 |
maps |
edinburghpaths.info |
| This site has information about a few of the many walking and cycling routes in Edinburgh. | |
|
| |
maps |
edinburghpaths.info |
| This site has information about a few of the many walking and cycling routes in Edinburgh. | |
|
Before you set out on a journey it's usually a good idea to consult a map, unless you know where you're going and have been before. Even then, there are usually alternatives worth trying just for the sake of variety! Consulting old maps might seem a bit extreme, but it's always interesting to see 'what used to be there' - there may be remnants to look for.
The Edinburgh 1776 map from the National Library is a great place to start. Not only does it show the villages that expanded to form the city, but also how some of their names have since changed. Many other old maps of the Edinburgh area are available on line on the National Library of Scotland site.
While you are online there's the highly useful Google maps the downside is that it's sadly lacking in off-roads. The good news is that since December 2006 the satellite image (click "hybrid" to get both map and photo) of Edinburgh is detailed enough to be able to work out where these are. Roll on the day when such quality extends into the Lothians and Fife.
Mapping on line is developing. Many individuals are contributing their GPS trails and local knowledge to produce the OpenStreetMap. (You could help.) The data is then available for a wide range of uses. One example can be seen on the gravitystorm site. Another is the Cycle Route Planner on Cambridge Cycling Campaign site. A version of this should be coming to Edinburgh this year (2008).
The classics for finding your way around by bike are the Spokes maps. Originally for Edinburgh there are also East, West, Midlothian and even Glasgow editions (all available to buy on-line or in good book and bike shops).
British Waterways has a highly effective, dragable, zoomable, clickable Union Canal map based on Ordnance Survey maps so has LOTS of detail when zoomed in.