1:50 00 Scale Colour Raster is derived from the source data used to create its graphic counterpart, the OS Landranger Map series. Generalisation is used to emphasise, simplify, select and sometimes omit features to produce a cartographic representation of the landscape at a scale of 1:50 000.
The nominal scale of the product is 1:50 000, but the recommended minimum-to-maximum scale range is 1:15 000 to 1:60 000 scale. It is best viewed between 1:20 000 and 1:50 000 scale.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is available in National Grid coordinates, which are expressed in metres relative to an origin set to a point west of the Isles of Scilly. These coordinates can easily be spatially related to other surveys, drawings, datasets or Ordnance Survey products. A general introductory guide to the British National Grid (BNG) is available on the OS website.
Coverage is Great Britain. 1:50 000 Scale Raster is supplied in standard 20km by 20km tiles aligned to the National Grid.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is updated via a revision programme. The revision programme mirrors that of the OS Landranger Map series, and is determined by assessing the following factors:
Known surveyed change
Change intelligence gathered from a range of sources
How long it's been since an area was last revised
Priority is given to prestige sites categorised as significant items of change, such as major road construction projects. Significant items of surveyed change relevant to the scale are captured during the revision programme.
Where a line feature ends by intersecting the tile edge, it is matched with its corresponding feature on the adjacent tile so that both features end on the same unique coordinate. The representation of detail across the tile edge will be of a cartographically acceptable standard when plotted or displayed at scale.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is supplied to customers quarterly in March, June, September and December, incorporating any updates made by the revision programme.
This technical specification provides detailed technical information about the 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster. It is targeted at technical users and software developers.
816 (edge matched)
England: 421
Scotland: 338
Wales: 86
20km by 20km
National coverage
254 and 660 dots per inch
Raster
TIFF palette 8-bit (256 colours) LZW* uncompressed
TIFF palette 8-bit (256 colours) with LZW* compression
GeoTIFF with LZW* compression
Windows® BMP 8-bit colour (256 colours) uncompressed
* If LZW compressed formats are used, then registration may be required. Information is available on the Unisys® website.
0.3–18 Mb
Quarterly: March, June, September and December (change-only updates)
Maintained versions (in English and Welsh) of the 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster legend, which defines all of the map symbols used in the product, can be found on the 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster Downloads page.
A full list of the common mapping abbreviations used in 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster is available in the shared Colour Raster Map Technical Specification.
Additional information, common to all colour raster map products is available through the Colour Raster Map Core principle pages. These pages provide an overview of the product and a technical specification covering:
The following features are depicted in 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster:
Buildings are generalised and shown with colour tint and cartographically placed text to indicate settlement name and extent.
Structures are indicated by lines, buildings or symbols and are supplemented with a text description for all distinctive named features. Important buildings are displayed independently from other generic building features.
Transport features depicted include tracks, public rights of way, cycle networks, paths, roads, railway lines (single and multiple track), railway stations, airports and airstrips, ferry routes and ports, cycle routes, and bus and coach stations.
Different types of natural features and vegetation are shown by symbols or colour tint, including woods, rock, scree, boulders, sand, shingle, mud and slope. There is also information relating to the extents of Forestry Commission access land and National Trust land.
Water features are shown in blue with associated text. A distinction is made between natural (blue) and man-made (black) water features, with the exception of canals (which are shown in blue).
Ground contours, survey heights and air survey heights are depicted.
Surface heights are to the nearest metre above mean sea level. Heights shown close to a triangulation pillar refer to the ground level height at the pillar and not necessarily to the height at the summit.
Depiction includes information supplied by English Heritage®, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
National, county, district, unitary authority, civil parish and constituency boundaries are all depicted.
Descriptive and distinctive names are depicted as text:
Tourist Information Centres
Camping / caravan sites
Gardens
Golf courses
Nature reserves
Car parks
Picnic sites
Viewpoints
Youth hostels
This document contains additional theoretical information related to 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster. All users will find the Product Information document useful and informative.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is a data product similar to the popular OS Landranger Map series, showing a detailed overview of the landscape. It is a mid-scale product that's ideal for navigation. 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster can be used to contextualise your data or as a map in its own right. It is aimed at recreational as well as businesses users, providing them with an excellent overview of the main features and communication routes across Great Britain.
