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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 24/08/2026

This #MapMonday, let's take another look at part of SABRE Maps. Today is one of our favourites - Map Fader. Pick a layer that you want to look at, click the "Map Fader" button, and pick a second layer, and compare the two! It works with any #map layers we have, so you can easily see any changes!

SABRE Maps screenshot showing the Map Fader functionality in the area of Toddington, with the 1932 OS London Passenger Transport Map and the 1974 Ordnance Survey Landranger being compared at 50% each.

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Reposted by SABRE Maps

Old UK Print Ads 70s/80s/90s @oldukprintads7890s.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Aug 1979: 1:50 000 Maps ad from Ordnance Survey «Is there life beyond the motorways?»

This is an advertisement for Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 maps. It suggests that using motorways to travel may cause you to miss a lot of the country. The maps cover the whole of Britain and feature information on roads, bridlepaths, footpaths, churches, greenhouses, pubs, Youth Hostels, telephone boxes, picnic areas, and campsites.

Is there life beyond the motorways?

Thanks to the motorways, you can drive from one end of the country to the other in less than a day.
But whilst it may be worth giving up a few of the more leisurely pleasures of motoring to cut a few hours off the journey, there's no need to miss anything when you arrive.
The Ordnance Survey's 1:50 000 maps cover the whole of Britain. (To the uninitiated 1:50 000 is just over one inch to the mile.)
At that sort of scale there's plenty of room for detail.
For a start, every right of way is marked-from Motorways through A and B roads, right down to the smallest bridlepath and footpath.
But far from just helping you get around, they'll give you a pretty good idea of what to expect when you arrive.
There are over two hundred symbols representing everything from churches to greenhouses.
You'll find pubs, Youth Hostels, telephone boxes, and even public conveniences marked.
With a little bit of practice at reading the contours it's possible to get a picture of the kind of terrain you'll find.
And on most of the maps you'll even find a number of tourist features like picnic areas and camp sites.
Before you set off on your next trip, get hold of the 1:50 000 map of the area and have a long hard look at it.
When you finally arrive, it'll seem like you've been there a hundred times before.
Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 Series.
Information & Enquiries, Ordnance Survey, Southampton, SO9 4DH.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 18/08/2026

And you can see where the flyover was meant to go on our Ringways map, the most accurate (and indeed only) map of London's unrealised motorway plans of the era. www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/index.p...

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 17/08/2026

Another part of SABRE Maps that you might not have used or forgotten about is our Sheetfinder - pick your scale, click on the location and the #maps covering that location at that scale appear in the right hand area. Click on the thumbnail, and it takes you to the map. Easy! buff.ly/f7tZpdc

Screenshot of the SABRE Maps Sheetfinder, with the area to the north of the island of Ireland selected to show all the Ordnance Survey #maps available in that location.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 10/08/2026

This #MapMonday we'll leave a reminder of one of the other applications in the SABRE Maps family - the Co-ordinate Finder. Mouse over the map of GB or IRL, and get the location of that point in lots of modern and archaic co-ordinate formats. Perfect for map nerds like us! buff.ly/JraIUl8

#Map of Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire showing the location of the town center in a whole range of GB and Ireland co-ordinate systems

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 03/08/2026

This #MapMonday sees a few more Ordnance Survey Ireland Half Inch #maps from 1971 added to SABRE Maps, with one of my favourite physical sheets. Yes, the physical map really does look like that, with the red printing layer completely misaligned to the rest of the map. buff.ly/Vx7jBc7

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 27/07/2026

Another #MapMonday means more #maps on SABRE Maps! This week we bring 8 Half Inch maps from 1970-72. Our favourite in this batch are the western half of the OSNI Half Inch Second Series from 1970, which includes all of County Donegal as well as the western half of NI. buff.ly/0iOZSxr

Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland Half Inch Second Series showing Letterkenny and the surrounding areas in County Donegal

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Mike @mikeyashworth.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I've had reason to open out some of my Ordnance Survey "Old Series" one-inch maps today so here's the first edition 1813 section of Sussex covering Bexhill. @bexhillmuseum.bsky.social

Section of the OS 'old series' first edition one-inch map sheet V published in 1813 showing Bexhill at lower right along the coastal section of the county. The map is heavily hatchured to show topography, along with rivers, roads villages and woodland features.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 20/07/2026

#MapMonday sees more #maps added to SABRE Maps, with three more Half Inch sheets added to our 1968 layer. A few weeks ago we complained about the 1961 Snowdon sheet not being ready for Number Six, well, he was there in 1968, and so is The Village! #ThePrisoner buff.ly/1rC4ClC

Ordnance Survey OS map extract from the Half Inch sheet of Snowdonia from 1968, showing Portmeirion during the filming of The Prisoner TV series

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 13/07/2026

Another #MapMonday, another set of #maps added to SABRE Maps. This week's additions are 10 Half Inch maps from 1966 and 1967, mostly covering Ireland, but there's one Welsh sheet in the batch as well for you all to enjoy, completely freely. buff.ly/Wl7J8b5

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Ireland Half Inch Map from 1967 showing the area around Derry. Perhaps surprisingly to modern eyes, Derry is labelled Londonderry on this map produced by OSI in Dublin.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 06/07/2026

It's been a really busy week for us this week, so there's just a single layer been added to SABRE Maps this #MapMonday- half a dozen Half Inch #maps from 1965 covering quite a large part of Ireland. We hope you're enjoying them! buff.ly/OHuqI0E

Extract from an Ordnance Survey Ireland Half Inch map of Galway and the surrounding areas.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 29/06/2026

More OS, OSI and OSNI #maps at the Half Inch scale this week have been added to SABRE Maps, with 15 maps for you to enjoy. Disappointingly, the 1961 map of Snowdonia doesn't appear to consider The Village at Portmerion, soon to welcome Number Six, to be important enough to label. #ThePrisoner

Extract from Ordnance Survey OS map of Snowdonia from 1961, showing the area around Portmadoc and Morfa Harlech on the boundary between Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire, Wales

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 22/06/2026

#MapMonday rolls around again, and it's going to be a hot one! So, let's give you some more Ordnance Survey Half Inch #maps from 1958-60, with a set containing both GB and IRL sheets. There's two editions of the Birmingham Half Inch sheet, so what differences can you find? buff.ly/70vRsYG

Extract from the Ordnance Survey OS map at the Half Inch scale, showing the Kidderminster area of Worcestershire.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 15/06/2026

In this #MapMonday SABRE Maps update, we're bringing more Ordnance Survey Half Inch #maps to life, with sheets published in 1955, 1956 and 1957 across Ireland, adding yet more editions to our already large collection of mapping across the island. buff.ly/t29jfAo

Ordnance Survey Ireland OSI map from 1956 showing Dublin and the surrounding area.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 08/06/2026

SABRE Maps has the largest collection anywhere of modern Ordnance Survey GB 1:250k #OpenData #maps, all freely available for people to see. And now on #MapMonday the brand new 2026 edition is here for you to enjoy! Try our Map Fader and see what changes from 2025 you can find buff.ly/KY5kHm6

OS map extract from the newly released 2026 OpenData 1:250k mapping, showing the latest section of the A465 Heads of the Valley Road dualling

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Saw this on a map @stuartackland.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

It's World Bicycle Day today, here are two Ordnance Survey map covers from between the wars by OS in-house artist Ellis Martin (more examples of his work below). More free time after WWI led to an increase in walking and cycling maps, often with covers as attractive as these @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 01/06/2026

This #MapMonday, we're having a small pause from the Half Inch journey, whilst we realise that in January we completely missed two 1975 Quarter Inch OSI #maps for the southern part of #Ireland. So, we'll go a long way to make it up... buff.ly/4SHJ4vc

Map extract from the Ordnance Survey Ireland Quarter Inch map from 1975 showing the area around Tipperary

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 25/05/2026

Phew! What a scorcher! And what more could we ask to enjoy the warm weather this #MapMonday than to spend some of it in front of some newly uploaded Half Inch #maps of Ireland on SABRE Maps, from between 1948 and 1952. buff.ly/36FVAf4

Map extract from the Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland Half Inch map of Omagh, dated 1948.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 18/05/2026

A challenge for everyone this #MapMonday! We've added four Half Inch #maps from 1945 and 1946; and two of them are two different revisions of the Ordnance Survey Half Inch District sheet of Greater London, as well as two sheets covering parts of Ireland.

