For a doc I am producing, I am after outline maps of the Scotland. All I need is the coast and islands; I will add everything else myself. I am looking for good detail and resolution, though, so I can take the map up to a reasonably large scale. Anyone aware of any sources - royalty free would be a bonus!

Cheers,

Nick

I have recently gotten involved with mapmaking here in the US, and it's remarkable how much is freely available for download through the US Geological Survey (usgs.gov). Isn't there some equivalent government agency in your country which makes this sort of thing available to the public?

Yes there is, but in this country they charge :-(

Hi Nick,

Here is a few Vector PDF links:

http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk:80/Maps/4013365/en-GB.pdf

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/915/0004997.pdf

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/fe_bdys_within_la.pdf/$FILE/fe_bdys_within_la.pdf

James

Thanks James - very helpful.

N

I don't know if you noticed - these maps are crown copyright. It's written on them.
The US seems to take a much more liberal attitude towards the use of what many people would regard as publicly-owned information.
The Guardian newspaper in the UK has been running a campaign for some time now to make this information more freely available.

Nick,

check these out:
Category:Maps of Scotland - Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Maps_of_Scotland)

Best

Vasco

Try and find someone with Google Earth Pro. You can use the aerial images for commercial use.

Try this link: USGS National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) Catalog of Public Sale Topographic Maps Publications, and Digital Products (http://egsc.usgs.gov/nimamaps/)

They list a lot of services available to the public, I didn't check Scotland maps specifically, but we have purchased a lot of maps of the Middle East from the dept of defense during the gulf wars, various aeronautical charts, etc, which are made available for public purchase and they are excellent. I don't know what the rights situation would be to use them directly in a piece -- we used them for reference for our art department --- but maybe a start...this link is a directory of services and is a jumping-off place for finding what you need from them...Battle Vaughan/miamiherald.com video team