Fun, family-friendly, half-term activities to celebrate the ‘Magic of Maps’ will be held at Cheshire’s award-winning Lion Salt Works Museum on 1,2 and 5 June

With no gyms, swimming or group sports during lockdown, there has been an explosion of interest in walking - with sales of maps soaring to meet people’s demand to explore the great outdoors.

To tap into this exciting new trend and to show how easy and fun map reading can be, the award-winning Lion Salt Works Museum in Northwich is celebrating with a series of child-friendly ‘Magic of Maps’ activities on Tuesday 1 June and Wednesday 2 June (10.30am -12 noon and 2pm - 4pm) as well as a full day of family activities on Saturday 5 June. Suitable for children up to the age of 12, there is a £3 cost per child and activities. Due to social distancing requirements, booking in advance is required (and separate booking is necessary to visit the museum) by calling 01606 275066.  

Exploring and having fun is how children will enjoy finding out how maps and grid references work. They will also be given an exciting ‘Map in a Pack’ that will not only help them understand basic map reading symbols but give them the confidence to set up their own trail when they get home. 

On Saturday 5 June, in addition to the children’s activities, there will be a series of fun, informal table-top ‘speed-dating style’ mini talks, giving family bubbles the chance to explore more about the magic of maps from a range of experts. The passionate map experts include two ramblers and an archaeologist.  

On Saturday, Cheshire Records Office will host a display giving details and information about its extraordinary free online map collection, featuring tithe maps from 1836-51, aerial images and ordnance survey maps (1875,1898, 1910) that can be found at [http://www.cheshirearchives.org.uk*]www.cheshirearchives.org.uk*. Its impressive collection has been viewed over a million times since 2008. 

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Archives Department will be supporting this multi-faceted event with a fun online Cheshire Map Adventure Quiz. Open to all ages (under 16s with permission from their parents) the quiz can be found online at https://www.yourwestcheshire.co.uk/pages/4574/1/Cheshire_Map_Adventure_competition.html and will be about Cheshire’s online tithe maps. The winning prize is a £10 book token and the competition opens on 24 May and closes at midnight on 6 June (See Notes to Editors for the competition’s terms and conditions). 

Maria Bryne, Director of Environment & Communities said: “Learning to read a map makes exploring somewhere unknown an adventure, rather than something daunting and confusing. It is also a wonderful way of finding out about a place’s history and geography – whether by revealing the presence of a Roman road; an ancient hill fort or the remains of buildings that was once part of the salt-making industry. I am delighted that so many of the Council’s departments are getting involved to bring map reading to life.” 

“Technology means that many of us never need to use a map but it is an amazing life skill and I hope that many of the young people who come along to this fun event go away inspired to find out more about map reading.”  

Cheshire Archives 

*Today, it is easy to delve back in time with an historic map as Cheshire hosts an astonishing online collection of 500 tithe maps from the mid-19^th century.   This free online collection allows viewers to fade between tithe maps, OS maps and aerials photos on the same page, making searching both convenient and easy. Since 2008, these maps have been viewed over a million times at www.cheshirearchives.org.uk  

*Planning a Visit 

To ensure the safety of staff and visitors, the Lion Salt Works Museums has introduced revised opening times and pre-booking. To guarantee admission, places must be booked in advance. To pre-book a visit, contact the Museum on 01606 275066. Opening times and booking procedures may change at short notice, please check this website before planning a visit. 

Pictured - Family enjoy exploring map reading together, photo by Andrew Charles Photography.