Introduction - Description - Key to letters version - Lines version - Maps
This page explains maps of Berkshire intended for blind users who cannot read Braille. I am developing the maps, and seek comments. I have some maps of other counties for users who read Braille, and users who read large print.
There are two versions of the map. The lines version shows towns marked by solid circles, linked by lines to help the user find them. The letters version has towns marked by single upper-case letters of the ordinary Roman alphabet.
Towns shown are parliamentary boroughs and polling places in 1835. The Description section says what is on the map. The Key to letters version section gives locations within the county. The Lines section gives a sequence of places along lines within the county. The Maps section has links to the maps, which are in pdf (Acrobat) format, and to a page describing the way to produce a tactile map from the pdf files. On another page is a general introduction to this series of maps of the English counties which are intended to be accessible to blind and partially sighted people.
There is a solid circle at the top left of the map. The top of the map is the North. The county boundary is shown by a dotted line. The Chapman County Code BRK is in large letters near the top right corner of the map. A ten mile scale bar is at the bottom left.
Berkshire is an inland county, about 45 miles east to west by about 30 miles north to south. To the south are Hampshire and Surrey. To the west is Wiltshire. To the North is Oxfordshire. To the east is Buckinghamshire.
The county is roughly the shape of a foot and ankle. Windsor is at the toe - far right. Reading is halfway along the foot. Hungerford and Newbury are in the heel. Abingdon, Wallingford and Wantage are at the ankle.
In the list below the letter is given first, then the place name, then the position on the map within the county.
In top part of county:
Along the bottom part of the county from left to right:
In the top part of the county is a triangle of lines.
In the lower part of the county is a string of four towns along a roughly horizontal line. From left to right:
Graphic of Tactile map with Roman letters (pdf file)
Graphic of Tactile map with lines, no letters (pdf file)
Instructions for making a tactile map
Copyright 2005 David Hawgood on www.dhmap.org, page modified 4 Feb 2005
A single copy of this page and graphics linked from it can be
made by or for any individual user. If you wish to make multiple
copies or modifications, please contact David Hawgood - email
david at hawgood dot com - I will normally give permission but I
wish to know what use is being made of the maps. I also welcome
comments.