Converting BeeBase Map Refs (Diseases etc)

[itma]

Warnings tell us which 10km x 10km Ordnance Survey Grid square contains outbreaks of notifiable diseases.

Unfortunately, those grid refs are not easily translatable online.

I live within 3k from the reported case of AFB. It was found in/near Woodplumpton, Preston, Lancashire.

To see any cases of reported foulbrood in your area click

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/public/BeeDiseases/afbReport.cfm

This will bring you to the appropriate BeeBase page giving OS grid ref, in this case SD53 as I look today. I did several searches to find out where this was - Google maps took me to Royal Preston Hospital, which is about 2 - 3 k away from the actual hive, so this method has it's faults. ...

I have (I think) worked out a way to see the square online.
(If anyone has a better way, please share it!)


First you need to expand BeeBase's reference by adding a couple of fives and zeroes, like this: SD53 needs to be expanded to SD550350

Now that you have an 8-digit OS grid reference for the point that is at the centre of the square, we can look for that point.

If you put the 8-digit reference into http://www.gridref.org.uk/ and click 'Find a place' it opens a map window (using streetmap.co.uk).
Its helpful to then zoom out (for a wider view) by clicking on a bigger scale bar in the toolbox at the right of the screen - click on the third from the top.
That should show you the whole square with the pointer still pointing to its centre.
At that scale (Zoom level 6, 1:200k) the squares on the map are the magic 10km squares.

The problem could be ANYWHERE in the square.
In this case it seems to have been pretty much on the line between two squares - it could be even closer than you think!

 

[itma]

streetmap.co.uk understands the long-form (8 character) "landranger grid" reference, but for reasons I don't understand, it doesn't draw the gridsquare lines so clearly if you just give it the reference directly ...