Do you know your trig points from your National Trails? Can you calculate using contours? And can you fathom exactly how far the footpath is from the free house?
Track down hidden treasures, decipher geographical details and discover amazing facts as you work through this unique puzzle book based on 40 of the Ordnance Survey's best British maps. Explore the first ever OS map made in 1801, unearth the history of curious place names, encounter abandoned Medieval villages and search the site of the first tarmac road in the world.
With hundreds of puzzles ranging from easy to mind-boggling, this mix of navigational tests, word games, code-crackers, anagrams and mathematical conundrums will put your friends and family through their paces on the path to becoming the ultimate map-master!
Review: This is a treat for all map addicts! It comprises a collection of forty maps produced by Ordnance Survey, Britain's mapping agency, selected for their historical, geographical or special cultural interest. Alongside each map are a series of puzzles, set by Dr Gareth Moore about features shown on the map.
The puzzles are graded under four headings: Easy; Medium; Tricky; and Challenging, although to be honest, I found them all equally difficult. They range from identifying certain features on the maps and navigational skills to word puzzles, anagrams and cryptic, crossword-style clues, so there is something for people with different aptitudes. An eye for detail is definitely an asset for solving the puzzles.
However, it is the maps themselves that are the book's crowning glory. These include a number of historical maps, some of which have been overlaid with their modern versions to show how the landscape has changed over time. One of my favourites is a 1965 map of Hounslow which has been overlaid with the line of Major General William Roy's original baseline. The baseline was measured in the 1780s across Hounslow Heath (chosen because it was a large expanse of flat land conveniently close to London) and formed the basis of the mapping of the entire country by triangulation, and the foundation of all Ordnance Survey maps since then. Nowadays, the baseline runs across Heathrow Airport, built as London's main airport after the Second World War (chosen because it was a large expanse of flat land conveniently close to London).
Hence, if you enjoy maps and solving clues, then get out your magnifying glass since this is the book for you.
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