Let's hear it for the road atlas

[Brock]

Apart from the missus, my greatest friend when travelling in the motorhome is my road atlas.

 

When I cannot be out in the van, I can spend hours looking at the map, working out the lay of the land, and the interesting roads to travel. I can convert all the information I need for a journey by writing down a few directions on the back of an envelope.

 

Is there a better way of being informed about potential unsuitable roads than my wife, who when reading the atlas as we travelled along and pointing out points on interest, says things like, "There's a short cut next left along the river valley. The road is white and a bit wiggly with a few arrows - are you feeling brave?".

 

A good road atlas makes the road live in your mind. Reading the route before travelling enables you to picture it in your own mind and feel yourself climbing hills, swooping down into valleys. It's a way of living the journey. It also allows you the chance to decide where you go and to pick up all those interesting points of interest along the way.

 

I'm not knocking satnavs. I have used them and think they are ideal for what are designed to do. I just find a road atlas allows me to imagine the journey and savour that still to come. It brings to journey to life.

 

[MandyAndy]

I too love reading the map and sending up up blind alleys so to speak.

 

I hide the page from him though so he doesn't know he is about to climb a mountain with 20 hairpins on it till we start to go up and it shows on his Sat Nav. as a worm.

 

His face is a picture :-D and so is the view when we get to the top. Had he seen a map before our Alps holiday we wouldn't have had half the views we got!!

 

I think the best of both worlds is a good mix.

 

Mandy

[Usinmyknaus]

I very much agree. GPS is, like all technology, just a tool. Whether walking and GPS, flying and GPS or motoring and GPS, maps and the intelligent interpretation of them, make any journey more interesting, and often safer. There is also something very satisfying, I think, about interpreting a map, forming a three dimensional image in one's head and then watching as the scene unfolds before one's eyes.

 

Paper maps also have the distinctly useful characteristics of not developing flat batteries or absent satellites at the very moment the user is "uncertain of their position" or er, lost.

 

Bob

[Bob Elswood]

Yes I agree up to a point.

 

I have found that since using SatNav I don't have half as many rows with the Missus though !!!!

 

It's very difficult to have an argument with some monotone voice coming out of a box attached to the windscreen !!

 

Come to think of it, I think my missus has a monotone voice, so why do I argue with her !!

 

Hope she does not see this , she will kill me !!!!!!!!!!

 

Best Wishes

Bob

[LordThornber]

We also like the map reading element of route finding.

 

However, 6 months ago I attended a funeral at a location which was very difficult to find and was late for the start of it. I was furious at the lack of respect for the deceased and the fact that I was taking 3 colleagues with me.

 

This prompted me to buy a cheap sat nav, I didn't want to pay a lot because of what I said earlier, i.e we enjoy the maps. However, in France late last year, the sat nav really came into it's own by directing us to a large shopping area. We were a bit lost and a lot tired and it really came up trumps.

 

I'm certain that having a foot in both camps is the winner.

 

Michael Palin :D

[JohnP]

I always plan my journey in detail in advance from a map and then transfer it to sat-nav. The sat-nav doesn't get much chance to go off my chosen route because of the number of waypoints I insert.

 

I find that referring to a map frequently during a journey a bit of a bind.

 

Then, I travel alone.

 

 

[Guest JudgeMental]

 

I do the same as JohnP, plan route on PC maps and download to Sat Nav.

 

No more arguments and less wrong turns is great, but main advantage is being directed automatically to obscure Aires in the middle of the night wnen tired......

[Coachman]

Am i the only one who has a wife that goes to sleep most of the way until i say"look at that". Plus the fact she said i got on her nerves arguing with the TOM TOM.

[Mel B]

We use maps for planning where we're going to go each day, looking for interesting places to visit etc, we then pre-programme the sat nav with all the town/village names we're interested in so its ready for the off when we need it, this includes our stop for the following night, be it an aire, campsite etc.

 

Whilst we like sat nav and use it an awful lot, I do also like to follow the route on the map, that way we don't miss anything worth seeing and also if the sat nav looses the plot (which they sometimes do!) or we hit roadworks etc, I can easily get us round and en-route again, instead of the sat nav constrantly trying to re-route us back to the origianl route. However, is nice to be able to sit back and look at the scenery and not worry about missing a turn etc, it also has the benefit of letting hubby see the layout of the road ahead clearly which is especially useful when approaching awkward junctions as he can position the van correctly and safely.

 

I wouldn't want to be without either.

 

As an aside, did anyone watch "Oz and James'" latest adventure where they were touring round Britain looking for beer makers etc? There was one part where they were driving along and Oz was experimenting with the sat nav and setting it to different languages, it was absolutely hilarious when the set it to one particular one (can't remember what it was) but they were absolutely helpless! I might give this a try with our sat nav - could be a good giggle!

