Scottish Maps

[ibi]

The National Library of Scotland, understandably, has an incredible collection of maps of Scotland.

Up until around 20 years ago the only way to access these was to visit NLS in Edinburgh.

In that period, however, NLS have had a project involving the digitisation of their maps, and the policy of making these available on their website.

Only in the last few years, however, given the more general availability of broadband, has it become practical to make the large image files involved available on the www.


For some years now, most useful town maps have been available at http://www.nls.uk/maps/townplans/townplans.html , in some cases including the names of those living in the houses shown.


Between 1843 and 1883 the Ordnance Survey produced a series of 6 inch to the mile maps of Scotland, - equivalent to 1 inch to around 300 yards.

The maps started to become available on an experimental NLS website a couple of years ago, but the maps weren't that easy to navigate; or link from one sheet to the next.


But now there is the website at http://geo.nls.uk/os6inch/google.html which leads to a map of the whole of Scotland, 'zoomable' in terms of the ability to focus in on specific areas on Scotland, and 'seamless' between the sheets,  with options to change the view on the basis of 'Map', 'Satellite', 'Hybrid', 'Terrain', and 'Historic', on a fully integrated basis.


A year ago, we moved to Dalry in N Ayrshire, my wife's home town, but not mine.  I'd previously looked at various sites in order to try to understand the 'lay of the land' in the last 150 years or so, with some success; but it wasn't until I came across http://geo.nls.uk/os6inch/google.html with the ability to switch between the 1800s 6in to the mile and modern maps, that I was fully able to relate the modern geography to that of 150 years or more ago.


Other entry points to the NLS maps are

http://geo.nls.uk/maps/

http://geo.nls.uk/os6inch/google.html

http://www.nls.uk/maps/os/6inch/index.html


Enjoy !!

Orraverybest

ibi

[Isles]

I must agree with ibi that the 6" to the mile maps are a wonderful resource.  In the past I have found that John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832 can be invaluable in tracing  place names which existed 180 years ago or more, especially the names of farms or small holdings which may have vanished. The atlas shows an amazing amount of detail when "zoomed".

Isles.

[jennycox2010]

Many thanks for this info.

[Seoras]

Thank you for this info,I managed to find two places that were there in the 1800's but now only exixt as a modern estate and a farm.

Seoras.