The advantages of the British Ordnance Survey maps are:Scale of 50:000 is a general purpose map that is popular with cyclist. The 25:000 scale map (showing field boundaries and footpaths in great detail, is popular with walkers.The disadvantage is that being published in paper or laminated form, they are prone to wearing out. Opening and closing, often in rainy weather takes its toll on the map, and the most used maps would need to often be replaced. Then, being printed on paper, the map in certain areas will be quickly out of date (new housing estates, new road layouts, with new roads complicating navigating using an older map.