Getting up to speed with Ordnance Survey map skills

You may have found over the last 2 years that you’ve not been able to practise your map skills as much as you’d like. This article offers some websites where you can revise and practise your Ordnance Survey (OS) map skills and become fully familiar with their use.

Get to know the most frequently used OS map symbols

Visit the OS website: www.tinyurl.com/57zs9zxb. Scroll down the page and notice there is a range of instructional mapping skills that you can click on and further down some video guides. Begin with grid references and start by selecting the video, ‘How to take a 4-figure grid reference’ towards the bottom. Once you are confident with 4-figure grid references, select the video, ‘How to take a 6-figure grid reference’.

After watching the videos scroll up to the text option, ‘A beginner’s guide to grid references’ and click ‘Read’. This will help consolidate your confidence with these essential map skills.