The 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster product provides a grid of easy to consume TIFF images. This grid is aligned to the National Grid (EPSG: 27700). The 254 dots per inch resolution has been chosen as it maintains the necessary clarity for text shown on the map.
Screen images can be plotted to produce a high-quality map. An example of the data is shown in the image below.
The key features of the product are as follows:
Regular revision cycles, giving product consistency.
Highly detailed mapping, showing airports, farms, hills, woodlands and commons, among other places.
Easy to download and apply TIFF formats.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is aimed at recreational and business users and its graphic specification can help with the following:
Development and land-use planning
Environmental impact analysis
Vehicle routing
Asset management
Marketing analysis
Display and promotion tasks
Georeferencing is not required when using the GeoTIFF file format as the tiles have already been embedded with georeferencing information.
To be able to view each TIFF tile in correct geographic relation to the National Grid and to other tiles, the tiles must be georeferenced. Geographic information systems (GIS) typically provide georeferencing as part of their functionality, but for each set of tiles, it is necessary to provide information on how the tiles should be ordered.
Ordnance Survey provides this information in a set of georeferencing files, also known as world files. A complete set of georeferencing files for 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is available to download free of charge from 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster Downloads page.
There are several different types of world file. Prior to downloading one of the sets, customers are advised to check with their system suppliers to find out which type of world file their system supports.
The conventions behind the files’ creation can be found in the product's technical specification. By using the conventions outlined there, this means that other datasets using the same conventions can be imported into the same GIS to add value to the raster map; for example, overlaying a routing or logistics network over the map or displaying a customer’s demographic information.
The georeferencing files should be saved in the same directory as the files of the map tiles themselves.
The map symbols legend for the 1:50 000 scale colour raster is available as a PDF below.
The Welsh language legend for the 1:50 000 scale colour raster is available as a PDF below.
The full tile list for 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is available as an excel sheet.
The COU tile list for 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is available as an excel sheet.
Download free 10km x 10km TAB files for use with MapInfo.
Download free 10km x 10km TIFF World Files (TFW) that cn be used to georeference raster data in ESRI ArcGIS.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is the digital alternative to Ordnance Survey's OS Landranger paper map series for Great Britain available in 20km square tiles.
This product is updated quarterly in March, June, September and December.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster helps emergency control centre staff respond more effectively to calls. Using clearly shown landmarks, they can ask distressed callers if they can see the local pub or church, to pinpoint incident locations quickly.
We give you 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster at a resolution of 254 dpi – and Partners at a staggering 660 dpi – so it looks stunning on today’s high-resolution displays, whether on desktop, tablet or mobile.
Tourist and heritage attractions of many types are shown on this mapping, so leisure app users can use it to find their way by road, footpath or cycle route to a place of interest, whether it’s a sports centre or a nature reserve.
When you need map extracts for a consultation document or a published magazine, you can open 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster TIFF files in software like Photoshop and InDesign.
This map helps you spot brownfield sites ripe for development, and analyse the quality of local transport links. Railways and important roads are clearly colour-coded.
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster is a must-have map in any navigation app or device for walkers and cyclists. It depicts the landscape with superb detail and clarity.
Access: Download
Data theme: Contextual
Data structure: Raster
Coverage: Great Britain
Scale: 1:50 000
Format: GeoTIFF, TIFF 8-bit LZW compressed, TIFF Palette 8-bit (256 colours) uncompressed, Windows BMP uncompressed
Ordering area: Customisable Area (20km² tiles)
Publication months: March, June, September, December
OS Data Hub plan: Public Sector Plan, Premium Plan, Energy & Infrastructure Plan
You can order 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster by user-defined areas:
Specific tile identities
Administrative region
Bounding box
It's also available covering:
Great Britain
England
Scotland
Wales
Tiles are, however, supplied whole rather than being clipped to fit geographic areas.
Palette of 256 colours
Some software packages have a facility whereby you can load the colour image onto a computer and, using one of the command drop-down menus, select the greyscale option. This will change the colours on an image to shades of grey (greyscale). This is not the same output as monochrome where features in the file are either black or white.
Access to this product is free for Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) Members. Find out if you are a PSGA Member or download a sample of 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster data by accessing the product page of the OS website, which has links to all of the relevant resources. Alternatively, you can try out the full product by applying for a Data Exploration license.
This product is available to try out online using one of our three sets of sample data (Exeter, Newport and Inverness) through the OS MasterMap Product Viewer:
