OS Maps is the slightly-too-generic name for the web-based mapping software published by Ordnance Survey. I’ve been using it for around five years, and it has improved substantially in that time. It’s also grown hugely in popularity, probably due to the scratch-off codes that are included with OS paper maps nowadays. I covered the main features as part of my mapping software comparison article, but this review goes further and explores the software in more detail. I also cover the differences between OS Maps and eDofE Mapping, which will be interesting to those who use both systems.

My latest Peak Challenge walk was inspired by a photo that I took on Christmas Eve 2020 from the trig point on Whitwell Moor, near Stocksbridge. The image quality isn’t the best, but the valley you can see in the background is Ewden Beck. It looked picturesque, and walk-round-able, so I decided to make it my next walk.

I had decided that my next Peak Challenge walk would be a big one, so I picked a big area I’d not walked before. I had driven along Mortimer Road many times but never found the view across Derwent Moor to be particularly enticing. At least today’s covering of snow made it look slightly prettier and a bit less bleak! This was a varied day, and there were times when I was alone in the fog with barely a tuft of heather sticking up above the snow, and there were other times when I was surrounded by families out on their Saturday walk. I was glad to have finally explored this area, and I think I picked a great day to do it.

The second (ish) of my Peak Challenge walks was completed with my brother on a cold December day. It passed through 6 grid squares but only netted me 3 new ones, as I’d done a couple of sections before. Despite that, it didn’t feel repetitive, as the challenging weather and good company made it an enjoyable walk.

The first of my Peak Challenge walks was close to home, and allowed me to tick off 8 new grid squares. An exploration of the moorland above Midhope and Langsett Reservoirs, taking in Pike Low and Mickleden Edge.

I really enjoyed this walk, because although the area looks empty on the map, and bleak at first sight, in reality it’s packed with interesting features.