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.
A spot height is a number printed on British Ordnance Survey maps giving the height above sea level at an exact point. In British navigational rallies such a point is given as a route instruction: the navigator finds the height figure on the map, marks the point and works it into the route to be driven. Because spot heights are unambiguous and spread across the whole map, they work well – alongside grid references – as navigation clues, especially in plot-and-bash sections.
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Related terms
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.
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.
Twelve-car rally
A short British beginner navigational rally limited to twelve cars, usually on a weekday evening, to keep the impact on residents low.