Grid reference

A map coordinate (Ordnance Survey grid) used as a navigation instruction in British rallies: the navigator plots the given point or route from it onto the map.

A grid reference (also map reference) is a coordinate in the grid of British Ordnance Survey maps and is used in British navigational rallies as a route instruction. The navigator plots the given grid points onto the map and joins them into the route to be driven. Usually six figures, a grid reference locates a point to about 100 metres. Together with spot heights and other map features it forms the basis of classic British map navigation.

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Related terms

  • Jogularity

    A British form of regularity: instead of speed tables, the navigator gets a table of landmarks with their distance and the due arrival time at each.

  • Plot and bash

    A British navigation style where the navigator plots the route instructions – handed out only at the start or en route – onto the map while moving, and the crew presses on.

  • Spot height

    A height figure printed at a specific point on British maps. In navigational rallies it serves as a precise waypoint that the navigator locates and plots.

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