Map extract from the Ordnance Survey OS map of Greater London at the Half Inch scale from 1945, showing the Woking, Weybridge and Chertsey area.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 11/05/2026

New on SABRE Maps this #MapMonday? Half Inch #maps from 1939 - covering parts of all of the nations of our islands. Once again, it's amazing how much change there has been since these map was published - the Falls Road really isn't on the edge of Belfast any more for example! buff.ly/Uch0OEX

An extract from the Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland OSNI Half Inch map of Belfast from 1939.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 07/05/2026

As a reminder, we have every single edition of every single OS One Inch Seventh Series available to view on SABRE Maps! ...except that one pesky sheet of Doncaster (Revision A/) which we cannot find anywhere, so if anyone has one, or know anywhere that has one, please let us know!

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 04/05/2026

Five more new #maps have been made available on SABRE Maps this #MapMonday at the Half Inch scale from 1936-37. Our favourite is definitely the Peak District district map, featuring those well-known Peak District places like Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and North Florida... buff.ly/F4gISgn

Map extract from the Ordnance Survey OS map at the Half Inch scale of the Peak District from 1936 showing part of southern Lancashire

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 27/04/2026

Just the one additional sheet to highlight on SABRE Maps this #MapMonday - the 1935 Ordnance Survey Half Inch #Map of Greater London. Taking in a lot more than the modern definition of Greater London, it includes lots of places that look very, very different today... buff.ly/YvH8yy9

An extract from the 1935 Greater London Half Inch OS map showing what today is Milton Keynes, but back then was fields and villages

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 20/04/2026

Three more Ordnance Survey #map sheets have been added to SABRE Maps for #MapMonday, at the Half Inch scale showing the English Midlands in 1934. The Birmingham District Yard Grid sheet shows just how much the West Midlands conurbation has merged together over the last 90 years! buff.ly/50ZNiZO

Map extract from the 1934 Ordnance Survey OS map at the Half Inch scale of Birmingham District, showing what is now the West Midlands conurbation, and how the Black Country really was lots of small towns back then between Birmingham to the SE and Wolverhampton to the NW.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 13/04/2026

Our next stop in our journey through the Ordnance Survey Half Inch #maps of Great Britain and Ireland on this #MapMonday is to 1932. Here, we've added three new maps, and they illustrate just how much of a mess OS Half Inch mapping was!

OS map extract from the Ordnance Survey Half Inch map of the Island of Skye from 1932

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SABRE @sabre-roads.org.uk · 10/04/2026

Definitely too good to not share. Incidentally, the second temporary terminal as the south end of the Penrith Bypass is caught on SABRE Maps at www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/index.p...

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 07/04/2026

Our friends at the NLS bringing yet more mapping to the table. Always good to see!

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 06/04/2026

Happy Easter Monday to all who celebrate it! For this #MapMonday, we're adding three more OS maps at the Half Inch scale, one from 1927 and two from 1928. We particularly like the 1927 London sheet, as it captures the Watford bypass "in course of construction". buff.ly/pOyMfro

Extract from the 1927 Ordnance Survey OS #map of London at the Half Inch scale, showing the Watford Bypass as "in course of construction"

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 30/03/2026

It's time for a whole load of new #maps at a new scale - so let's talk about the Half Inch. Between the wars, they were common in both Great Britain and Ireland, but after WW2 they became the primary scale in Ireland but mostly disappeared in GB in favour of One Inch maps.

Extract from Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) #map showing Drogheda at the Half Inch scale from 1918

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 23/03/2026

A conversation had elsewhere reminded us to point out this #MapMonday that whilst SABRE Maps does focus on #maps of Great Britain and Ireland, that we do have some historic mapping of elsewhere, for example, these lovely US Army maps of Europe from 1959. buff.ly/OWZtNQJ

Extract from a US Army #map from 1959, showing Berlin and the surrounding area, including the occupation sector boundaries.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 23/03/2026

I'm not sure we've got this sheet online yet. Does anyone have a copy that we can scan and share? 🤣

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 17/03/2026

More plan-scale mapping from our friends at the NLS. Go check these new maps out, they're great!

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Reposted by SABRE Maps

Amalia S. Levi, PhD @amaliasl.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Archives are neither dusty nor old stuff neither dead nor boring. Archives are what we make of them. Each generation, each of us sees diferent things in an item. Each of us adds something new every time we engage. Each item in the archives is the sum of all these interactions.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 16/03/2026

#MapMonday is here again! And with it, we bring a whole new #map layer - the Ordnance Survey One Inch Fifth Edition from 1940-41. Yes, civilian mapping continued to be produced well into World War 2, so here are three of those maps for your delectation and delight. buff.ly/B8p5Fcn

Extract from an Ordnance Survey map from the OS One Inch Fifth Edition from 1940 showing Swindon now on SABRE Maps

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 12/03/2026

Want to go between somewhere to the north of Manchester and somewhere to the south by train in 1986? Your best choice was probably including a walk right the way across Manchester city centre. It's incredible looking back how much the GMPTE rail service at the time was in two halves.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 12/03/2026

We like this map a lot too - it's not quite geographic, not quite diagrammatic, but somehow it all works nicely. (though we're not old enough to remember it back in the day, no, absolutely not...)

