Brian, you're absolutely right. But . . . the OSMAND application gives a seriously greater level of detail than the Openstreetmap application. Same data-set, but greater ability to drill down. I guess that the vanilla Openstreetmap application only goes so far. The data's there,but simply not visible for default viewing.

Each to his/her own. It's a hard call. In the heel of the hunt you get what you pay for - I was an early adopter with Anquet and so payed serious money back in '04 for the same UK mapping that now is but a bag of chips.

Take a look at OSMAND. Worked for me. And, as I said to Peter, happy to share my direct experience off-board.

OK, what am I doing wrong? I downloaded the Android version and the Scotland map but I can still only get the low resolution mapping.
This is the same location shown above using the phone app....

You may have to pay for the contours as an in app purchase

Correct, the contours are an additional in app purchase. It is the lack of detail that concerns me. As you can see from the above screenshots the OpenStreetMap data completely misses several features including buildings, tracks and firebreaks. Comparing other locations between OS and OsmAnd shows a similar situation.

Do you think that paying the small premium for the contours and shading also increases the resolution? If that is the case it would well be worth the pennies.

I've just received an update from Humphrey explaining the source of the data and why it varies in resolution. Because OpenStreetView is the result of community contribution it depends on the submissions made in a particular area.

I use Talkytoaster on my Garmin GPSRs. I have the whole of Western Europe with POIs on a 4gb micro SD, this also includes contours, footpaths and bridleways. Certainly enough detail for my Geocaching but I still navigate using paper maps and compass.

Thanks for all the input. Humphrey has given me something to think about and I am researching that. Thanks Peter for the heads up on talky toaster. Completly concur on the paper maps. I do love them maps that is.