We tend to associate map symbols with hills and footpaths but our popular coastal walking routes like the South West Coast Path have their own idiosyncrasies. Luckily for us, Ordnance Survey maps have a set of map symbols to help us safely navigate coastal areas and enjoy being by the sea.

Using a map at the beach

If you’re planning a walk along the coast or even just enjoy a day at the beach, using a map and understanding a simple set of map symbols really can help you safely enjoy your day. It can also make exploring coastal areas more interesting.

Take a look at the map snippet of beautiful Par Sands in Cornwall below.

How many water-related map symbols can you see?

If you’re looking at blue map symbols, you’re off to a good start as many of these relate to water.

But not all of them.

Toilets, parking, pubs and many other landmarks all have blue symbols on an Ordnance Survey map.

But writing in blue relates to water.

If you spotted ‘Mean Low Water‘, ‘Mean High Water‘, ‘Little Hell‘ and ‘Harbour‘ above, well done. These are all water-based map symbols.

And yes. Text on maps does count as symbols.

Little Hell, by the way, is the name of a small beach. Some (but not all) place names by the sea appear in blue. I recently asked my friends at Ordnance Survey why this was and the explanation related to master maps, place name traditions and not having space to include everything.

How to plan a walking route using the OS Maps app

Six important seaside map symbols

1. Water and land

This is possibly the most obvious map symbol in existence but it’s worth mentioning.

An area of light blue on your map denotes water.

So it’s probably best not to try and walk there.

If you’re by the sea but not in the water, you might be on sand (light orange area), shingle (light orange with stone marks) or mud (a convenient kind of muddy colour).

Or the colours might be slightly confused by the presence of the pink tint of the new Coastal Margin (we’ll talk about that later).

The map above shows a section of The Wash in Norfolk, which has a very big tidal range (in other words, the tide goes out a long way).

As a general rule, you don’t want to walk in areas by the sea marked as mud and you need to be careful of super large areas of sand (think Weston Super Mare). The other water/land symbol it’s worth noting is the one for marsh (you can see it on the map above).

Think grass but coloured blue. And don’t walk there either.

2. High and low tide marks

Did you know that in some parts of the UK the average difference between high tide and low tide can be as much as thirteen metres.

That’s twice as tall as a giraffe.

Although you’re unlikely to be paddling in the Severn Estuary (which has the one of the world’s biggest tidal range) or exploring the beach with giraffes, it is still easier to get cut of as the tide comes in than you think.

Millions of people in the UK have experienced being cut off by incoming tides.

Take a look at the map view above. In blue writing you can see ‘Mean Low Water’ and ‘Mean High Water’ each with a thin blue line next to them.

These are the average height the tide at this beach reaches at low and high tides.

The lines don’t show the lowest or highest the tide can be but they do give you a good idea of where it might be safe to walk.

Spring tides (largest tidal range) and neap tides (smallest tidal range) happen twice a month each. On a spring tide, you can expect the tide to come in further and faster than on a neap tide.

The best way to stay safe is to use a local tide table or app to help you understand when high tide is going to be.

And then use your map to check where the high tide mark is. In the case of Par Sands, you can see that high tide will usually cover all of the beach.

Which might be interesting if you’re walking the South West Coast Path (green diamonds).

3. Map symbols for cliffs

We all know it’s possible to fall over cliffs but they can also pose a problem when you’re trying to get off a beach.

Especially if the tide is coming in.

Steep ground on an Ordnance Survey map is shown by the presence of orange contour lines placed very closely together. If they’re really close together, you’ll have to work hard to walk up them.

But sometimes contour lines aren’t enough.

When the ground is vertical or near vertical (imagine you’d need to use a rope to be safe on it) the map symbol changes (or combines with the contour lines).

If you’ve ever walked near Sidmouth in Devon, you’ll know the coastline there has some impressive cliffs. In the map snippet near Sidmouth above, if you look closely, you can see the following symbols being used to show cliffs.

