What is the grid reference of the church in the example above?
How to take or locate a six-figure grid reference Sometimes four-figure grid references are used to give a rough location that covers the map grid square, not a specific point within it. So with the grid reference TQ303782, TQ indicates the 100 sq km of Britain designated by Ordnance Survey’s National Grid as ‘TQ’, and the location is 30 squares and three tenths east and 78 squares and two tenths north. The first three specify the vertical lines (the eastings) and the second three the horizontal (the northings). A grid reference uses six figures to identify a particular spot on a map that is 100 metres square. Grid referencesĪll OS maps are criss-crossed by vertical and horizontal grid lines (coloured blue on OS Explorer maps) which are 4cm apart on 1:25,000 scale maps and 2cm apart on the 1:50,000 scale. These can be a useful guide where there aren't many contour height numbers. Spot heights – shown as a number beside a dot – appear at strategic points, including along roads where they level out at the top or foot of a hill. The closer together contours are, the steeper the ascent or descent for the walker. Every fifth contour line is printed more thickly than the others. At random points along many of the contour lines a number is shown to indicate its height, always printed so that the top of the number points uphill. On OS Explorer maps, the interval between contours is five metres in lowland areas and 10 metres where mountainous. Together with spot heights, they portray the shape of the landscape, its height, the form taken by hills and valleys, the steepness of slopes, and so on. With practice, you’ll soon learn to estimate the distances involved by eye, but don’t forget the extra effort of climbing hills when calculating how long the route will take to walk.Ĭontours are lines connecting points of equal height above sea level that show the relief of the land. To measure the approximate distance of your route, take a piece of thin string and lay it carefully along the exact route on the map, then lay it straight along the scale line on the map’s margin. Do remember that, although a good map will remain useful for at least a few years, the landscape is ever-changing and you should not be surprised if some features on the ground do not agree with your map.Footpaths and bridleways are marked as green dashes on OS Explorer maps and magenta on OS Landranger maps. Rights of way marked on maps will often be visible as a distinct path or track on the ground, but in less well-walked areas the path may not be visible.Some map markings do not show up on the ground, such as council boundaries, contours and grid lines.The best way to learn these symbols is to relate them to the way they appear on the ground.
However there are some useful online resources to help you recap and also learn these skills. It is important to keep practicing these key skills and the best way is to use an actual OS map. Understanding contour lines and how relief is shown on a map.Giving Grid References (4 and 6 figure grid- references).Some of the key map- skills you need to be confident in are: These skills will be tested throughout the key stages and are a common feature in examinations.
Adverse Weather Emergency School ClosureĪs geographers, one of the key skills that you need to learn is how to read an Ordnance Survey map.