The Ordnance Survey has been around for more than two centuries
(Picture: Pexels)Ordnance Survey (OS) is the UK’s national mapping agency. It provides the most accurate and up-to-date geographic data.
From the Government to businesses across the nation, including Google and Experian, it is a key reference for many.
For more than 200 years, its maps featured symbols for the most commonly sought spots including battle sites and churches.
However, unlike the Ordnance Survey maps’ symbology, what people for on a map has continuously evolved.
To close this gap, the agency is planning to consult members of the public later this year.
From bike repair shops and cafes to dog waste bins, there are many new symbols to consider.
There are also some who want to see accessible routes marked on the map to help wheelchair and pushchair users.
It's great to see and hear lots of interest in the OS map symbols today! 🗺️
— OS Leisure (@OSleisure) February 13, 2023
We are really keen to hear your ideas around symbols you'd like to see - now and when we start our discovery process later in the year.#wato #MapReading #OSMaps
“At OS, we want to make the outdoors enjoyable, accessible and safe and strive to ensure that our products inspire and enable people to get outside safely,” an OS spokesperson said.
“Map symbols are an important part of our leisure products in assisting users to navigate and explore Great Britain. It is vital that the symbols we use on these products support walkers and outdoor enthusiasts.”
The news comes after the mapmaker ran a symbol design competition in 2015. People were asked to share what their symbols for art galleries, skate parks, public toilets, electric car charging points and similar spots would look like.
OS published its first map in 1801. Since then, it has sold nearly two million copies of its paper maps each year, while welcoming five million users on its app.
It was born out of a need to map Scotland after the Jacobite rising of 1745, an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart.
It was also used due to the potential threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars between 1803 and 1815.
