"High Tech; Low Beams"

Susan Harvey from Harvey maps in Doune gave a fascinating presentation on the development and production of these excellent maps for walkers, ramblers, cyclists and sightseers. The company was founded around 30 years ago and produced maps for orienteering initially. The maps are produced in a 17^th Century Temperance Hotel complete with millstone!

Differing in many aspects from OS maps, there is a tremendous amount of thought and attention to detail put into the design of the maps for the purpose for which they are to be used. This means that detail which is important or essential to the walker is included with inessential detail, such as parish boundaries excluded.

This ensures that detail such as scree is included. Fields which could be crossed are differentiated by colour from those which are cultivated. Forestry Commission plantations are a different colour from natural forest, and forestry breaks are shown. Land which is rock is distinguished by colour from heather covered areas.

Maps are often printed in ingenious layouts to maximise the unique shape of mountain ranges, such as the Pentlands. The folding of the map in relation to the detail has been considered, and where appropriate back and front may be used .The map of Arran was an interesting solution with the whole island on one side and the detail of the mountains on the other side. Almost 2 for the price of one!

The fabric of the map has been considered and a demonstration of soaking a piece of map in a bucket of water showed that wetting does not obliterate printing.

Scale and the rationale for 1: 40,000 was explained as was the reasoning for the contour spacing.

Map making and the checking of detail was explained. The entire process of producing the map takes around 5-6 months although the map of Hadrian’s Wall was done in record time to coincide with an anniversary. No doubt the Romans would have been impressed!

There are a range of maps of foreign countries and a plea went out for mapping of the Pyrenees and other Spanish and Italian areas. There are some maps of Canada and some of Greenland.

Other gift products are the necessary must have items for the walker with everything. A mouse mat of a portion of map would have the user whizzing round the Ben. The T shirt could become the essential Munro completers fashion item.