Beloved by armchair explorers and outdoors enthusiasts alike, Ordnance Survey’s Landranger maps have inspired countless adventures.
But for one keen cyclist they sparked a challenge that is almost certainly a first: riding across every map in Great Britain in a journey of more than 7,000 miles (11,250km).
Mark Wedgwood’s pedal-powered odyssey traversed every one of the Landranger series’ 204 maps in numerical order, from Shetland to Cornwall, took six months to complete and covered 26 separate coast-to-coast journeys through Scotland, England, Wales and the Isle of Man.
“I’ve never felt better,” said the 55-year-old. “It’s done me an enormous amount of good in every sense, and I have the happy problem that none of my trousers fit me any more. The next challenge is to keep it that way.”
January is traditionally a time for setting personal goals and planning adventures – kickstarting that long-held marathon dream perhaps, or pledging to tick off Scotland’s Munros.
For sheer originality, at least, Wedgwood’s “mad idea” will take some beating. It came amid a pandemic-influenced redundancy and, with his two children at university, against the quiet of an empty nest.
“I’ve thought for a long time that I had something big in me that I wanted to do, something that wasn’t just a repeat of someone else’s idea, and this seemed like the opportunity to finally do it,” said Wedgwood.
Rummaging through a lifetime’s collection of outdoor kit, he stumbled on an old piece of Ordnance Survey (OS) marketing material displaying the patchwork grid of Landranger maps laid over an outline of Britain.
Wedgwood said: “When I started looking more closely I realised it translated to a whole series of coast-to-coast rides. Once the idea bedded itself into my head, it wouldn’t go away, and I guess it was a question of when and not if.”
He embarked on his journey on 9 May, with his wife, Jenni, 59, joining him for the first two weeks of cycling – linked by ferry rides – through the Shetland and Orkney archipelagos.
In fact, it was these islands and the far north of Scotland which provided some of the voyage’s most memorable highlights.
“There were times in midsummer, where I was out on my bike, at maybe 10 or 11 at night and it was still sunny,” he says. “I was all alone in this phenomenal scenery with eagles and red deer and nothing else. They were such elemental experiences and I’d happily repeat them at the drop of a hat.”
Wedgwood cycled on and off for the next six months, sometimes for as long as six weeks at a time, staying with friends and relatives or in B&Bs and only returning home to Hathersage, Derbyshire, for family and social commitments.
He rode the final 65 miles (105km) crossing maps 203 and 204 from Land’s End to Fowey in Cornwall on 28 November. Save a few punctures and worn-out chains and cables, the entire challenge went without a hitch.
“My number one rule throughout was that it had to be enjoyable,” he said. “If for any reason that turned out differently I would have happily stopped and walked away.”
Ordnance Survey was founded in 1791. The origins of the Landranger series go back to 1801 and a map of Kent which was produced at one-inch scale.
It published its 204 metric scale maps, now a staple of outdoor activities, in the mid-1970s, with each sheet covering an area 40km by 40km.
Its spokesperson Rob Andrews said: “Mark has finished such a captivating and unique challenge, never done before, and we couldn’t be prouder that he has completed it using every single one of our 204 OS Landranger Maps.
“What an achievement, and what a demonstration of navigation to experience getting outside across Britain.”
And to anyone mulling a challenge for 2023, Wedgwood’s advice is unequivocal.
“Don’t put it off!” he says. “One of the reasons I did this is that you simply can’t afford to wait.”