Follow the yellow markings

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Published: 17 January 2006

Follow the yellow markings

All the latest information on where to walk in some of England's most scenic areas is included on revised maps just published by Ordnance Survey.

Just like Dorothy following her ‘yellow brick road’, ramblers can discover areas of countryside previously off-limits that are shown for the first time on OS Explorer Maps using a light yellow tint.

Publication of the 13 maps is part of a national roll-out of access rights in countryside across England and Wales over the past year and a half. The wider walking opportunities have been published by map makers at Ordnance Survey using information supplied by the Countryside Agency.

At a scale of 1:25,000 (4 cm on the map equals 1 km on the ground), OS Explorer Maps make it easier to plan a safe and healthy walk.

Ordnance Survey's Consumer Marketing Manager, Gail Meadow, says:

"The revised maps will help families make the most of new walking opportunities. As well as the health benefits, this should boost tourism in the area during the coming seasons.

Using the new maps, walkers can plan their routes to safely explore some of the country's most beautiful countryside."

The new areas available for access are also depicted on Ordnance Survey's personalised
OS Select - Explorer service, maps available online via its Get-a-map service, and in a digital format on CD via the agency's partner products.

The revised maps will also be showcased at The Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, from 17-19 March 2006. This is the leading event for outdoor enthusiasts and those looking for ideas to get active in the British countryside.

The new OS Explorer Maps published on 16 January 2006 are:

· Thornbury, Dursley & Yate (167),

· Stroud, Tetbury & Malmesbury (168),

· Cirencester & Swindon (169),

· Abingdon & Vale Of White Horse (170),

· Chiltern Hills West (171),

· Leominster & Bromyard (202),

· Ludlow (203),

· The Long Mynd & Wenlock Edge (217),

· Coventry & Warwick (221),

· Rugby & Daventry (222),

· Northampton & Market Harborough

· (223), Corby, Kettering & Wellingborough (224), and

· Nuneaton & Tamworth (232)

Seven OS Explorer Maps that cover areas where 'open access' information was only partly available previously have also been reprinted:

· Peak District - Dark Peak (OL1),

· Reading, Wokingham & Pangbourne (159),

· Knighton & Presteigne/Tref-y-clawdd a Llanandras (201),

· Bradford & Huddersfield (288),

· Lower Wharfdale (297),

· Howardian Hills (300), and

· Scarborough & Bridlington (301)

Cartographers are continuing to revise maps for other parts of the west and east of England so that they can be published as soon as possible. The remaining OS Explorer Maps to be published for the west and east of England will be issued by April, completing the challenging process of revising all 251 OS Explorer Maps across England and Wales.