Everyone would instantly recognise a map but what exactly is a map and how can we use one to help us navigate effectively?
A map is simply a picture of the ground from above. That's all!
Ok, so there's a little more to it than that but, whilst I agree if I were to end the article there it wouldn't make for a very engaging and informative read, I purposely used the simplest definition I could come up with. That's because in my experience it's all too easy for people to get confused by the complexity of maps.
At first glance maps can sometimes appear to be highly complex with many different lines and symbols all depicting different things. However, thought about in the simplest way possible, maps are just a picture of an area of land as seen from above.
Here in the UK we are extremely lucky when it comes to maps for use in the outdoors as we have some of the best maps in the world created by the likes of Ordnance Survey and Harvey Maps .