Welcome Post
Hi there, map-lovers!
Available on this site is a complete history of cycling maps, including well over a hundred carefully-selected and restored extracts from the main providers of such maps. It has been created specifically and wholly for that purpose for the general public with an interest in such matters. it was first published in 2021 and is now much expanded.
Included as
individual pages are
- Introduction
- Development of Cycling
- individual pages on the various map
publishers
- Sources and references
- How to date Cycling Maps
- The Black Museum - map mistakes
Comments, which
are welcome, should be made to the following email address rather than this
blog:
March 2025 - I have added some internal hyperlinks to assist navigation around some of the lengthier pages. I have added a map and note on that long-forgotten cycling paradise - The Ripley Road (Development of Cycling page), and an extract of George. Philips' Cycling County Map of Sussex.
Reading old
cycling magazines one comes across queries as to what allowance should be made
for the additional distance involved in cycling along a hilly road, compared to
a flat one. Some commentators suggested adding as much as 10% in distance,
which is a vast over-estimate (though an under-estimate in respect of time). In
fact, taking distances from milestones would reflect ups and downs as their
spacing would be obtained by accurate measurement along the the actual road centreline,
hills and all.
To satisfy my (and
no doubt the reader’s) curiosity I examined the case of the mountain road from
Tornapress to Applecross, in the west of Scotland, the vertical profile of
which is as taxing as any in Britain. This profile is given in this Blog under
the Contour Road Book section of the Gall & Inglis page. Using the old
six-inch to a mile map available on the
National Library of Scotland website, which shows over sixty intermediate spot
heights and benchmarks, I disaggregated the road into that number of sections
and applied Pythagarus to each. The end result was that in an overall distance
of nearly twelve miles, the additional distance compared to a level road
amounted to a mere 168 feet, a correction of about 0.27%. The cyclist would
probably add a greater distance in ‘tacking’ up the steepest bits. Of course,
nobody would be that picky about distances these days…
It seems like only
yesterday... I still tend to think of the 1:50,000 Landranger maps, as
replacements for the long-lived 'one inch' map, as a fairly recent innovation,
but the map series celebrated its fiftieth birthday in 2024. It was 1974 when
the sheets covering southern England and the whole of Wales appeared, the
remainder of England and Scotland appearing in 1976.
Index of Map Extracts
|
Area/date |
Publisher |
Scale |
Included in Page/section |
England |
|
|
|
|
|
Northumberland: Berwick on
Tweed area, 1910 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,720 |
Gall & Inglis: Gall
& Inglis Strip Maps |
|
Northumberland: Alnwick,
Rothbury area c1900 |
W. & A. K. Johnston |
1:190,000 |
W. & A. K. Johnston:
3m to 1” Early Editions |
|
Northumberland: Alnwick,
Rothbury area c1925 |
G. W. Bacon |
|
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s
County Maps |
|
Carlisle area, c.1868 |
Cruchley |
1:126,720 |
Gall & Inglis
(Cruchley) |
|
Lake District, 1938 |
Bartholomew |
1:190,000 |
Bartholomew, Overview |
|
Lake District: Ambleside,
Windermere, Kendal & Wastwater |
G. W. Bacon |
|
Black Museum: Roads that
Nearly Were |
|
Lake District: Ambleside,
Windermere, Coniston, 1914 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,720 |
Gall & Inglis: Gall
& Inglis Safety or Graded Map (½” Edition) |
|
Lake District: Ambleside,
Windermere, Coniston, Kendal, c.1890 |
George Philip & Son |
|
George Philip & Son:
County Maps & County Cycling Maps |
|
Lake District: Ambleside,
Windermere, Coniston, Kendal, c.1890 |
Ward Lock |
1:190,000 |
W. & A. K. Johnston:
3m to 1” Later Editions |
|
Barrow in Furness &
Environs, 1912 & 1917 |
Bartholomew |
1:63,360, 1:190,000 |
Bartholomew: Pocket Series
Later Additions |
|
Lancaster & Environs,
c1870 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:63,360 |
Ordnance Survey: OS First
Edition |
|
Newcastle upon Tyne and
district, 1926 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: The 1920s
Quarter-inch Gt Britain Series |
|
Durham/Yorkshire:
Middleton in Teesdale, 1930 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: The 1920s
Quarter-inch Gt Britain Series |
|
Durham/Yorkshire: Stockton
& Middlesbrough area, 1988 |
Bartholomew |
1:100,000 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew
half-inch Maps, from Metrication to Withdrawal |
|
Durham/Yorkshire: Stockton
