Hi,
I have just bought some new OS explorer maps (Yorkshire Dales) as borrowing my parents maps which must be over 30 years old have now got more holes in than maps. I got them from dash4it for less than £6 each and they include a free download of the map. has anyone used the OS mapfinder app and is it any good?
73’s
Anthony M0VED
On which OS?
Oops sorry, on android.
It has lots of poor reviews. 
For Android you can use openandromaps which are free but less detailed. 20m contour levels etc. Orux maps works fine on Android (free) and the maps get updated regularly. Maps exist for most of the world. Did I say free? Runs on my phone OK.
I happen to use Anquet on the PC and print out paper maps for my use. But Anquet is not cheap, £400-ish for all of UK at 1:25k, 1:50k, plus road atlas and height database. Anquet is OK on Android, you enter tracks etc. on the PC and sync that to the Android device. A colleague has a 64GB SDcard in a Moto-E with full Anquet 1:25k & 1:50k with him.
OS mapfinder is free and you can get some mapping data for not much money. You can try it and see if it’s any good.
Questions to consider: the data I buy, how many devices can I put it on? Do I have pay each year? What happens when I buy a new phone? What happens to my investment if the app is discontinued?
In addition to those Andy has mentioned I also use http://www.streetmap.co.uk/
That’s where I print off my 1:25 maps
73 Glyn
That is a bargain, a few days ago I popped into my local Smith’s and bought the Landranger sheet 63 for a trip next month and was shocked to be charged a tenner. Looking at my older stock I have a 1974 edition of the Brecon Beacons sheet 160 which cost £1.40 and a 1962 1" sheet 116 Dolgellau which cost £0.44. There is no substitute for a good OS map but they are becoming prohibitively expensive! The first time I went to Skye I bought five maps to cover the island, now that would cost £50. To put it in some sort of perspective, I bought the last half dozen Terry Pratchett books from the supermarket for the same price each as an OS map, which in effect is a single sheet of paper.
Brian
That will be all wrong looking. That was the shift from Imperial to 1:50000 but they just scaled them a bit so the font is wrong and the line thickness is wrong, They look old but the inch:mile maps I have newer. Maybe it’s because I can remember it being a subject of discussion. Also there was something odd with the contours, did they use imperial intervals but metric heights?
I always look for old OS maps when I see 2nd hand book shops etc. even though I have every 1:50k 2006 issue and every 1:50k & 1:25K 2014 issue in digital form. Spread a good map on the kitchen table and you can spend hours reading it. Oh dear, I need therapy. Or locking up!
I would be in the same ward - we could swap maps!
Metric heights and contours but the contour interval is 50 feet - insane!
An aside - my favourite map is the 1:25 000 second series NG 42/52 Cuillin Hills. It’s a work of art!
Brian
Yeah nearly bought a map from WHSmiths but then i thought I’d be able to get it cheaper online. Quick Google later and found dash4it selling 1:25k maps for £5.84 including the digital download of that map. Upon going to my parents the evening only to find they have decided to renew their map collection after noticing the maps I had borrowed were very holey and older than me! They’d bought theirs from exactly the same site!
i believe at the moment you get an additional 12% off with EASTER code to bring the cost of maps to around £5.11 from £5.84 ish. i am thinking of getting all 4 Lake District maps which will be a few pennies over £20 for all 4 maps during the deal. I do like a good paper map. I can sit and read/look at one for hours.
As an aside to your aside 
, I have a Bartholomews half inch, sheet 54, Skye & Wester Ross, in a frame on my wall, that is a work of art (the map not the frame).
Dash4it is certainly a good option for online purchasing, I’ve never been let down by them.
Recently purchased my first OS map with the new download thingy from there - Explorer 346, Berwick - although I’ve not downloaded the download yet.