The UK is probably the most mapped country on Earth. Led by the Ordnance Survey, originally an organisation created, as the name implies for military objectives, the surveying of the country has been comprehensive throughout the centuries.

The real driver for mapping to be undertaken was when England was being caught between a rebellion in Scotland and war with France. It was during this period that King George II commissioned a military survey of the highlands of Scotland during 1746.

The task of surveying this mountainous region was given to an engineer named William Roy, who had the foresight to understand how important maps were to military adventures.

Old mapping of the UK to present day

In the last decade or so, in the UK at least, mapping has evolved massively in terms of accuracy, richness of information and the application to which it can be applied.

The leaps in accuracy is of course down to GPS technology, essentially, using a group of satellites to accurate map real world features, something our ancestors would have marvelled at. The richness of information available on modern digital mapping is also far in advance of old UK mapping. For example, it is now possible to view highly detailed aerial photography and mapping together on some mapping web sites, to get a real understanding of the layout of a particular location. Doubtless, these trends will continue into the future with the explosion in digital devices capable of displaying maps such as mobile phones.