& Middlesbrough area, c1938 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,720 |
Gall & Inglis Graded
Maps |
|
Yorkshire Dales: Hawes,
Askrigg & Muker area |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Black Museum: The Blind
leading the Blind |
|
Yorkshire Dales: Skipton,
Grassington & Wharfedale 1921 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:253,440 |
Ordnance Survey: OS Quarter-inch
Scale Maps |
|
Yorkshire Dales: Settle,
Hawes, Leyburn, Pateley Bridge |
G. W. Bacon |
1:316,800 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s 5m to
an Inch Numbered Cycling Map Series |
|
Yorkshire: Ripon, Thirsk
area 1927 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS Half-inch
Scale Maps |
|
Yorkshire: Ilkley area |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,720 |
Development of Cycling |
|
Yorkshire: Leeds,
Bradford, Dewsbury, Barnsley, Doncaster, Castleford area c1900 |
Hovis (George Philip &
Son) |
1:316,800 |
Miscellaneous Cycle Map Publishers |
|
Yorkshire: Rotherham &
Sheffield area c1880 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,720 |
Gall & Inglis |
|
Yorkshire: Hull area, 1884 |
Letts (Walker) |
1:231,000 |
Letts |
|
Liverpool &
Birkenhead, 1912 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:63,600 |
G. W. Bacon: Miscellaneous
Bacon Maps |
|
Manchester & Environs |
G. W. Bacon |
1:316,800 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s 5m to
an Inch Numbered Cycling Map Series |
|
Manchester city centre,
c1905 |
Gall & Inglis |
|
Gall & Inglis: Contour
Road Books |
|
Central England & East
Wales, 1945 Youth Hostels map |
Bartholomew |
|
Bartholomew: Small-scale
National Maps |
|
Cheshire: Chester,
Knutsford, Crewe, 1939 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Black Museum |
|
Cheshire: Wilmslow &
Altrincham area 1914 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Half-inch Scale Maps |
|
Derbyshire: Buxton, Bakewell
& Matlock area, c1898 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew
Half-Inch Maps (England & Wales), Maps predating the National Series |
|
Derbyshire: Castleton,
Hathersage & Vicinity, 1923 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Half-inch Scale Maps |
|
Derbyshire: Castleton
& Vicinity, 1972 |
Ordnance Survey |
1: 25,000 |
Ordnance Survey: OS 1:25k
maps |
|
Derby & Environs,
c1912 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Development of Cycling |
|
Nottinghamshire: local
bypasses |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew
Half-Inch Maps (GB National Series) |
|
Nottinghamshire: The
Dukeries, 1914 |
E. J. Larby |
NTS |
Road Books |
|
Notts/Leics/Lincs: Fosse
Way, c 1910 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:316, 800 |
Development of Cycling |
|
Lincolnshire/Leics:
Grantham, Melton Mowbray area c1965 |
Geographia |
1:253,440 |
Geographia/Geographers |
|
Lincolnshire: Grantham
& Sleaford area, c1880 & 1918 |
W. H. Smith/ Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: W. H. Smith
Pocket Series: 1891 Renumbering |
|
Staffordshire 1914 |
RAC/ Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Miscellaneous Cycle Map Publishers:
RAC |
|
Shropshire: Shrewsbury
& Wellington area, 1933 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Half-inch Scale Maps |
|
Shropshire: Shrewsbury
& Wroxeter area, 1895 |
Savory’s, Cirencester |
1:126,720 |
Black Museum: Just Plain
Wrong |
|
Shropshire/Worcestershire:
Bewdley, Arley & Vicinity, c1940 |
Geographia |
1:126,720 |
Black Museum: Just Plain
Wrong |
|
West Midlands: Shrewsbury,
Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Gloucester |
G. W. Bacon |
1:700,000 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s
Small-scale Cycling Maps
|
|
Wolverhampton &
vicinity, c1896 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:63,360 |
G. W. Bacon: Miscellaneous
Bacon Maps |
|
Warwickshire: Stratford on
Avon, Alcester & Henley in Arden area, 1903 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: The England
& Wales National Half-inch Series |
|
Herefordshire/Worcestershire:
Kidderminster, Worcester & Leominster area, 1928 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: 1897
Quarter-inch England & Wales, 1866-1927 Series |
|
Herefordshire/Worcestershire:
Kidderminster, Worcester & Leominster area, 1936 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: The 1920s
Quarter-inch Gt Britain Series |
|
Herefordshire: Pembridge
& Weobley area, c1930 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:140,000 |
G. W. Bacon: Development
post WW1 |
|
Peterborough & King’s
Lynn area, 1888 |
James Wyld |
1:450,000 |
Miscellaneous Cycle Map Publishers |
|
Northampton &
Vicinity, 1904 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
How to Date Maps |
|
Cambridge & environs,
1903 |
Ordnance Survey/ G. W.