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 10/03/2026

Trying to scan OSI Half Inch sheets from the 1960s and early 1970s with the cardboard cover stuck on the back is not easy! You end up with a bit that's not quite flat and so map sections are out of focus. @tailteeireann.bsky.social - any chance you have these as flat maps you'd scan for us? 😂

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 09/03/2026

We try to be nothing if not consistent here at SABRE Maps for #MapMonday. So following the update to our 1938 OS One Inch Fifth Edition layer, here's the update to the 1939 one! One new map and 3 updated with new scans, there's lots to enjoy in one of our favourite #map series! buff.ly/G6QCujg

Map extract from Ordnance Survey One Inch Fifth Edition OS map sheet 93 from 1939.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 09/03/2026

Another session put on by our friends at NLS, which should be really helpful for its target audience.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 02/03/2026

We're adding another small set of OS One Inch Fifth Edition #maps from southern England (and a small part of Wales) to SABRE Maps today, this time three maps from 1938. What can you find on them? #MapMonday buff.ly/jq2eLbw

#Map extract from Ordnance Survey OS map at the One Inch scale covering part of Gloucestershire and the original Severn Bridge from 1938

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 23/02/2026

This #MapMonday, using our Sheetfinder, can you discover just how many Quarter Inch and 1:250k scale #maps we have that include Manchester city centre, or for any other location in Great Britain or Ireland? (the current answer is 43...) buff.ly/ndDcnFQ

Screenshot of the SABRE Maps Sheetfinder, used to identify which maps we have of any specific location. Search term of "Manchester", looking at Quarter Inch and 1:250k Ordnance Survey OS maps.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 20/02/2026

If you're interested in map and in Belfast tomorrow, this might well be worth attending.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 19/02/2026

If you weren't able to attend our recent Zoom session showing people how to georeference #maps using our Online Calibrator, then we've got it recorded and now available on our YouTube channel. Don't forget to look there for other videos! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhO6...

Zoom meeting - an Introduction to the SABRE #Maps Grid Calibrator. Hands on georeferencing maps using our toolsets.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 16/02/2026

Today for #MapMonday, we're adding three new Tourist sheets to our 1936 Ordnance Survey One Inch Fifth Edition layer. As with all Tourist #maps, they're generally very pretty sheets, but as we're a big fan of the Fifth Edition (and its relatives), we really like these ones. Enjoy! buff.ly/cIf5o6A

OS map extract from the 1936 One Inch sheet of The Cairngorms, showing the area around Aviemore.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 11/02/2026

As a reminder to everyone, this is happening tonight. We hope that if you're interested that you can make it, and if you can't, we'll hopefully be a little quicker with the recording this time!

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 09/02/2026

For #MapMonday, we're continuing through our "catch-up" of the OS One Inch Fifth Edition additions that we've recently acquired, with a couple of new sheets from 1935 added - one of which isn't a One Inch #map at all, but the Two Inch Map of the Isles of Scilly from that year. buff.ly/P6evyFH

Map extract from the Ordnance Survey Two Inch Map of the Isles of Scilly, from 1935

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 04/02/2026

Take a look at this offering from our good friends at the NLS - if you're near Edinburgh on Friday, then it's definitely a great place to go!

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 02/02/2026

We've been asked a few times about whether we recorded the recent Zoom session, "An Introduction to SABRE Maps". We have finally worked out how to get the recording out of Zoom, and onto YouTube, so here it is! www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s1L...

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An Introduction to SABRE Maps

YouTube video by SABRE Maps

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 02/02/2026

The OS One Inch Fifth Edition from the 1930s is a very flawed #map series. It changed standards, got called "muddy", changed layouts and only covered the south of England. Yet it's one of our favourites, so another 12 additional sheets from 1934 have gone live on SABRE Maps today. buff.ly/4MsHl9Z

Extract from Ordnance Survey Fifth Edition #map from 1934 showing the area around St. Austell in Cornwall, now available on SABRE Maps.

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