New Map 1:25000 - brilliant

You might not think it would make a big diff, but cranking up the scale from rural motorist's 1:50,000 to rambler's 1:25,000 gives a whole other level of utility. Barry Dalby of Eastwest Mapping has just brought out one of the latter Blackstairs Mount Leinster & The Barrow Valley.  It is wonderful and available on-line for €9.95 + €1.50pp.  This contrasts with the €8.60 which the government mapping monolith seeks to charge for their 1:50,000 Discovery Series.  I have no idea what the P&P is with OSI because they don't tell you until you have AddToCarted a product, and given them your e-mail address, your grand-mother's maiden name, all your credit details and half a litre of blood.  Here is a teeny sample to indicate the extra data that you get with EastWest's products:

Information differential here is about 10:1.  And the Knockroe Desert outlined by the OSI (right, above) is revealed as a richly populated landscape of historical, archaeological, geological  and religious interest. Barry has been all over the area on foot; talked to the Oldest Inhabitant in each locality to get down the names of the ruined steadings and the location of the neolithic art-works; integrated data from satellites, GPS, and olde mappes. I don't see how it can be an economic proposition to spend months obtaining the data, weeks making the map, as well as paying for the printing and have a print-run of, say, 1000. But it will improve the prospects of this extraordinary entrepreneur if you go online and buy your own copy.  You won't be disappointed.  And if you live in Dublin/Wicklow you can buy similar maps of your own area.