School have given us a grid ref to meet for start of DofE walk, I put it into google maps and get nothing. How am I supposed to use this?
IS there a way of turning on grid refs so I can easily sat nav to the start point?

https://gridreferencefinder.com/

https://gridreferencefinder.com/

Put the grid ref in that.

And either eyeball in Google maps.

Or use postcode. Or in fact I think lat long works but sometimes format of that can be a dick.

Should have used what3words…

…Grumbles about a world before Google Maps… (this is a mountain bike forum)

Install Google Earth.

Should have used what3words…

No, as they are trying to teach them proper navigation skills for their DoE.

What3words is a commercial operation that is rather flawed.

Everyone who ventures outdoors should understand grid references. Should be on the National Curriculum.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57156797

School have given us a grid ref to meet for start of DofE walk, I put it into google maps and get nothing. How am I supposed to use this?

Maybe ask your kid, they should know. 🙂

School have given us a grid ref to meet for start of DofE walk, I put it into google maps and get nothing. How am I supposed to use this?
IS there a way of turning on grid refs so I can easily sat nav to the start point?

The young people you are delivering to do the DoE walk should already be competent at working with an OS map and navigating to OS Grid Refs – otherwise how will they complete their expedition?

As said above gridreferenceginder. It gives you can use the coordinates in Google maps.

More pressure finding the grid reference to pick them up on Friday 🤪

I’m dropping eldest off in the Yorkshire Dales tomorrow, his mates dad is bringing them back Friday night.

Irony is that the oh so easy to use Google Maps has a companion service where you can search up stuff like ‘convert grid reference to Google maps’. Mint!

Could I also suggest.. dare I say it, bing maps? Whilst I’m usually a google maps user bing allows you to use an OS maps layer as an option. Can’t use it from an android smart phone though, would have to be desktop. Not sure you can “search” for the grid.. but it’s easy enough to find it the same way you would on a paper map.

Jeff

Or where’s the path.

Os map and a Google map side by side. Various layer options
https://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm

Decimal degrees v sexagesimal degrees issue maybe?

The young people you are delivering to do the DoE walk should already be competent at working with an OS map and navigating to OS Grid Refs – otherwise how will they complete their expedition?

And will probably have the map with that point on it, or they’ll get lost pretty quick…

As the kids will have planned the route, just ask them where it starts.

Streetmap does this – offers current OS mapping (more current than Bing) and a useful convert coordinates function

https://www.streetmap.co.uk/

Does the DofE candidate not have a map of their route? I also expect they have some basic map skills training unless this is first training session.

They can get you to the start then, using a map. They may need to translate over from OS to road map / Google / Waze / Apple maps easily.

(And for those saying, maps / co-ordinates / timings / compass point / map keys are all in CfE and NC, a mix of mainly maths and some geography)

This has to be a joke.

Should be on the National Curriculum.

It is, I was doing it with my 9yr old as part of her homeschooling during the start of this year’s lockdown.

I suspect the problems of projections – projecting a 3D surface onto a 2D map – may not be covered at that age, so the complexities of converting lat-lon to a National Grid are a bit over the top for schools. If you take an orange and could peel it in one go, how would you get the peel to sit flat on a 2D bit of paper? You have to cut it, or try and extend some bits and compress other bits to make it flat.

Google won’t put every possible projection including all the National Grids of every country (or multiple projections for big countries like the USA, Canada and Australia, Chine, Russia) because most people wouldn’t understand what was going on when the locations of things didn’t align between the Google map (a Web Mercator projection) to their topographic map. And yes get the person doing the DoE to read the map and tell you where the starting (and ending) place is.

It was the end, not the start, turns out the kids were at the Grid ref, having successfully navigated their way there. I was asked at the last minute to collect them due to another parent having some issue, and did not have a map.

Cougar, joshvegas cheers for your help.

As every tool has a use. Three words would work in this situation.

What Three Words is kinda evil.

And it’s fundamentally flawed, seems they’re unfamiliar with concepts like continental drift or earthquakes.

As every tool has a use. Three words would work in this situation.

Much like a nail can be hammered in with an adjustable spanner mind.

W3W isn’t much use if all you have is a grid ref.

And it’s fundamentally flawed, seems they’re unfamiliar with concepts like continental drift or earthquakes.

I doubt that if and earthquake or continental drift between the time the reference was created and the OP arrived put the OP’s location so far from people he was collecting that he couldn’t see them that the CRS would be his biggest issue!

W3W isn’t much use if all you have is a grid ref.

I presume 100th was suggesting that providing locations to parents might have been better in W3W as it didn’t rely on the parents having any special skill or knowledge.

https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ and type the grid ref into the search….

W3W as it didn’t rely on the parents having any special skill or knowledge.

It does rely on them having a phone an app and signal/credit .

Where as Jnr should really have the relevent map and skills already for DOE.

Yes true but I thought I read it as the pick up was needed (might have been crossed post) in which case an app that takes you to the correct point that the person needing picked up can chose the point works.

For the record I dislike W3W and having run dofe in various settings for 15years would expect all people involved to be prewarned off pick up and set down points. Mind you I once made groups take public transport so I’m probably not nurturing enough for dofe anymore.

Lots of good advice here but not enough sympathy. The OP has been given the parental equivalent of the dreaded ‘car park leg’.

Anyone who has ever done an ML, MBL or any type of outdoor leader assessment knows that the car park leg can destroy even the best navigators, it could bring Ray Mears to tears.

Never, ever allow yourself to have to navigate the car park leg

This has brought back traumatic memories of MBL assessment at Glenmore Lodge with a compass with (unbeknown to me) reversed polarity, in a car park. I need to go and sob in a dark room.

What Three Words is kinda evil.

And it’s fundamentally flawed, seems they’re unfamiliar with concepts like continental drift or earthquakes.

I’ve always thought it was kinda odd, nice in theory but a solution looking for a problem?

We’ve had lat/long forever, and GPS more recently, why another thing?

There was a news story a few years ago when some girls got lost in the alps, the sent an SOS via facebook… it turned out ok (they were lucky to get a mobile data)but words fail me.

It does rely on them having a phone an app and signal/credit .

Whereas, Jnr should really have the relevent map and skills already for DOE.

Jnr was sitting waiting at the pickup point for parent, wondering how long before they break out the “emergency phone”.
The parent was able to access STW so seems to have the technology access!

@franksinatra yep MBL assessment person before me allowed to get off course and tank us down a decent in the wrong direction. Then hand over to me to get us back to the top of the right climb with no local knowledge just a map. Managed it while talking shite all the way up as noted by assessor.