 

When we went to France a couple of years ago we did actually set it to French as we wanted to practice our language skills, it was extremely useful in getting us used to the standard directional phrases, just don't do it when it's busy though!

[yeti]

I bought my sat nav becaus the boss falls asleep on the co-pilots seat.

But I too enjoy reading a good atlas and plan a route from my armchair.

The best atlas is the Phillips navigator.

[carolh]

I too love reading a map and planning our trip. And the sat nav has come up trumps loads of times to find those remote aires when you are tired.

 

Charles just gets in and drives - he expects to be told where to go!! I can't do that, I like to be prepared and his map reading skills are abysmal!!!

 

So best of both worlds for us.

[Rapido-lass]

We both enjoy browsing maps, and there's always one in the smallest room of the house! Half the fun of being able to go where you want is the fact you have to have an idea of what's where, so by travelling in the mind via the maps is brilliant - you do have to have an imagination to be able to transport yourself there. Having said that satnav's are a guide and a guide only (useful at times). If I had to choose just one it would be the maps. I also hasten to add, the satnav has made more mistakes (ie sending us down unsuitable roads etc) than I do reading a map which says something!!

[Brian Kirby]

This off-topic digression is by way of adding a comment in favour of maps.

This afternoon we went to Gatwick, to look at bicycles at a branch of Evans cycles.  The Gatwick branch of Evans adjoins their national distribution centre and warehouse, so pretty much anything in stock in the warehouse can be viewed, by arrangement.  The Evans complex comprises two impressively large, slick, and fairly new, buildings, in a road called James Watt Way, on a large, and busy industrial estate.  Not surprisingly, my 2002 version of Autoroute does not show James Watt Way, so I checked the location on Google Earth and yes, there it was, in glorious Technicolour, and decided to use our Garmin Nuvi to get there. 

To my surprise the Garmin maps, City Navigator Europe NT 2008, didn't show James Watt Way either, though it did show the older Whittle Way, that leads to it! 

When we arrived, I was surprised at the maturity of the external landscaping on such a new building, so I asked one of Evans nice mature chaps how long the buildings had been there.  "Well", said he, "I don't know for sure because I've only been here a little over four years, but it was all in full operation when I arrived, so it must have been here for at least five years". 

That would make the handover date from the contractor sometime around the end of 2003, I guess.  Bit galling when the map version on the Nuvi is supposed to be 2008, yet a road clearly completed in 2003/4 isn't shown.  Even more galling as I bought the Nuvi in mid 2008, and having now had it for 7 months or so, I have jut been invited to update the maps to the 2009 version - at a cost of £60!!  And even, even, more galling when I checked the 2009 update version on line (which to Garmin's credit is possible) to find that the same road is still missing!!!  £60, for a set of "2009" electronic maps that are have not yet caught up with 2004!!!  I should co-co.  :-)

[malc d]

As a road atlas fan I am secure in the knowledge that mine will go on working even if the satellites all get switched off.

 

;-) ;-)

[Stuwsmith]

Should have bought a TomTom Brian, James Watt Way is on their map! Having said that TomTom isnt perfect either. There does seem to be severe lag in certain areas on GPS maps and neither of the two main mapping organisations seem to be able to get themselves up to date. As has been said many times before Satnavs can be very useful aids when used with common sense and any route checked before setting off - with a paper map if possible. I love maps and can spend considerable time "reading" them but I also find Satnavs useful too and find the technology behind them fascinating.  Wonder what we will be using in 20 years time?

[Whiskeymac]

The good old road atlas is essential when seeking CL sites, but so very few of them have the counties and their boundaries clearly marked.  This is pretty essential when working out where in the handbook to search for a site.  I blame it on the advent of postcodes which seem to have degraded the significance of the county in the authors' minds.

[rupert123]

Whiskeymac - 2009-02-17 9:56 PM

 

The good old road atlas is essential when seeking CL sites, but so very few of them have the counties and their boundaries clearly marked.  This is pretty essential when working out where in the handbook to search for a site.  I blame it on the advent of postcodes which seem to have degraded the significance of the county in the authors' minds.

 

Why when the CC has a free download of the exact location of all their CL's that give pin point location on your satnav.

[Whiskeymac]

Thanks for the info but if you want to read about the site and phone to book, you still have to look it up.

[Basil]

Brian Kirby - 2009-02-17 9:16 PM

This off-topic digression is by way of adding a comment in favour of maps.

