4 ms·

It's good but in the UK open Street maps is insufficient for hiking. The best map app for Android is back country navigator Pro. Why? Because it allows local c

by buro9 5y ago

It's good but in the UK open Street maps is insufficient for hiking. The best map app for Android is back country navigator Pro. Why? Because it allows local caching of the Bing tiles for ordnance survey maps. I'm off to the lake District next week and have compared windy maps, organic maps, osmand, back country navigator Pro, Google maps, and several others. Only the os tiles on back country navigator will suffice (level of detail) for the peaks in the lake District. I'd love to see something that uses the country equivalents to ordnance survey in a single global app... For hiking at least

globular-toast 5y ago
As an OSM mapper I've been "dogfooding" OSM for years now. I've successfully used it for walks all over Great Britain including the Peak District and Lake District. It hasn't really let me down. If I want to use a right of way that isn't on there, I'll add it myself. I've also been able to find things that aren't on OS maps, like public toilets and car parks. What specifically have you found lacking in OSM compared to OS?
- Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
  I think the main thing we lack for walking is field boundaries. Certainly here in the Cotswolds the actual path network is not far off parity with Ordnance Survey, plus OSM has more metadata (surface quality, stiles/gates, etc.) and is routable. In less popular areas of the country we still have a way to go with the paths themselves.
  - globular-toast 5y ago
    This might vary from area to area, but I don't generally find field boundaries are necessary. There have occasionally been times where it would have been useful to know which side of the hedgerow the path is on, but I find most of the time my instincts are good enough.
- buro9 5y ago
  > What specifically have you found lacking in OSM compared to OS? The ability to pick two peaks in the lakes in the more rugged area, and to see enough detail of the land (rather than paths) such that I can see whether it is possible to navigate between them. I.e. how granular does the waterways go? Are crags and cragginess fully shown? Are ancient stone walls shown? Do the contours show sufficient detail to indicate a stream that in a different season may be following but isn't considered a waterway all year round? Open Street maps allow me to read the paths, roads, main waterways. Ordnance survey allow me to read the land.

by buro9 5y ago

globular-toast 5y ago

As an OSM mapper I've been "dogfooding" OSM for years now. I've successfully used it for walks all over Great Britain including the Peak District and Lake District. It hasn't really let me down. If I want to use a right of way that isn't on there, I'll add it myself. I've also been able to find things that aren't on OS maps, like public toilets and car parks. What specifically have you found lacking in OSM compared to OS?

Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
I think the main thing we lack for walking is field boundaries. Certainly here in the Cotswolds the actual path network is not far off parity with Ordnance Survey, plus OSM has more metadata (surface quality, stiles/gates, etc.) and is routable. In less popular areas of the country we still have a way to go with the paths themselves.
- globular-toast 5y ago
  This might vary from area to area, but I don't generally find field boundaries are necessary. There have occasionally been times where it would have been useful to know which side of the hedgerow the path is on, but I find most of the time my instincts are good enough.
buro9 5y ago
> What specifically have you found lacking in OSM compared to OS? The ability to pick two peaks in the lakes in the more rugged area, and to see enough detail of the land (rather than paths) such that I can see whether it is possible to navigate between them. I.e. how granular does the waterways go? Are crags and cragginess fully shown? Are ancient stone walls shown? Do the contours show sufficient detail to indicate a stream that in a different season may be following but isn't considered a waterway all year round? Open Street maps allow me to read the paths, roads, main waterways. Ordnance survey allow me to read the land.