By: Blonde Two
Welcome to part 2 of our ‘Are you an outdoor woman?’ self assessment (tongues definitely in cheeks here!)
Today’s topic is, ‘What’s on a map?’ If you are anything like B1, the answer will be 4 blobs of sheep poo!
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1. How did Britain’s mapping agency Ordnance Survey start?
a) OS made their first map because King Harold got lost just before the battle of Hastings and we all know how that ended!
b) The Scottish were rebelling and it was decided that military maps of the Scottish highlands were needed.
c) The Vikings brought maps of our waterways over to help them with their pillaging.
2. What does the colour blue usually denote on an Ordnance Survey map?
a) Water, areas of sunshine and infestations of blue bottles?
b) Water, grid lines and areas of land that belong to the royal family?
c) Water, grid lines and points of interest?
3. How much height gain (or loss) would you expect when walking between two orange contour lines on a 1:25,000 scale map?
a) It depends which 1:25,000 map you are looking at.
b) 5 metres.
c) 10 metres.
4. Would it be easier to navigate in a forest full of little pointy trees (on the map) or little roundy trees (on the map)?
a) You can navigate through either but you will need to use your compass carefully.
b) Pointy trees because they are usually planted in straight lines.
c) Neither, forests are dark, tricky places which have been designed to lead you straight into their dark centres and not allow you back out again.
5. What does a strange bump in the middle of a contour line mean?
a) An earthquake site.
b) A re-entrant or a spur.
c) A cartographer with a shaky hand.
6. What is the difference in area between a blue grid square on a metric 1:25,000 map and one on a metric 1:50,000 map?
a) 100 square metres.
b) Nothing they both represent the same area.
c) 1 square kilometre.
7. What do Dick’s Well, Brown Willy and Cock’s Hill all have in common?
a) They are all in walking areas in the South West of England.
b) They are all man made features.
c) They all made you giggle when you read them.
8. If you were standing at the top of a hill and looking down at numbered contour lines, which way up would the numbers be?
a) Upside down.
b) It depends on how high the hill is.
c) The correct way up.
9. What does the map symbol that looks like a giant blue duck represent?
a) A nature reserve.
b) A bird sanctuary.
c) A giant blue duck.
10. Name 2 Ordnance Survey UK maps that are double-sided and 2 that are single sided.
1. b
2. c
3. b
4. None of the above! (Or possibly the below.) Pointy trees are ok if the straight lines have gaps between, but impossible if they don’t – and you can still only walk in one direction. Round trees are often quite scattered so that you can walk between easily, but if they’re not and there’s undergrowth everywhere they’re impossible too.
5. b
6. c
7. a and c
8. a
9. a
10. ‘Name’ is cruel. Saturday’s map was called Braemar and Blair Atholl, or possibly vice versa. And I’m pretty sure the Tarbert one is just called North Kintyre. They’re single sided.
Then all the Lake District ones are double sided – I think they’re called English Lakes North-eastern Area, English Lakes North-western Area, etc.
1) B
2) C
3) C
4) Sensible answer A, Reality answer C!!!
5) B
6) B
7) Sensible answer A, Reality answer C!!!
8) A
9) A
10) By my reckoning all the OL maps are double sided, so I’m going Welsh and naming OL 17: Snowdon and OL 23: Cadar Idris
and all the other 1:25000 maps are single sided(????) so I’m going Cornish and naming 109: Bodmin Moor and 102: Lands End! Of course I do have all of these maps!
Thanks for the quiz-great excuse to peruse the maps!!!
Xxx
You are welcome – well done!