Pathfinder Maps No. 314 for Tiree

Q. Does anyone know of a source of OS Pathfinder maps. They are no longer in print but I find the newer Explorer maps (which are the same scale) are more unwealdly. I am particularly looking for a map of Tiree which fits nicely on to a much smaller page in the Pathfinder series and is therefore much easier to use.

Hoping someone has some old stock somewhere (No. 314)

Thanks

Christine Fraser, Blairgowrie

A. Hi there I am not sure how long ago this question was posted but I have more than 2,000 OS Pathfinder maps in stock. You ae welcome to send me a list of any thaht you want and I'll see if I have it. Best wishes, Jerry. PS: I have a 1978 Pathfinder map of Tiree at present.

Jerry Stampfer, Parracombe

A. The Ordnance Survey Pathfinder maps (Green covers) was a series of 1200 maps that covered England, Scotland and Wales with predominantly 20km (E-W) by 10km (N-S) sheets. They were discontinued a number of years ago and since these maps are now out-of-date they should not be used for route finding or locating current footpaths and rights-of-way.

They have been replaced by the Ordnance Survey Explorer Series (Orange Covers) of 403 maps which are updated on a regular basis. A substantial number if these maps are printed on both sides.

Folded, there is little difference between the two series of maps, the Green Pathfinder Maps are 126mm by 228mm whereas the Orange Explorer Series are slightly larger at 132mm by 240mm.

However since the Explorer Maps cover a much larger geographic area than the old Pathfinder Series, the unfolded Explorer Maps are usually a much larger peice of paper, have many more folds and can become quite unwieldly in windy weather.

However, this is not really the case with OS Explorer 372 which covers The Scottish Islands of Coll and Tiree.

Since both the out-of-date Pathfinder Map 314 and current OS Explorer 372 are at the same scale (1:25000) and both feature the island of Tiree on one side then they must logically be on roughly the same size piece of paper.

Actually, the Explorer Map 372 is slightly larger than its Pathfinder predecessor since it has Coll on the other side which is a different shape. If you are not interested in Coll then you can always trim off the sea around Tiree with a pair of scissors - but it won't be 'a much smaller page' - just a little smaller.

If you are going walking and hiking in an unfamiliar area then you really do need a map with the most up-to-date information on it.

Now Woolworths has closed I'm not sure where you should go to buy a pair of scissors!

Hope this helps . . .

Mike (Editor)

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