-fun for the blog. We’ve come up with a word search to test your skills and all of the words are related to the topic of glaciation.
If you didn’t know glaciation is the study of ice and its impact on the environment. The Ice Age in Britain lasted from around one million years ago to about 20 000 years ago. During that time much of the the north and east of the country was covered in ice. Glaciers were formed which move down valleys with great erosive power and in their place, they carved new scenery.
It’s just for fun, but let us know how long it took you to complete the word search and post your time on the blog.
Continue reading 'Can you complete our geography word search?'»
We’ve enjoyed writing quizzes and finding images to test your mapping knowledge this year – so whether you’re sat at home and feeling too full to move after the festive feasting or at work and wishing you weren’t, have a go at some of the geo-fun from 2011.
Try our map symbol game – simply swap one map symbol with an adjacent one to create a line of three or more identical symbols horizontally or vertically.
Do you know your map symbols? – How well do you think you know the symbols that appear on our OS Explorer and OS Landranger maps?
Test your wits with our geo-quiz – some geography-related questions to test your knowledge.
A location challenge when addressing fraud – do you recognise these well-known places on a map?
Play spot the difference with our Cartography team – have you got what it takes to be a cartographer?
Back by popular demand…welcome to the second edition of our map symbols quiz. In the past tree symbols were hand drawn by our cartographers, later symbols were ‘stuck’ to the map by hand and now, of course, the symbols are added by our cartographers via computer systems.
When you’re out and about using our well-known OS Landranger and OS Explorer Maps – do you know what all of the symbols mean? They’re there to give you valuable information about the environment you’re in.
Continue reading 'The return of the map symbols quiz'»
Warning: quiz could be damaging to your health.
Back in December we asked you to stretch your grey matter with our first annual festive geography quiz.
But so much fun was had by all concerned that waiting 12 months seemed unnecessarily cruel.
So with cruelty in mind, here are another 10 questions that look set to separate the haves from the have nots, the champions from the also rans and those with too much time on their hands from… well, you get the picture.
We’ve delved the depths of our most detailed databases and picked the brains of our most expert experts to produce these, so hope you enjoy them.
Like last time, the only prize on offer is a sense of deep satisfaction and the knowledge that you are among the elite.
Continue reading 'Test your wits with our geo-quiz'»
Thinking about winding down the grey matter as Christmas approaches? Well think again, as it’s time for our first annual (hopefully) festive geography quiz! To be honest, the questions aren’t very festive but they most definitely are geography related.
Alas in the age of austerity the only prize we can offer is a sense of pride at being a geography wizard and generally more intelligent than everyone else.
The first person to leave all the correct answers as a comment will be officially crowned as the winner – thinking caps on and try not to resort to Google immediately! And you never know, just some of the answers might be lurking in previous blog posts…
1. What name do islands in England, Scotland and Wales all share?
2. Britain’s longest river rises in Wales; what is it called?
3. Which islands lie between Iceland and the Shetland Islands?
4. Which area of land in England is administered by Verderers?
5. What is the most easterly point of mainland Great Britain, and which OS Landranger Map is it on? – OSGB grid reference please!
6. What is the length of the coastline of Great Britain, including all major islands, at Mean High Water at 1:10,000 scale, to the nearest 10 kilometres?
7. What is England’s Second Largest Cathedral?
8. Why is Sixpenny Handley, Dorset, so called?
9. Name the three towns or cities that have contained Ordnance Survey’s Headquarters?
And finally,
10. What was the first map to contain the words Ordnance Survey?
[Image by Sybren A. Stüvel via Flickr]
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