These days, in the age of satellite navigation systems, there is an old skill which is rapidly being lost. I am talking about the skill of map reading.
When I’m embarking on a journey, I love to sit down and plot my route. I get out a map (ok, sometimes I’ll use an on-line one) and carefully work out which roads I need to follow. I also make sure that I examine a large scale map of the area I’m visiting in order to see what things of interest are there. I have a large collection of Ordnance Survey maps, covering a fair proportion of the country and any new place I visit I make sure I buy a copy of the map for the relevant area.
I simply love pouring over maps, looking at the contour lines, working out the lie of the land and seeing places of interest there are along the route. Going along a motorway, for example, you often don’t realise what is lying behind the embankment and, to me, there’s nothing more frustrating than driving along, seeing something in the distance and wondering what the hell it is.
A map can tell you everything, if it is any good
The reliance people put on sat-navs these days means that they rarely have any inkling where they are at any given time and just drive along, blindly following instructions. Maybe the systems should be developed to give a running commentary about where you are and the history of the area?
Imagine, as you’re going up a motorway, being told that the river you used to go over was once important for transporting coal or iron ore for example, or that the Battle of Bosworth was fought nearby in 1485. It could absolutely transform a journey, help keep you alert during the boring bits and prove educational as well.
But I’m digressing. The point I really wanted to make was that we are becoming far too reliant on sat-navs to find our way around. If the thing breaks down, or takes you along an inappropriate country lane, just because it’s the quickest route as the crow flies, what do you do?
Sat Nav - is it a modern curse?
We should all still carry a good road map in the car. It’s fun as well, looking at how far you’ve come, how many pages you’ve had to turn over since you set out, and how far you still have to go. Scrolling down a small screen just isn’t the same.
I’m thinking of campaigning for a national ‘map day’ on which sat-navs are switched off and everybody has to go back to the basics of plotting their route themselves. So do your bit for the cause now and buy a road map now!