New map reading videos with Steve Backshall

Navigating your way around is an essential skill for any explorer or outdoor enthusiast and being able to confidently use a map is a vital skill which everyone should have before setting off on an outdoors adventure. Research shows that the skill of map reading is in decline and our #GetOutside champion, Steve Backshall, is helping us to reverse that trend.

Steve says: I’m always with a penknife, map and compass. I’m an OS map user in a big way. It’s almost a daily thing. I’m enormously proud of OS. Its level of cover in this country is extraordinary. I think it’s something that, hand on heart, Brits do better than anyone else.

Map reading is a skill that’s dying out. Everyone should be able to read with a map and compass. It can and will save lives.

Map reading videos

To help you to get the most out of your map, and to #GetOutside to explore the Great British countryside, Steve’s recorded a series of videos. They’ll take you through the basics step by step including:

• Which map is right for you
• Understanding map symbols
• Making sense of contour lines
• How to read a grid reference
• Knowing your compass

Find out how to read a grid reference here and then visit our website to watch the rest of the videos:

You can also find out more about map reading in our handy leaflets. There’s Map reading made easy or Map reading made easy peasy for the younger map-readers.