This site shows the road-network from the highland section of Roy’s Military Survey of Scotland, transposed to a modern Ordnance Survey map.
The Military Survey of Scotland was the forerunner of the Ordnance Survey service. It was launched in the wake of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion and completed in 1755. The Survey was supervised by William Roy, a young army assistant quartermaster. He and his co-workers produced the first modern national map which was topographical in style. It was the first map to describe Scotland’s road system in detail. Roy’s road-network predates the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, the introduction of turnpike roads and the modern trunk-road system.
On this site all the roads in the highland section of Roy’s map have been individually examined, assessed throughout their length and carefully compared with a modern OS map. The course of each road has then been layered on to the modern map and so appears as a highlight.
This layout may be an important reference for those researching social history, settlement, transport and ancient roads and pathways. It may be useful also to those who enjoy a good walk in a genuinely historical setting.