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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 05/10/2026

You may have noticed we've been pretty quiet recently - we've been working hard. What have we been up to? Preparing 1:25,000 historic #maps to be added to our already enormous mapping collection, and the first batch of 158 maps has been released pn #MapMonday from 1945-6. Enjoy! buff.ly/l2uXTy6

Map extract from the Ordnance Survey OS map at the 1:25k scale showing central Manchester in 1945.

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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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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

And then to compliment it, there's also a 1971 OSI #map sheet that mostly covers NI! Would you have spotted the tiny bit of the M12 motorway without up pointing it out?

Ordnance Survey of Ireland map of the area between Lough Neagh and Craigavon, showing a tiny part of the M12 motorway

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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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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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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 · 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 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 · 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 · 10/03/2026

In case anyone's wondering - this is why they're annoying - this is part of a single scan - Galway itself, in perfect focus. But as you then bump onto the bit on the cover to the top right of this bit, and everything goes fuzzy.

Map extract of Ordnance Survey Ireland Half Inch map, showing what happens when you hit the bit where the cardboard cover is glued to the back of the map where the map scan goes out of focus. Galway near the bottom left is in perfect focus, the section at the top right is blurry.

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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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · 06/02/2026

We are always super careful about how we refer to the unbuilt Belfast Urban Motorway...

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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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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 26/01/2026

Thanks to our volunteer development team, the Traffic Counts information on SABRE Maps has been hugely improved with more accurate locations, better graphs and data from Northern Ireland too! You can click on each traffic type to diplay, and see just how busy roads really are. buff.ly/XH6mVqm

#Map extract from SABRE Maps showing official traffic count data, now available across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Clicking on the type labels at the bottom will turn them off and on, and it even remembers your preferences

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 25/01/2026

Following the success of our introductory Zoom talk on SABRE Maps, we'll be holding a second one around our Grid Calibrator tool, showing how we georeference maps, and how you can help! There will be opportunities to ask questions, and click along! buff.ly/TzVhjsT

Introduction to the SABRE Maps Grid Calibrator, a hands-on session where you get to learn about georeferencing #maps using our toolsets is happening on Zoom, on Wednesday 11 February 2026 at 7.30pm UK and Ireland time.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 19/01/2026

After all those maps from 1975, it's #MapMonday and time for the first modern OpenData #map of 2026! OS Miniscale is smilar to the old Ten Mile or Route Planning maps and therefore great for looking for major changes in GB over time. Can you find the changes from our 2025 layer? buff.ly/pIyUpVm

Ordnance Survey OS map extract from the 2026 OS Miniscale release, showing most of Essex.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 14/01/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended tonight's Zoom session on "An Introduction to SABRE Maps". We hope that you enjoyed it, and that we answered the questions posted fully. We're looking to hold another session in mid-February, so look out for the announcement!

Extract from SABRE Maps, showing the Map Fader functionality: The Ringways Map and the 1974 1:50,000 layer showing the A13 Relief Road fitting nicely through a gap in the Ford factory in Dagenham, east London.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 12/01/2026

Did you guess that this set of maps originally published in 1975 would be at the Half Inch scale? We have three sheets available dotted across Ireland at a fascinating time when the old T and L roads system was being replaced by the modern N and R roads. What will you find? buff.ly/HKHyQq5

Extract from 1975 Ordnance Survey Ireland Half Inch #map showing the T and L roads being replaced by the modern N and R road system.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 08/01/2026

Want to learn more about SABRE Maps? Not sure which #maps we have available or how to find them? Or what other mapping functions we have? Perhaps you just like maps, history or the railways? Join us for our first-ever Zoom session, Wed 14 Jan 2026 - free at 1930 UK/Ireland time. buff.ly/JxwTeg1

An introduction to SABRE Maps, showing the time and data of the Zoom meeting where you get to learn how to use our huge collection of Ordnance Survey OS maps of Great Britain and Ireland.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 05/01/2026

For this #MapMonday, we'll be making sure that all of the Ordnance Survey Quarter Inch #Maps that were published in 1975 are available on SABRE Maps, with the addition of Sheet 6 to add to all the others already available. Any ideas as to which 1975 maps we'll add next? buff.ly/AWqLo5c

Extract from #OrdnanceSurvey GB Quarter Inch map sheet 6 (Firth of Clyde) from 1975, which completes our full set of all sheets from that year.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 02/01/2026

Don't forget that we've also got every single Ordnance Survey Landranger #map from 1975 already online for your delectation and delight. And remember that you can compare them to the 1974 editions (and the previous One Inch maps) using our Map Fader. buff.ly/6ToTdlJ

Extract from #OrdnanceSurvey OS map Landranger sheet 193 from 1975

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

"Limited interchange" - fed by people flapping that they might not be able to escape a motorway where they wanted to. The sheet comes with a whole set of small junction maps too.

They key to the OS Route Planning Map 1976

Junction layouts for limited interchange junctions on OS 1976 Route Planning #Map

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

Happy New Year! And a new year means that another year's mapping drops out of copyright, with OS, OSI and OSNI maps with a copyright date of 1975 now being available to us. As usual, the first is a new OS Route Planning Map for you all to enjoy. buff.ly/SeTLZJl

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 22/12/2025

For this week's #MapMonday, you can discover the OS London Two Inch Ministry of Transport maps from 1922, and see just where the A1, A2, A3 etc all meet at "point zero" in London. Or not... buff.ly/BAr8iFr

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 05/12/2025

And you can see the route of what we lovingly call the PNLR right here on SABRE Maps: www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/index.p...

#Map extract from the Ringways Map of the "Possible North London Radial", or PNLR for sure - a route so vaguely planned that it doesn't even have a proper name.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 03/12/2025

We like to mention sometimes that we have the world's largest freely available repository of relevant Ordnance Survey OpenData #maps - and there's still future plans to bring more. However, as we also periodically ask, we are missing some mapping from our archive.

OS VectorMap District extract from the November 2025 data for the Newcastle and Gateshead central areas, showing (or rather not showing) the recently removed Gateshead Flyover.

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 25/11/2025

And of course if you want to see James Drake's vision of how Lancashire would have looked, you can look at his masterpiece, the Road Plan for Lancashire, released yesterday on SABRE Maps, with companion pieces on the SABRE Wiki. buff.ly/a0ruuuS

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SABRE Maps @maps.sabre-roads.org.uk · 24/11/2025

Liverpool would have got an entirely new outer ring, plus upgraded radials, a new Widnes–Runcorn high-level crossing, and major upgrades to the A580. The Plan anticipated Liverpool’s post-war expansion with surprising accuracy.

The Liverpool and Bootle area showing the proposed Outer Ring Road and a number of other routes

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