Old-Maps.co.uk Has Gone!

The BEST resource for UK based Metal Detecting has gone, only to be replaced a very corporate 'Landmark information group' page, asking for credit card details to join their 'promap' service.

Personally I always thought that Old-Maps should have been a subscription service, and I wouldn't have balked at paying a couple of quid a month for it as a Metal Detecting research tool. Or, even a small fee for a dedicated amount of time whilst I perused the maps. It was literally a steal being free, and it was only amount of time until it imploded.

RIP Old-maps.co.uk We loved you.

The Landmark Information group have issued this statement on the situation:

'Why is Old Maps no longer available?

Over the last 10 years Landmark has partnered with the team at Old Maps to sell our historical mapping data to consumers keen to learn about local history or purchase printed maps for personal or decorative use. Viewing and printing these maps from the Old Maps website was limited under our license agreement to non-commercial users.

Over the past 12 months, it became apparent that some of our professional services users were not clear about these restrictions and were choosing to use Old Maps as a reference tool as an alternative to accessing and purchasing historical maps under commercial license terms.

As a result we have decided to focus our efforts on clarifying and improving our historical mapping offer to the professional services market. Regrettably, this means that we are no longer able to offer consumers access to the Old Maps website.'

AKA, those naughty Metal Detectorists are using our maps to research historical sites and landmarks. The dirty blighters! This truly is a huge loss to the British Metal Detecting community. Surely, this is an opportunity for someone out there to step up and establish themselves in this particular market, though? The maps must be available somewhere out there in the public domain? I can see a tech-savvy Detectorist doing rather well out of this in the future, and this is something I'd happily get behind and support. RIP Old-Maps.co.uk. We loved you!