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- When your specific search produces too few results
- You only need a minimum of two letters to start a search
- Don't use an asterisk – * – in your search
- Don't add the county name to your place name
- The search doesn't work for counties or large regions
- Your place names will be sorted initially by their descriptions
- How you can re-sort your search results
- Your search results link directly to our Get-a-map™ online mapping
- This search facility is only for place names
- Resources to help you understand the subject of mapping
1. When your specific search produces too few results
The specific search will only search on the initial letters. For example, Bath will only pick up place names including or beginning with Bath, whereas the wider search will pick up place names with Bath included anywhere in the name, for example, Sowbath. Use the wider search function to suggest more possible locations containing the letters you searched for. This wider result may take slightly longer because it will produce more results.
2. You only need a minimum of two letters to start a search
Remember though that fewer letters used will bring up more results and the search will take longer. Likewise, using the wider search will also take a bit longer.
3. Don't use an asterisk – * – in your search
You can't use the asterisk – * – for a wild card search here. For example, a specific search for Plym will yield 13 results, including Plymouth, Plympton and Plymstock. A wider search for Plym will yield 16 results including River Plym and Uplyme. However, searching for Plym* will yield no results at all.
4. Don't add the county name to your place name
Just type in your place name. If there is more than one, you can then select the correct county this is in. For example, if you write Leeds, you will get 13 results, but if you write Leeds, West Yorkshire, you will get no results at all.
5. The search doesn't work for counties or large regions
A county or region name will only bring results if there is a similar place name, like Devonport or Hampshire Gap. You can download a PDF showing the county boundaries or go to our Outline maps (on our Free and Fun page) for other formats of this map.
6. Your place names will be sorted initially by their descriptions
Great Britain has:
- 60 cities;
- 1 281 towns;
- 41 272 villages and other settlements;
- 24 447 water features (rivers, lakes and other bodies of water);
- 14 446 hills and mountains;
- 8 685 forests or wooded areas;
- 34 604 farms (abbreviated as Fm);
- 5 243 non-Roman antiquities;
- 237 Roman antiquities; and
- 128 605 other features.
Your initial search results will come up in this order.
7. How you can re-sort your search results
You will be able to sort your results simply by clicking on a category column and to modify these by clicking on another column. All the sorting categories will be in alphabetical order apart from the description column, which will be sorted as above, with the cities at the top and the other features at the bottom of your list.
8. Your search results link directly to our Get-a-map online mapping
Clicking on the place name results will take you straight to its location in Get-a-map. Mapping of England, Scotland and Wales is available at a scale of up to 1:25 000 – that of OS Explorer maps – with enlarged 1:50 000 scale mapping being used for the Isle of Man. Mapping at up to 1:50 000 scale is available for Ireland.
9. This search facility is only for place names
This particular search facility taps into Ordnance Survey's full gazetteer of 250 000 place names. For all other searches on our web site, please use the Site search at the top right hand corner of every page.
10. Resources to help you understand the subject of mapping
Our Understand mapping section has full details on the symbols, abbreviations, how to find grid references and other useful information.