Map Reading

How to spot history on a map

British broadcaster and anthropologist, Mary-Ann Ochota reveals some of the most common archaeological clues and historic symbols you’ll spot on a map. From church spires to tumulus, this guide will take your though old ordnance survey map symbols.

National Map Reading Week

Learn map reading skills for free with guides from National Map Reading Week, which aims to inspire people of all ages and interests to GetOutside, explore, find adventure and make memories. Reading a map can you off the usual paths, and we’re here to help you learn how!

Danger Areas

If you’ve been using OS Maps’ ‘standard’ mapping recently, you may have noticed we’ve added some places marked as ‘Danger Area’. These areas are used by the military for training.

Top tips for map reading

Want to explore new places? Every adventure starts with a map and some basic map reading skills. Here are our top tips for better map reading so you can start planning your next day out.

Ordnance Survey Advanced Map Reading Quiz

We've created a tough map reading quiz to test your skills. See if you can get 100% without looking at a map legend!

OS Tricky Place Names Quiz

We've created this challenging place names quiz to see how easily you can be tricked with made up places.

OS map puzzles to challenge your skills

Looking for something to challenge yourself? These puzzles, taken from the two OS Puzzle books, will test your map reading skills!

The Welsh origins of place names in Britain

Find the original meanings of British place names that use Welsh source words with this extensive list of terms, along with pronunciation.

The Scandinavian origins of place names in Britain

Find the original meanings of British place names that use Scandinavian source words with this extensive list of terms, along with pronunciation.

The Gaelic origins of place names in Britain

If you have ever wondered how many of the places in Scotland got their names, this extensive list of terms, along with pronunciation, is here to help.