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There's no place for sat-nay on L Radley's truck and no subst[tute for a good memory and a bridge-height atlas.
Page 16
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I've been finding it increasingly difficult to survive using the bridgeheight atlas I bought in 2002. So I now have a new, stateof-the-art navigational aid.
Last year, I misplaced page 48 and kept getting lost in Cheshire. It turned up one chilly night when it started to smoulder on the night heater. I've worn away a small square on page 57, so tipping in Keighley is out of the question, and I can only do Scotland if the delivery point is north of Stirling.
My mental map now extends from Turriff down to Penzance. I can't find anything in the nearest town, but I can go from Teesside to Dorset without a second thought, diverting as necessary along the way.
I only ever need a map to get into a place, never out. I stop using it after two visits. I have to engage my brain, register landmarks and remember where I've been before.
Reading a map isn't like listening to someone tell you where to go and when to turn. You have to absorb the information before you set off, because you can't keep studying it as you drive along. You have to learn your way around, and that knowledge will help you in future.
So when I say I've moved forward, I mean I've bought a new bridge-height atlas. No sat-nay here. No going where I'm told to go: I go where I've decided for myself. My Manchester A-Z has the M60 drawn in with biro, and I'm proud of it.