Going where the car doesn't...

This is an interesting story on the mapping of Britain away from the roads.

Here's the story of Dr. Uy Hoang:

Dr. Uy Hoang, 51, decided to act after realizing he couldn’t see his local town path online and now he is single-handedly mapping Britain's waterways as a hobby.

He has taken a staggering 300,000 snaps and uploaded them to the online mapping service - making him the most prolific contributor in Britain and ninth in the world, he says.

Starting in 2015, he has spent the last 10 years covering the nation's rivers and canals - walking an estimated 1,600 miles.

Uy, from London, says he’s covered at least 75% of the nation's canal network so far.

Journey to the Centre of Google Earth...

Via @olimould on Twitter, a link to an article by Simon Sellars (@ballardian ) on Google Earth.

The article also links to a range of Google Earth projects.

Clement Valla's Postcards from Google Earth

The Nine Eyes of Google Street View

Some interesting points made about the nature of Google Earth, and some implications of the capturing of places at moments in time...

Tales from the Riverbank

I spent a few days last month cycling up and down towpaths alongside the Leeds - Liverpool canal for a project. I passed by many interesting landmarks, and under many bridges. I saw locks, milestones, weirs, bluebells, fishermen, boat builders, nature reserves, swing bridges for cows and old mills.

This Guardian article describes how Google are now moving on from mapping the roads with Street View to mapping the country's towpaths, rivers and canals.

Image: Alan Parkinson

200 towns

Thanks to Keir Clarke for tipoff to another useful site which merges a range of different media.

200 Towns allows you to explore 200 towns.

A useful new 'Perspective on British Landscape' ?

Google GeoTeachers Institute

I shall be in Dublin on Wednesday and Thursday this week to attend the Google GeoTeachers Institute. This will be an interesting event, given my long-term association with using Google Earth and other associated 'products' as a teacher and educator.

This goes back to the launch of Google Earth over six years ago. At the time, I got in touch with Google expressing my interest in developing materials, and they gave me a free year's license for the PRO version at the time to explore and play with, and also was successful in being awarded an Innovative Teaching award by the Royal Geographical Society to develop a users guide for Google Earth. I also started this blog at the same time, so it has been going for nearly six years as well.

Over the years since, I've been involved in a range of projects involving Google Earth, including the recent ICT Toolkit books which I edited for the GA, and the continuing work with teachers in my role at the GA, and now as a freelance geographer.
I also produced some resources for the newly launched Google World Wonders project.

Google Earth is still being developed and expanded all the time, and it is still a tool that teachers want to use.
In fact I've got an event in October in my diary when I'm going to be using it with the teachers of Aberdeen and surrounding area.

I'll be interested in hearing about a potential response to Apple's decision to have its own mapping.
Also interested in hearing about Street View Trekker, which is able to be carried into places that cars and trikes can't reach.

If you're coming along to the event too, come and say hi.