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    A simple but interactive UK counties map. I've zoomed in on that particular part (I hope it's kept that zoom-in) is because I've only just realised, whilst looking at that, just how many counties have wangs! That is, bits jutting out into other counties. The patch of West Sussex that I've zeroed in on sticks right out into Hampshire, between Liphook and Greatham and even crosses the A3. It's only just down the road from me (relatively speaking) and yet I was completely unaware of it.

    Similarly - but even more extreme - is the crazy zig-zagging promentary that intrudes from Berkshire into Wiltshire, just south of Hungerford. And that lump of Devon violating Cornwall is something I was unaware of, too. I thought the Devon/Cornwall border was fairly straight, but no!

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      That's great. I always knew Berkshire was a weird shape as we lived near the Bucks and Oxon borders, but I didn't know about that protrusion. I also didn't know Berkshire had a border with Gloucestershire, albeit small, at Lechlade where the Thames rises.

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        Originally posted by evilC View Post
        A simple but interactive UK counties map. I've zoomed in on that particular part (I hope it's kept that zoom-in) is because I've only just realised, whilst looking at that, just how many counties have wangs! That is, bits jutting out into other counties. The patch of West Sussex that I've zeroed in on sticks right out into Hampshire, between Liphook and Greatham and even crosses the A3. It's only just down the road from me (relatively speaking) and yet I was completely unaware of it.

        Similarly - but even more extreme - is the crazy zig-zagging promentary that intrudes from Berkshire into Wiltshire, just south of Hungerford. And that lump of Devon violating Cornwall is something I was unaware of, too. I thought the Devon/Cornwall border was fairly straight, but no!
        Those are specifically historic rather than modern-day administrative counties, it would seem, because have a scroll up north and take a look at Scotland - I was previously unaware of Cromartyshire. Now that's a county with some strange borders!

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          Originally posted by Sam View Post
          Those are specifically historic rather than modern-day administrative counties, it would seem, because have a scroll up north and take a look at Scotland - I was previously unaware of Cromartyshire. Now that's a county with some strange borders!
          Loses a point for East Lothian rather than Haddingtonshire though.

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            Originally posted by Sam View Post
            Those are specifically historic rather than modern-day administrative counties, it would seem, because have a scroll up north and take a look at Scotland - I was previously unaware of Cromartyshire. Now that's a county with some strange borders!
            Until the 1840s a lot of counties had odd bits away from the main body of the county, although admittedly none to the extent of Cromarty. For example Durham included the Farne Islands and odd bits of land along the Scottish border. This status persisted until the Counties (Detached Parts) Act of 1844, which reallocated (most of) the various exclaves to more geographically sensible counties.

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              This county boundary stuff reminded me that a while ago I stumbled across the Googleable - and pretty frequently repeated - suggestion that the shortest boundary between two English counties is between Northants and Lincs, at a piffling 19 metres. A look at the map Clive links to would indicate that it’s closer to 19 miles.

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                Originally posted by Furtho View Post
                This county boundary stuff reminded me that a while ago I stumbled across the Googleable - and pretty frequently repeated - suggestion that the shortest boundary between two English counties is between Northants and Lincs, at a piffling 19 metres. A look at the map Clive links to would indicate that it’s closer to 19 miles.

                Is that true in "old money" around the Soke of Peterboring, too?

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                  It was only whilst looking at that map that I realised Flintshire seems to be in two halves ...or has an exclave, at least.

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                    Originally posted by evilC View Post
                    It was only whilst looking at that map that I realised Flintshire seems to be in two halves ...or has an exclave, at least.
                    The exclaves (there were more than one) have gone, to be subsumed into other counties. Also, St. Asaph (where I was born), Prestatyn and Rhyl have all been moved into Denbighshire. I think the north Wales county cricket competition (don't laugh, they take it seriously) still use the old boundaries in order to select players from Prestatyn and St. Asaph.

                    That's a strange map, because it has a number of modern features but has anachronistic county boundaries. (adds later) - Reading up on the links, I think the borders are from 1888
                    Last edited by Vicarious Thrillseeker; 25-09-2017, 07:20.

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                      Not perhaps a cartographical collectors' item, but I do like the swoop of the lettering of Mediterranean Sea and Balearic Islands.

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                        Originally posted by evilC View Post
                        A simple but interactive UK counties map. I've zoomed in on that particular part (I hope it's kept that zoom-in) is because I've only just realised, whilst looking at that, just how many counties have wangs! That is, bits jutting out into other counties. The patch of West Sussex that I've zeroed in on sticks right out into Hampshire, between Liphook and Greatham and even crosses the A3. It's only just down the road from me (relatively speaking) and yet I was completely unaware of it.

                        Similarly - but even more extreme - is the crazy zig-zagging promentary that intrudes from Berkshire into Wiltshire, just south of Hungerford. And that lump of Devon violating Cornwall is something I was unaware of, too. I thought the Devon/Cornwall border was fairly straight, but no!
                        Newmarket wanted to stay in Suffolk rather than cede to Cambridgeshire

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                          Map of bus routes, Southampton, 1952.

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                            If Great Britain was located next to Japan, courtesy of the Terrible Maps Twitter account.

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                              From that same Twitter account, Metal bands per million population, across Europe.

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                                Are there really approximately 280 metal bands in Ireland, that's about 275 more than any country needs

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                                  Haha that's an excellent Twitter account. Going to follow that!

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                                    Lis Watkins' hand-drawn map Bridges Of London. More information here.

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                                      Map showing the Berlin Outer-Ring (Berliner Außenring) railway, built between 1951 and 1961 to circumnavigate West Berlin entirely.

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                                        Radio Free Europe's infographic showing countries that have "to some extent, banned the use of clothing that conceals the face". Posting this mainly because of the line "a German court ruled that women cannot wear the niqab at night school". Huh?

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                                          Trafimage is a real-time map of the railway network in Switzerland, which also includes other information such as bus routes, passenger numbers and, er, parks. Anyway, if you want to trace the route of the 07.37 from Monza to Zürich via Bellinzona and Zug, step this way.

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                                            The TV series "Swiss Railway Journeys" is one of life's absolute joys. Absolutely fuck all happens. It is sublime.

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                                              For info -- the Ordnance Survey's OS Maps mobile app has a new augmented reality mode.

                                              "Using the phone or tablet’s camera view; hills, mountains, coastal features, lakes, settlements, transport hubs and woodland in the vicinity are identified and labelled. If a label is pressed and there is a data connection, a page of useful information about that location is displayed, including nearby walks, photos and places to stay."

                                              Reportedly rather battery intensive, but sounds handy/interesting. More info here.

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                                                Map depicting locations of "mystery aircraft sightings" in Britain, 1913. It's been collated by Brett Holman of airminded.org, which includes The Scareship Age, a fascinating introduction to the subject of mystery aircraft sightings, here.

                                                The site also presents "a preliminary, partial (and possibly erroneous) list of mystery aircraft (balloons, airships, aeroplanes, rockets) panics and related scares up to 1946," here.

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                                                  There is quite a good story about the Longendale valley in the Peak District, where people have been seeing "things" (there was/is even a local ale called "Longendale Lights"...) which in turned revealed a little secret about cargo pilots switching off engines on final approach to Manchester Airport and essentially gliding down the last few miles, either to save fuel or avoid reports of late flights thus explaining sighting of silent, dark shapes moving in the sky above the moors. Not sure how true this is, but good tale nonetheless....

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                                                    Long live Free Mercia!

                                                    https://m.imgur.com/f685nks

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