This afternoon we went to Gatwick, to look at bicycles at a branch of Evans cycles. ........... Even more galling as I bought the Nuvi in mid 2008, and having now had it for 7 months or so, I have jut been invited to update the maps to the 2009 version - at a cost of £60!! And even, even, more galling when I checked the 2009 update version on line (which to Garmin's credit is possible) to find that the same road is still missing!!! £60, for a set of "2009" electronic maps that are have not yet caught up with 2004!!! I should co-co. :-)

Stuwsmith - 2009-02-17 9:55 PMShould have bought a TomTom Brian, James Watt Way is on their map! .........

Yes Stuwsmith is quite right Tom Tom has it on mapping four versions back, just checked on my back up files, so that was 2005 and it comes under Crawley.I have always said that any SatNav is only as good as its latest mapping and that is where Tom Tom wins hands down with their updating process.We always have a paper map to hand as a sat nav is just a tool to us, to help you, as is a map book so the more tools in your armoury the better in my view.BasP.S. Did you buy a bike Brian?

[Basil]

Whiskeymac - 2009-02-17 10:54 PM

 

Thanks for the info but if you want to read about the site and phone to book, you still have to look it up.

 

Yes you are right about that but, as Rupert rightly says, the satnav is best for getting you straight there without the need for a map.

I'm looking forward to the time that CL's are put into a PDA style format, like Camping Car Info's marvelous Aires information where all the details with pictures and other users comments are available to you at the touch of a button, great piece of work by them.

 

Bas

[alan]

Hi

Patricia, my better half and I have got into a routine in the evening when in France, as we have got a rough idea of where we are going the following day so we plan it out on the map the way we would like to go and then persuade Olga, our faithful satnav, to go the same route! That way, Patricia ends up arguing with the satnav and not me!

Bob, you are a braver man than I am.

Mel B, smashing idea about putting the satnav over to French

Alan

[Losos]

JohnP - 2009-02-08 4:13 PM I always plan my journey in detail in advance from a map and then transfer it to sat-nav. The sat-nav doesn't get much chance to go off my chosen route because of the number of waypoints I insert. I find that referring to a map frequently during a journey a bit of a bind. Then, I travel alone.

John, I expect to be traveling alone quite a lot too, I've never used sat nav yet, and like you say trying to look at a map while moving is not a good idea.

My problem is that if the sat nav tells me to turn left and I don't think that is the correct turning I simply won't believe it, so what is the point of paying a lot of money for a sat nav then.

I like maps, I like looking at all the information around the route (Which I assume you don't get with sat nav) and since I discovered Google maps I can print off a large scale map for when I get to within say 10 miles of my destination. Good things maps.

[Patricia]

I too love maps, enjoyed navigating by them and thought sat-navs were highly over-rated. However, since having to travel alone I find the TomTom a Godsend although I have to be alert as it sometimes encourages me to take an unsuitable shortcut. When this happens I just keep straight on and the sat-nav soon picks up my direction and finds another more suitable route. Helps break the boredom too!

[Usinmyknaus]

Stuwsmith - 2009-02-17 9:55 PM

 

Should have bought a TomTom Brian, James Watt Way is on their map! Having said that TomTom isnt perfect either. There does seem to be severe lag in certain areas on GPS maps and neither of the two main mapping organisations seem to be able to get themselves up to date. As has been said many times before Satnavs can be very useful aids when used with common sense and any route checked before setting off - with a paper map if possible. I love maps and can spend considerable time "reading" them but I also find Satnavs useful too and find the technology behind them fascinating.  Wonder what we will be using in 20 years time?

 

Plagiarising an old aviation joke - I expect in 20 years our health and safety obsessed authorities will have mandated that our vehicles contain a super computer and a dog. The super computer will control every aspect of vehicle operation - including notifying the Home Office of each metre we travel - and the dog will be there to bite us if we try to turn off the computer.

 

Bob :-)

[Brian Kirby]

alan - 2009-02-18 11:43 AM Hi Patricia, my better half and I have got into a routine in the evening when in France, as we have got a rough idea of where we are going the following day so we plan it out on the map the way we would like to go and then persuade Olga, our faithful satnav, to go the same route! That way, Patricia ends up arguing with the satnav and not me! Bob, you are a braver man than I am. Mel B, smashing idea about putting the satnav over to French Alan

Alan

I assume you transfer your route to the sat nav manually, by inserting the waypoints on the sat nav screen?  So, how does the sat nav behave when you hit the inevitable French "Deviation" so that the next logical waypoint is no longer logical.  I ask, because, having trained the Nuvi to follow my preferred route, when confronted by a departure it merely responded by trying to navigate back to the missed waypoint.  To cancel the waypoint safely meant stopping, and it was not practical to stop at that point.  A little message saying "do you wish to cancel the missed waypoint" would have been much appreciated!  Does yours do that?