Bacon |
1:253,440 |
Development of Cycling |
|
Cambridge & environs,
1899 |
W. H. Smith |
1:253,440 |
Miscellaneous Cycle Map
Publishers: W. H. Smith |
|
Buckinghamshire:
Buckingham & Milton Keynes area, c1880 |
Letts |
1:126,720 |
Letts |
|
Bedfordshire: Luton,
Leighton Buzzard area c1905 |
George Philip & Son |
1:126,720 |
George Philip & Son:
Philips’ Clear Print Half inch to a Mile Series |
|
Norfolk: Cromer,
Sheringham & Holt area, c1897 & 1904 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: Early
Half-inch Maps preceding the National Series |
|
Norfolk: Cromer,
Sheringham & Holt area 1961 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Half-inch Scale Maps |
|
Norwich & Environs,
1908 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:63,360 |
Ordnance Survey: OS 2nd
& Subsequent Editions |
|
Gloucestershire: Forest of
Dean & Wye Valley c1893 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew’s
Quarter-inch England & Wales 1866-1927 |
|
Gloucestershire:
Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Cirencester c1906 |
W. & A. K. Johnston |
1:190,000 |
W. & A. K. Johnston:
Johnston’s 3m to 1” Early Editions |
|
Oxford & Environs,
c1920 |
George Philip & Son |
1:200,000 |
George Philip & Son:
Later versions of the Ravenstein mapping |
|
Oxford & Environs,
c1903 |
George Philip & Son |
1:126,720 |
George Philip & Son:
Philips’ Clear Print Half inch to a Mile Series |
|
Hertfordshire: Stevenage,
Puckeridge, Buntingford, Baldock, c1938 |
Geographers |
1:138,000 |
Geographia/Geographers |
|
Hertfordshire: Stevenage,
Puckeridge, Buntingford, Baldock, 1942 |
Geographia |
1:126.720 |
Geographia/Geographers |
|
Essex & bordering
counties, c1912 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:824,000 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon
small-scale maps |
|
Buckinghamshire: Amersham
& Beaconsfield, 1936 |
Bartholomew |
1:63,600 |
Bartholomew: Pocket Series
Subsequent Additions |
|
London & Environs,
1914 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: The 1920s
Quarter-inch Gt Britain Series |
|
London Road Surface Map,
1922 |
Bartholomew |
1:31,680 |
Bartholomew: Pocket Series
Subsequent Additions |
|
London West: Richmond,
Uxbridge, Staines c1890 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:63,360 |
G. W. Bacon: Miscellaneous
Bacon Maps |
|
London South-West: Windsor, Guildford, Reigate |
George Philip & Son |
1:380,000 |
Development of Cycling (The Ripley Road) |
|
Surrey: Dorking, Reigate
& Leatherhead, 1912 |
Geographia |
1:126,720 |
Geographia/Geographers |
|
Surrey: Dorking, Reigate
& Leatherhead, c1920 |
E. J. Larby |
1:126,720 |
E. J. Larby |
|
Surrey: Dorking, Reigate
& Horsham c1930 |
George Philip & Son |
1:200,000 |
George Philip & Son:
Later versions of the Ravenstein mapping |
|
Kent: Chatham &
Rochester, c1895 |
G. W. Bacon/ Ordnance
Survey |
1:63,600 |
G. W. Bacon: Miscellaneous
Bacon Maps |
|
Kent: Maidstone &
Environs, c1900 |
George Philip & Son |
1:200,000 |
George Philip & Son:
Philips’ 3m to an inch Series |
|
Kent: Maidstone &
Environs, 1969 |
George Philip & Son |
1:200,000 |
George Philip & Son:
Other Cycling Publications |
|
Somerset/Wilts: Bath,
Trowbridge area c1900 |
G. W. Bacon |
|
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s New
Series of Cycling Maps |
|
Salisbury & Environs
(postcard), c1908 |
G. W. Bacon |
|
G. W. Bacon: Miscellaneous
Bacon Maps |
|
Winchester & Environs,
1906 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Half-inch Scale Maps |
|
Sussex: Rye &
Winchelsea, 1927 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: The 1920s
Quarter-inch Gt Britain Series |
|
Sussex: Newhaven area 1897 |
George Philip & Son |
1:200,000 |
George Philip & Son:
Philips’ 3m to an inch Series |
|
Sussex: Newhaven area c.
