Grid references for events

[King Penguin]

As Scott has pointed out previously, the leading 2 letters are critical.

The "carpark - View" link on the BOF website for the NGOC event in the Forest of Dean on Saturday takes you to Bing maps covering half of Europe. Zoom in and you end up just north of Lancaster !
The link on the NGOC site is correct.

[seabird]

Which must be because BOF ask Fixtures Secs to supply GRs which Bing can't handle. Our events are currently in exactly the same place as yours according to the BOF car park link.

Even a rural post code is likely to get us closer to the real car park.

[epocian]

Think it mighe be BOF - AIRE and EPOC's future events' carpark location is shown as adjacent to the River Lune just north of Lancaster - which makes it a tidy walk to the start!

[Clive Coles]

BOF are aware their map reference links on the Fixture records have been Bing'd. The developers will I understand introduce different code to sort this out. At present though they are working hard to get 4-tier support tested and in place for 2111 so, i guess, they have larger matters to address at present.

[Mrs H]

for 2111

Blimey - it' going to take that long?

[Clive Coles]

Mike hinted at our roadshow that the new code to support levels A,B,C & D as well as 1.2.& 3 should be available for use by Fixtures secretaries by the end of this month.With luck this release of new code will also address the Bing'd problem. I suspect each club will then be expected to reclasify their registered 2011 events to the new levels during December. But am guessing. Perhaps Spookster knows for sure.

I think we are on track to implement 4 -tiers as from 1.1.2011 That's not long ~ a lot of information, rules, guidlines are going to have to be released in the weeks ahead.

[sketchweppers]

I'm thinking about dropping the use of grid refs in event details due to the lack of support in their use.
In the old days (pre computer maps) a grid reference was only really useful if you had an OS map of the area and that's a reducing likelihood.

So Grid Ref is dead, long live Lat/Long!

No please don't - I do not have a 'pratnav' and have no intention of ever getting one.
I had a problem with my kids' scouts fireworks display tonight - the letter only gave a postcode! I had to turn on my computer, type the postcode into google maps, zoom out a bit, then get out the local OS map to find out where it was. If you must use postcodes or lat/long, please also include a grid reference.

[denzil53]

I do not have a 'pratnav' and have no intention of ever getting one.

Ah, a Jeremy Clarkson fan, I see!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... t-nav.html

[ryeland of doom]

Postcodes are utterly useless for this purposes. Car park fields don't have post codes, houses do. Great for finding urban events, but a typical trad O area?

Grid refs can be stuck in a search engine, fed to Get a map, geograph, whereisthepath, streetmap amongst others

Try SO4971 God knows what the Bringewood post codes are.

[Freefall]

The excellent nearby.org.uk site has already been mentioned and includes lots of conversions between coordinate systems as well as map links. Having found the event my own navigational bit of kit of choice is the Philips Road Atlas. Unlike Google maps, AA Atlases or any other rubbish this contains forests and contours and other topographic features of interest on a journey. The roads are also well represented.

[Adrian]

I think there is a role for postcodes, coordinates and grid refs in helping people locate events. As has been pointed out, there are sites that accept grid refs, though sometimes they aren't accepted with a space or without a space after the letters, which is frustrating.

And as far as postcodes are concerned, it's almost always possible to find a postcode within spitting distance of an event car park, though I've sometimes had to resort to putting variations of a postcode (EG12 2PQ, 2PR, 2PS, 2PT etc.) into google maps until it came up with the right one.

The location of next weekend's Wyre Forest event http://www.harlequins.org.uk/event_deta ... _flyer.pdf is SO755784 or DY12 3LD or 52.403 degN 2.361 degW and you can still enter at http://www.fabian4.co.uk/step1/ContactD ... ventID=375

[denzil53]

The location of next weekend's Wyre Forest event http://www.harlequins.org.uk/event_deta ... _flyer.pdf is SO755784 or DY12 3LD or 52.403 degN 2.361 degW and you can still enter at http://www.fabian4.co.uk/step1/ContactD ... ventID=375

Watch out for Remembrance Day parade in Bewdley - the traffic will be halted for a time around 11 o' clock.

[Paul Frost]

The problem with Grid Refs. is that you need to know which map the 2 letter code is located on and have that map.

Google make it easy for websites to have the functionality to just show a map and allow you to stick a pin wherever you want and then store those co-ordinates (as Lat/Lon) for future use. So links to most of the mapping sites can be generated as long as you know the Lat/Lon.
Without an OS map it is quite hard to find the Grid Ref. of a location.

I suspect that 99.9% of orienteers find out about events from a website (even if they see a poster/flyer they probably look at the website for more details), so a link to a mapping site that will also provide directions is the quickest way to see exactly where an event is.

There's nothing wrong with supplying Grid Refs. as long as it is in addition to a map link and Lat/Lon co-ordinates, rather than instead of.

I suspect that we will need to continue to provide Grid Refs. for a while yet, as generally orienteers seem resistant to change

[Familytaxi driver]

So when I add a place to "My Maps" on google maps and then right click is that the Latitude and longitude co ordinates that I see?
If so can they then be put into a sat nav to be used for diretions? Just a hopeful thought.

Then website directions can supply :-
link to google map with marker placed at car park, sat nav coordinates,grid ref and a few simple written directions for the approach in the local area.
That should cover it for most types people!

[Big Jon]

the most important thing is to remember to put out BIG signs at the turn-off from public road - doesn't always happen!