It's not just having a map, it's knowing how to read it. I came through the Lairig Ghru on Monday and chatted to a couple of walkers coming in the opposite direction. They looked to be well equipped and initially gave the impression that they knew what they were doing. After a few minutes of chatting one of them asked how far it was to the junction with the main path. I was a bit confused about this so he pulled out his map and said we are about here, pointing to the path about 1Km from where we were, and the junction was here, pointing to the point where the local authority boundary crossed the path. They thought because the local authority boundary was a bolder line it must be a more major path.

If I had made that mistake I'd have felt embarrassed at my own stupidity but even after I pointed out to them that if they had looked at the key on the map it was clear what the different symbols meant they continued to blame the map.

Some people just shouldn't be allowed out on their own.

Ian C.

No worries Humphrey. I'll carry laminated A4's and a compass. A4's cos I once had a OS map completely ruined on top of the Mamores during a wet and windy day and a compass cos I've always had one with me. The SatMap is for the occasional 'no views' or for completely changed plans.