1903 |
George Philip & Son |
1:217,000 |
George Philip & Son:
Philips’ County Maps |
|
Isle of Wight c. 1895 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: The
Bartholomew – Baddeley Connection |
|
Devon/Somerset: Taunton
& Tiverton area, c1894/1910 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:633,600 |
Gall & Inglis: Gall
& Inglis ‘Safety’ or ‘Graded’ Maps (small-scale national maps) |
|
Devon: Torrington,
Chulmleigh, Okehampton, Hatherleigh |
Bartholomew/ W. H. Smith |
1:253,440 |
Black Museum: Roads that
Never Were |
|
Devon: Exeter, Plymouth
area |
Bazaar Exchange & Mart |
1:760,000 |
Development of Cycling |
|
Devon: Crediton &
Environs, 1919 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:63,360 |
Ordnance Survey: OS 2nd
& Subsequent Editions |
|
Devon: Exeter &
Environs, c1910 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:85,000 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon
Editions of Bartholomew Half-inch Maps |
|
Devon/Cornwall: Plymouth
area, various dates |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720, 1:100,000 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew
Half-Inch Maps, The Combined Great Britain National Half-inch Series |
|
Cornwall: Padstow &
Wadebridge area c1960 |
W. & A. K. Johnston |
1:126,720 |
W. & A. K. Johnston:
Johnston’s Half Inch to Mile Series |
Wales |
|
|
|
|
|
Bettws-y-coed &
Llanrwst area, c1890 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: Half-Inch
Maps (England & Wales), Maps predating the National Series |
|
Dolgellau, Barmouth,
Ffestiniog & Harlech area 1957 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:250,000 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Quarter-inch Scale Maps |
|
Tregaron, Llanwrtyd Wells
& Llandovery 1915 |
Michelin |
1:200,000 |
Michelin |
|
Powys: Llandrindod Wells,
Rhayader & Builth area c1905 |
Tom Norton |
|
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s New
(1895) Series of Cycling Maps |
|
Powys/Dyfed: Brecon &
Llandovery area c1900 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:316,800 |
Gall & Inglis |
|
Powys: Presteigne, New
Radnor, Knighton c1920 |
Geographia |
1:190,000 |
Geographia/Geographers |
|
Glamorgan: Rhondda,
Aberdare c1926 |
W. & A. K. Johnston |
1:190,000 |
W. & A. K. Johnston:
3m to 1” Later Editions |
|
Glamorgan: Cardiff,
Llantrisant & Bridgend area, 1913 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:253,440 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Quarter-inch Scale Maps |
|
Monmouthshire & Wye
Valley c1893 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew’s
Quarter-inch England & Wales 1866-1927 |
Scotland |
|
|
|
|
|
Inverness, Ullapool &
Lairg area, 1901 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:633,600 |
Gall & Inglis: Gall
& Inglis ‘Safety’ or ‘Graded’ Maps (small-scale national maps) |
|
Loch Alsh, Mam Ratigan,
c1892 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: Scottish
Half-inch Maps, New Series |
|
Aberdeen & Deeside,
c1908 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:190,000 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s
Scottish Maps |
|
Oban & Dalmally area,
c1870 |
A. & C. Black |
1:253,000 |
Bartholomew: Barts
Quarter-inch Map of Scotland 1862 - 1911 |
|
Oban & Dalmally area,
