Maps and More

Map Man was a short-lived documentary series from the mid-2000s on BBC Two. As the Map Man, in each episode Nicholas Crane introduces some map of importance to British cartography. He also undertakes in each episode some portion of the journey required to make the map.

In series 2 episode 1, the Map Man explores England's Lake District on a vintage bicycle using a Bartholomew's cycling map from the turn of the century. 

As described on the BBC Two website:

When cycling took off in Britain in a big way in the 1880s, everybody wanted to get on a bicycle and head for the country. And for all these keen bicyclers, Bartholomew made the very first cycling maps. With the best cycling routes and information for the Victorian cyclist, these maps were highly popular and distinctive. It was a whole new way of looking at the country - for leisure and healthy pursuits, freedom, and exploration.

Using his own unorthodox methods, extreme mountain biking over a mountain or two and going breakneck speed down a crevasse, Nick sets out to find the Barts routes through what was the playground of the Victorian age, the Lake District.

 The Earth Sciences & Map Library has a 1920s edition of the Bartholomew's map that the Map Man uses on his adventure: