Those who have used a road map/road atlas

[LisaJohnsonsFacebookMole]

Is there one that is best for the UK or a particular brand to look for, e.g. AA?

Any tips about them? Other than to know how to read a map of course.

We had two phones (early '80s,) because we lived on a farm, and Dad had one in the office, and we had the other in the kitchen (where most of life actually happened.) Not everyone on the farm had a phone, so sometimes we'd have messages for one of the workers, though often it would be a grain lorry getting lost. I can remember phone numbers from back then when I have no idea what numbers most people have now.

I like a road atlas, because you get a better overall view of the journey and what towns etc you'll be passing. I have a pretty good idea of British geography through years of navigating long journeys for parents (we never holidayed overseas.)

Did they use to be rented from BT or is that a false memory of mine?

Yup. You had no choice but to use a rented one from BT (Or Post Office Telephones as it was then known prior to privatisation). Your own choice was which colour! Even worse was that it took months to have one installed, even if there was already a phone line to the house - they came and fitted the phone when they felt like it. I remember our family moved into a house where the previous owners had a phone - it took about six months to get them to come and fit one for us, even though it was a five minute job of wiring it into the box in the hallway (no plug in's back then).

If you want it for driving AA, if you want large scale for walking OS, if you want town plans A to Z.

Did they use to be rented from BT or is that a false memory of mine?

My parents used to rent their phone. Which they continued to rent long after it was no longer compulsory. I hate to think how much they had paid for it by the time we persuaded them to just buy one.

Use a large scale road atlas, 3 mi./in. if you can find one these days. Also get a local map book for your own area.

It doesn't matter which road atlas you get, wherever you are going will always be in the page gutter, under a staple.

I still have one in my car. When I changed my car recently, I looked at it and realised it was from 2007 and I've never referred to it. I still keep it for emergencies.

However, if I'm going somewhere I don't know, I always look at Google maps before I go just to get my bearings, particularly the part very close to the destination. Sometimes, I also do a streetview just so I know exactly where I'm going and where to start looking for parking. I've even been known to print off a Google map if I'm going to be on foot for a while. It is so much easier to have this in your pocket than faff with your phone.

I have a recurring nightmare where I am trying to make an emergency call using a rotary phone and my fingers keep slipping and having to start again

I had that nightmare for decades. Then my unconscious eventually upgraded to smartphone tech, and now I have the same nightmare with an inability to tap the right bits of the keypad. Same psychic boil, different pus, as Samuel Beckett nearly said.

You can download your planned route for offline use, if you save it before taking off. At least google maps gives you that option. You might also be able to download maps of a whole area for offline use, it depends on the settings but you can do it on a computer; this could be possible in Android / Apple, too, but I haven't tried it yet.

AA for driving to specific places, Ordnance Survey for walking or for 'going for a drive...' that is looking at the map for features you might Want to visit and finding alternative ways to get there.

@ConstructionTime the postcodes are so big here that sat nav is pointless. We have to give ambulances what three words for our house.

I still have a few in my car.

Big AA one for the whole country, smaller one for my area, London A to Z.

Haven't used them in years.

WE aways buy a spiral bound one - they ar4e always cheap on the motorway or in The Works. We buy a new one every couple of years. although we use a SatNav we like to be able to see where we are going.

Spiral bound for driving. Will you have a navigator- I spent many hours navigating for my parents. I was quite young, nowadays I would be in the back with a booster seat.

I remember having rotary phone and knowing phone numbers off by heart, but only a few years. Then going on holiday and calling back once because in India we had to go to special shop to get international - everyone has mobiles now so can just borrow one.

This is what I was wandering

I guess op wants to know which one is reliable. Being in my 50s I learnt to drive before Google maps and sat nav. I like to work out where to go and not just blindly follow the voice. It’s a hard habit to break.

*wondering

@ForPearlViper
Sometimes, I also do a streetview just so I know exactly where I'm going and where to start looking for parking.
Ditto.
I do the overview, so I know which large towns I'll be passing. I memorise the basics of the route. I street view the last bit of the route to wherever it is that I am going.
Definite over-planning, but on the plus side I rarely take a wrong turn.

Thank you to all of you who have been so helpful with your answers!

I have found some but have also found one at 2.4 mi per inch. That would be even better as it would be more detailed, I think?

I do this too. It's really handy for where is the car park entrance etc.

Sat nav can be a bit out on postcode so it stops you arriving at the back of a place with no idea how to get to the front.

I think like printed maps it helps if you like to visualise your journey.

I passed my driving test, moved to a new county and started supply teaching in one fell swoop. I'd write a list of key roads/ turns that I'd need on my journey. It's amazing how many large secondary schools are hidden away up obscure cul-de-sacs!

It's always the last mile that's the trickiest bit.

A map can't be beaten for getting the sense of the big picture and where places are in relation to each other. Sat Navs are usually good for finer detail, but are a PITA for sudden diversions. They also tend to have odd blind spots about numbering junctons.

Sometimes, I also do a streetview just so I know exactly where I'm going and where to start looking for parking.

Same here, I travel a lot for work and always do this for the hotel and client offices.

Even did it when I went to the States this year. Had a good idea of what the hotel and surrounding area was like and where the offices were I was working. They were bloody huge!!

Big scale and easy to read.

I like paper maps and paper atlases because you can see both the big picture and the distance / link between smaller places that are far apart. Which is difficult on a phone screen.

Largest scale map you can find.

I still use them to journey plan.

We were taught to read OS maps at school. Such a useful skill. What happens if you are in a remote area and your phone dies?

Astonished that 'rotary phones' are a mystery. I am clearly old and out of touch. There is a YouTube video of a couple of teens working out how to use one, but I thought it was a comedy sketch...