A full list and description of every sign, line, shade, icon and symbol used on Ordnance Survey 1:25 maps.
Roads and paths
03:00 Motorways
03:31 Dual carriageways
03:53 Main roads (Primary road)
04:12 Secondary roads
04:31 Narrow roads with passing spaces
04:45 Road under construction
05:09 Road more than 4m wide
05:25 Road less than 4m wide
05:25 Gradient
06:19 Ferry
06:41 Path
Trains
07:04 Standard track
07:14 Single track line
07:20 Tram line and light rail system
07:51 Cutting, Tunnel and Embankment
08:13 Track / Road intersections: Over, Under Level crossing
08:25 Train – Tube station and Siding
Public rights of way
08:51 Footpaths
09:23 Bridleways
09:55 Byways open to all traffic
10:19Restricted byways
Other Public Access
10:46 Other routes
11:12 Recreational Routes
11:35 National trails
Traffic Free Cycle Routes
12:02 Traffic free cycle routes
12:15 National Cycle Network Routes
12:29 Danger and Managed areas
Access Land in England and Wales
13:10 Open Access Land
13:53 Open Access Land in a wood / Forest
14:00 Open Access Land over Sand
14:07 The coastal margin
General features
14:28 Sand, Gravel and other pits and Landfill sites and spoil heaps
14:55 Electricity transmission lines
15:20 Solar Farms
15:38 Slopes
15:11 Places of worship (Church)
16:06 Triangulation pillar (trig point)
16:24 Broadcasting masts
16:32 Windmill
16:42 Wind Pumps & Wind Pumps
17:11 Buildings
17:22 Glasshouse / Large green house
17:30 Youth Hostels, other hotels and bunkhouse
17:46 Bus and Coach station
18:00 Lighthouses and beacons
Political and National Park boundaries.
18:34 National
18:49 County
18:53 Parishes have a line of dots separating them
18:58 Unitary Authority, London Boroughs, Metropolitan Districts
19:07 National Parks
Historical and Archaeological
19:20 Sites of Antiquity
19:40 Battle sites
19:52 Roman and non-Roman features
20:36 Tumulus (ancient burial mound)
20:57 Ancient earth works
Heights and natural features.
21:08 Shade colours water, mud or sand.
22:06 Spot Heights
22:28 Spot Heights in brackets
23:18 Contours
23:43 Cliffs
23:50 Outcrops
24:29 Scree
24:38 Loose rock
22:55 Boulders
Vegetation.
25:32 Coniferous trees
26:14 Deciduous trees
26:24 Coppice
26:36 Orchards.
26:42 Scrub (e.g. hawthorn)
26:53 Bracken, heathland or rough grassland
26:57 Marsh, reeds or saltings
27:06 Common Abbreviations
29:32 Current list of map Symbols
17 Comments
Amazing! Thanks for this extremely practical video. Also, as an American, I am very jealous of the level of detail and the number of specific symbols on OS maps. Here in the U.S. we are often lucky to get a simple dot for a footbridge or a trail junction and we are left to discover what the dot represents. I suppose it keeps our sense of adventure alive, but in certain circumstances it would be extremely helpful to have more information rather than less.
Hi Wayne, I must say, wow! There are a lot of symbols!! Are the legends on the maps very long? On the UK maps?
Wayne, is there a link that you could share where I could purchase a copy of a map of the UK? I find it very fascinating!! Can you help me? From Washington State 💯❤️👍🏽🇺🇸
Good video as always. Thanks
Great refresher and some good info around stuff. Couple of little typos if I may – Windmill picture shows motorway text and the spelling of station otherwise 👍🏻
Like the blue duck swimming by 👍
👍
The definition of a tram is pretty nebulous. Check out Jago Hazzard's "What is a tram actually?" for a comprehensive look into this topic.
Wow Wayne, thank you! Very detailed. That must have taken you a while to create! I don't think there is anything like this on YT 🎉. I appreciate your time doing this for us – your fans. ❤
Just a quick tip. Switch to mono audio! I can only hear you in my left ear.
Holy Molly, talk about bureaucratic congestion. In Canada, we have far less data; perhaps they figure we should explore more for ourselves without hand-holding. Hazards, and predominant features are shown, but not every stone.
Very informative many thanks. Can you clear up one thing for me? What is a pale blue cross that appears on my old 50k map but missing on the newer version? I think it has something to do with the grid but can't work out what, they appear anyway on the map both land and sea.
Wayne, you titled a windmill as a motorway. Great little video😊
I don’t live in the UK but find all your videos very informative and the waffles are a brilliant bonus. Maybe if I ever do get to visit your beautiful country and walk in these everyday, yet historic paths, I’ll be able appreciate things all the more. Cheers.
Map symbology is one of the things I find most fascinating about cartography!
You can practically read an interesting map like a human and geologic history book. Everything drawn is there for a reason. A story told by the cartographer in an almost hyrogliphic language, few will take the time to learn.
Very informative video Wane, thanks for taking the time to make it. Just imagine the design work and thought that the people at OS have put into creating the various symbols and line types, presumably refining them over the years. Not only that but also the placing of the symbols and text so that they do not obscure or clash with other entities in the surrounding location on the map and ensuring that they are readable.
I wonder, are some traffic jams permanent enough to be put on maps? („It is not a transportation system, it’s a storage system.“ Starship Titanic by Terry Jones, after Douglas Adams‘ game)