Using a map and compass…
To put together the walks and
cycles in ‘Discover where you live’ in the Community Index over the last few
months I have used maps, both paper and online.
Ordnance Survey produces the best
maps in the world. Fact! For the rural explorer in particular the 1:25,000
really are the best with 4cm to 1 kilometre. To explore Chorlton, the Transpennine
Trail to Stockport, Fallowfield Loop and much more get ‘OS Explorer 277
Manchester & Salford’. However when researching the walks for Community Index I also used
Open Source mapping ‘Open Street Map’ which for the densely packed urban and
suburban environments can be (though I hate to say it) more useful than the OS map.
It is available on desktop, see https://www.openstreetmap.org and on the iPhone / iPad, download the app Go
Map!! And of course the wonderful Google Maps, Street view and Google Earth are
fantastic free digital mapping tools as well as the OS Get a Map Digital
Services.
People may think that using a map and
compass and navigating in general is only for when you are in remote locations.
However maps can really help you get to know your local area much more
intimately.
Many of us stick to the same familiar routes whether
driving, walking or cycling, and feel we know Chorlton, the Meadows, and the
area around us well enough. Maps, even of a place as familiar to us as Chorlton
Meadows can reveal nooks, crannies, short cuts and paths which can easily be missed
if you aren’t looking for them. When researching the event ‘Map reading on the
Meadows’ I ran as part of Chorlton Arts Festival earlier this year I
‘discovered’ a pond I hadn’t known was there, and I have lived, walked, run and
cycled on the Meadows for many years.
Just from looking at the map square containing Chorlton Ees
I know it is flat rough grassland and deciduous woodland dotted by five ponds.
You can cycle through this nature reserve on a route which is part of the
National Cycle Network. It includes part of a long distance walking route and has
a stream with steep sides. There are lots of tracks criss-crossing the Ees but
very few rights of way except for on the river bank.
Maps embody so much information about the world around us.
From maps you can understand the history of a landscape, its current uses,
facilities and features. Engaging with a map, reading its symbols and
interpreting the information crammed into every kilometre square gives us a
greater appreciation of the world around us and it can pique a curiosity to find out more.
So what does the map tell us about Chorlton Ees? I have
already said there are few rights of way. Rights of way are green lines on the
map and are key to any walker. They tell you where you can walk. Rights of way
are enshrined in law and in many cases reflect historic and sometimes ancient
routes. Short green dashed lines are footpaths, boots only; long green dashed
lines are bridleways for boots, hooves and wheels.
On the Meadows instead of footpaths there are tracks (black
dashed lines) which indicate there is a track on the ground but not necessarily
a legal right of way for the public. There are also routes suitable for
cyclists marked by a string of orange circles, this tells me this is not a
historic route, otherwise it would be a bridleway.
The lack of footpaths and bridleways tells me that this land
hasn’t historically been accessed by people on foot, by cart or more recently
by bike. Why would this be? David Bishop of Friends of Chorlton Meadows (http://friendsofchorltonmeadows.blogspot.co.uk/)
gives us a very big clue, ‘From the late 19th century until the late 1970s
agriculture was gradually displaced from the Mersey Valley and what was
deposited on the ees was not “rich mud” but the growing city’s effluent in the
form of sewage works and rubbish dumps.’ Who would need or want to walk through
that?! Knowing this it makes much more sense why there is a dearth of historic
routes across the Ees.
Using a map and compass gives you the tools to be your own
(urban) adventurer and explorer, to know where you are and get you where you
want to be. It is like learning a new
language, allowing you to create your own routes and giving you the key to a new way of understanding and
interacting with your environment, local or not. I find it fun to walk paths
some created recently, many created by centuries of use and it is empowering to
get around under your own steam, using your own two legs and some basic map and
compass skills to get from A to B whether you are in town or country.
So get yourself a map and explore the wonderful suburban
countryside on our doorstep. If you would like to join me at the next free
navigation walk ‘Map Reading on the Meadows’ Sunday 12th October
2014 11am book a place on http://mapandcompass.wix.com/mapandcompassm
or email me mapandcompassOL21@gmail.com
or text me on 07411 165058.
Cath Dyson, September 2014
Cath Dyson co-organises navigation
walks and training, see http://mapandcompass.wix.com/mapandcompass.
She is writing a book to be published by Sigma Press, ‘Navigate your Way
Around… the South Pennines’
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