• Hachures (vertical lines in a row)
• Vertical face/cliff lines (rocky looking symbols)
• Contour lines (super close together here)

Combine these with the Mean High Water mark and you can see why the South West Coast Path (green diamonds) takes the route it does.

4. Watersport map symbols

Water activities are becoming more popular and there are a range of map symbols to help you find these (or avoid them if you prefer).

This map snippet of Dartmouth is packed with watery map symbols.

Follow the green diamonds and you’ll see that to stay on the South West Coast Path across the River Dart, you need to catch a ferry.

Luckily there are plenty to choose from (P means Passenger but walkers can also usually travel on car ferries). My favourite is the Dartmouth Lower Ferry.

If you look closely at the Dartmouth map, you’ll also see the symbols for boat hire (boat in a circle) and boat trips (boat in a square).

I can recommend both!

You’ll be relieved to hear that, although the steam train symbol is also blue, the Dartmouth Steam Railway stays on dry land all the way to Paignton.

Other watersports map symbols include sailing, powered boats, paddled watercraft and slipways.

They’re pretty obvious but you can always check your map legend (list of symbols and explanations).

5. Lighthouse map symbols

If, like me, you love lighthouses, you’ll be pleased to hear there are two lighthouse map symbols available on current 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey maps.

This one at Start Point in Devon is a working lighthouse (see the flash shapes coming out of it). A disused lighthouse looks the same but without the flashes.

Watching a lighthouse from the beach at night is a fabulous occupation.

But make sure you check the tide times first (see Mean High and Low Water marks above).

6. The Coastal Margin

As you might expect, the Coastal Margin is an area where the land and sea meet. If you use digital Ordnance Survey maps, you might have noticed pink areas  and markings appearing near your favourite coast walks.

These show the  England Coast Path and the new (sometimes) open access land between the path and the sea. The England Coast Path is being developed and will eventually follow the whole coast of England.

Open access land where you have a right to walk off designated paths and bridleways and cross privately owned land. In inland areas it’s shown on maps with yellow/brown shading or bright green shading (for forest areas).

Along the coast of England, the Coastal Margin open access land is shown with pink shading (and a scalloped pink edge).

The Coastal Margin is relatively new and not in all areas yet, if you have an old map, you won’t be able to see it.

But Ordnance Survey’s digital OS Maps app is updated all the time and will show you the Coastal Margin as it develops.

It’s worth noting there are some restrictions as to how we can use open access land. I can recommend this explanation from The Ramblers who also have a mobile-friendly guide you can carry with you when you’re out and about.

Exploring the Coastal Margin

In the map snippet above you can see the green diamonds of the England Coast Path as well as the pink shaded area of the Coastal Margin open access land.

In theory you could walk anywhere in that pink area but I would take a look at the terrain and the Mean High Tide mark first.

On a spring high tide, the footpath could be under water. Which is why there’s also a diversion in place (white diamonds with a green outline).

It’s a rather long diversion because it has to get you around Hinkley Point nuclear power station.

The England Coast Path is now officially called the King Charles III England Coast Path, which is a bit of a mouthful and doesn’t fit too well on maps.

Can you spot where it’s called KCIII EC Path on the snippet above?

Map reading is almost always fun

Okay so when it’s raining hard, you think you’re lost, and the only map you’ve brought is a paper one, map reading might not feel like the most fun in the world.

But the rest of the time it’s great.

And map reading isn’t as difficult as many people think it is. Just by learning a few symbols and exploring their locations on the ground, you’ll give yourself the confidence to adventure further and find new things.

And you don’t need map reading lessons to do that.

All Ordnance Survey maps have map legends, which tell you what each symbol means. You can also find a map legend if you’re using digital mapping on the OS Maps app.

How to plan a walking route on the OS Maps app.

Once you start reading your map legend, you’ll be surprised how difficult it is to stop.

Let me know how you get on.