Finding My Way

During this stay-at-home period of life I've been absorbed by my maps of the area, searching out possible routes I might take when, one day in the future, this old dog is let off his chain once more. That's how most of my walks start, looking at maps and trying to link together interesting places to visit. Here are some thoughts about maps and route-finding in general, illustrated with some photos from last summer.

Although I have a complete set of 1:50,000 maps of East Anglia (everywhere within about 100 miles of home) I usually use the online maps available for a small subscription to the Ordnance Survey, which is Britain's official mapping agency. This makes maps available down to the very detailed 1:25,000 scale which is ideal for walking. These are the maps I print off on to A4 size paper to take with me.

What else to take? I usually take the relevant 1:50,000 map in case I want to identify a distant landmark, or if I manage to lose my other maps. And I usually take a compass, which may sound like overkill in this far-from-wild landscape but which has come in useful from time to time. Then I take a cheap pair of boots, rucksack, camera and spare battery, binoculars (sometimes), sandwiches (occasionally) and a water bottle or flask (most of the time) and a phone (switched off and only for use in an emergency).

On such clear paths as shown in the two photos above what could possibly go wrong?

At certain times of year this can happen - or worse! Paths get blocked by fallen trees, large mean-looking bulls in fields or unsympathetic farmers who simply (and illegally) block paths for their own reasons. At certain times of year this can happen....

Farmers are quite within their rights to plough up the paths across their fields and carry out other agricultural work. Our "footpaths" are legally defined as "rights of way", in other words they are merely places you can walk, there doesn't need to be a clear path on the ground to follow. After a while, on a popular route at least, a track soon becomes established on the ground.....

As you might be able to see, a guide post has been erected in the middle of this field to help you on your way and prevent crops getting unnecessarily trampled. At other times there's no help and you might be the first person to travel this way.

Nothing for it but to strike out across the freshly ploughed ground, as my brother is doing here. This is one place where the compass comes in handy to work out exactly where to head. 

At other times you can have too much information with arrows pointing in all directions leaving you scratching your head. That's my brother Les posing for the camera and it's just as well I had printed off that detailed map so we knew just which route to follow. The problem is that you can never be sure on the level of signing on any particular path, though there are usually metal fingerposts where paths leave the road. Some of these aren't particularly helpful....

….like this.....or this.....

At other times you really need all the help you can get: you'd have to be pretty sure of your map-reading to proceed here.....

If not for that little yellow arrow you'd think you were entering someone's back garden. As indeed you are, but that's where the path goes! Over the years I've followed paths which lead through gardens, between pig-pens, across farmyards, under someone's washing-line, through a scrapyard, across golf fairways and even through a rifle range (watch out if the red flag is flying).

Then there's the vexed question of permissive paths, which may or may not be marked on the maps. These are usually supplementary paths offered by landowners, sometimes allowing you to link other rights of way or even visit places of interest like old ruined churches. Others are provided to allow you a safe way around a working farmyard rather than go directly through, as the legal path does. Again it's best to have the detailed map to make sure you know exactly where you're being sent.

I'm not complaining though. Our footpath network allows us to take a huge variety of walks through the varied landscape of these small islands. It's a wonderful resource and, to my mind, one of the secret glories of the country, along with our rural churches. You can be sure I'll be exploring more of both as soon as I can. 

This landowner has clearly got fed up with walkers ambling lost across his property and is making sure they find the path!


Take care.