Plotting a course
I was interested to hear Johnny Ball had a teenage ambition to make maps. My first job was as a trainee cartographer for the Ordnance Survey in Southampton, back in the early sixties. As a trainee you worked on the large-scale plans, all drawn by hand to very exacting standards, using a draughtsman’s pen, which you had to adjust to the correct size and fill by hand. Railway lines were particularly unpopular as the gauge used was much thinner and joins were harder to get perfect. The maps were outlined in blue on aluminium sheets and you had to draw in the lines first, then carefully lift off names and symbols from an adhesive sheet and place them correctly on the map. These were custom-made for each map. I was good at drawing rocky shorelines, so got given some quite complex shores. This is my practice sheet for rocks and hachures (tadpole -like symbols for slopes with the head at the higher end). You can see a blue outline of cliff which didn’t get filled in. When I look at it now I am amazed at my younger self’s patience and ability! More experienced draughtsmen were employed on scribing, again on metal plates, but with a scribing tool that cut into the surface. Both methods were extremely labour-intensive. Opportunities for women were not plentiful at that time, and jobs like surveying (using theodolites) were simply not open to women. I moved on after a couple of years. How times have changed for the better!
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LETTER OF THE MONTH
A BERGHAUS WATERPROOF JACKET FOR SUE
The letter of the month wins a Berghaus waterproof jacket worth (£225). The Cornice (men’s) and Glissade (women’s) jackets have been firm favourites with walkers for decades, are superb quality and always score highly in Country Walking gear tests. www.berghaus.com
Pre-match stroll
Ahead of a midweek trip to Brighton, with a few hours spare and a glorious post-storm blue sky, I decided to re-visit the short but stunning Seaford to Cuckmere Haven walk, a round trip of no more than 5 miles. What a reward with some stunning pictures that show off this scenic area (although they don’t show how breezy it was!).
Blue light, red face
You asked for embarrassing walking stories. Here’s mine. Out walking on my own and stepped into a marsh. Left leg was immediately thigh deep and I couldn’t pull myself out. Luckily I had my phone in the bib pocket of my dungarees. Four policemen and a fireman had to come and pull me out!
We did it our way
We’ve been CW readers for years, taking inspiration and tips from your magazine as well as doing many of your routes. This year, with our kids all grown and o