1930s |
Bartholomew |
1:253,000 |
Bartholomew: Barts
Quarter-inch Map of Scotland 1911 onwards |
|
Stirling, Callander, 1930s |
H. T. Macpherson |
1:190,000 |
W. & A. K. Johnston:
3m to 1” Later Editions |
|
Helensburgh &
Vicinity, c1930 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,720 |
How to Date Maps |
|
Glasgow & Environs
1862/1928 |
A. & C. Black |
1:253,440 |
A. & C. Black |
|
Edinburgh & Environs,
1875 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: Scottish
Half-inch Maps, First Series |
|
Edinburgh & Environs,
1904 |
Bartholomew |
1:126,720 |
Bartholomew: Scottish
Half-inch Maps, New Series |
|
Edinburgh & Environs,
c1897 |
W. & A. K. Johnston |
1:190,000 |
W. & A. K. Johnston:
3m to 1” Early Editions |
|
Berwickshire |
Bartholomew |
1:633,600 |
Bartholomew: Small-scale
National Maps |
|
Galashiels, Melrose &
Selkirk area c1905 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,720 |
Gall & Inglis: Gall
& Inglis Safety or Graded Map (½” Edition) |
|
Southwest Scotland:
Glasgow to Ayr, Dumfries & the Solway, c1890 |
Bazaar Exchange & Mart |
1:760,000 |
Black Museum |
|
S. Ayrshire: Ardrossan,
Irvine, Kilwinnoch, Dalry c 1900 & 1930 |
Gall & Inglis |
1:126,000 |
Gall & Inglis: Gall
& Inglis own numbered half-inch maps |
|
Dumfries-shire, c1910 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:385,000 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s
Scottish Maps |
|
Dumfries-shire, c1920 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:316,800 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s
Scottish Maps |
|
Southern Scotland: Castle
Douglas area, c1890 |
W. & A. K. Johnston |
1:85,000 |
W. & A. K. Johnston |
|
Southern Scotland: Castle
Douglas & Kirkcudbright area, c1870 |
A. & C. Black |
1:253,440 |
A. & C. Black |
Ireland |
|
|
|
|
|
Londonderry & Environs
1970 |
Ordnance Survey of
Northern Ireland |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Half-inch Scale Maps |
|
Coleraine & Environs,
1912 |
Ordnance Survey of
Northern Ireland |
1:126,720 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Half-inch Scale Maps |
|
Sligo & Bundoran area,
1919 |
Bartholomew |
1:633,600 |
Bartholomew: Small-scale
National Maps |
|
Dublin & Environs,
c1896 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:126,720 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s Irish
Maps |
|
Dublin & Environs,
c1900 |
G. W. Bacon |
1:253,440 |
G. W. Bacon: Bacon’s Irish
Maps |
|
Dublin & Environs, c1896 |
Mecredy |
137,000 |
Mecredy |
|
Dublin, South & S.W. c1910
|
Mecredy |
1:126,720 |
Mecredy |
|
Killarney & Kenmare
area, c1900 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew’s
Quarter-inch Maps of Ireland |
|
Waterford & New Ross
area, c1904 |
G. W. Bacon, OS base |
1:253,440 |
Ordnance Survey: OS
Quarter-inch Scale Maps |
|
Waterford & New Ross
area, 1969 |
Bartholomew |
1:253,440 |
Bartholomew: Bartholomew’s
Quarter-inch Maps of Ireland |
|
Cork & Environs, 1918 |
Ordnance Survey |
1:63,360 |
Ordnance Survey: OS 2nd
& Subsequent Editions |
Other |
|
|
|
|
|
Paris, SW Environs, 1947 |
Michelin |
1:100,000 |
Michelin |
|
Czechia: Karlovy Vary
(Karlsbad) & Environs, c. 1905 |
Mittelbach, Leipsig |
1:300,000 |
Development of Cycling |
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