No one knows Scotland like Stuart Dunbar and co
Ordnance Survey staff have mapped Scotland in meticulous detail for centuries
How well do you really know Scotland, the country you live in? How many streets have you never walked, how many villages, towns and even cities remain a mystery, how many mountains and glens are unexplored?
Of all the people who live in Scotland, the ones who know it best must surely be the staff of the 233-year Ordnance Survey – people like Stuart Dunbar. After joining the OS at 19, he has spent nearly 40 years mapping the countryside, focussing mainly on Ayrshire, Inverclyde and islands like Mull, Islay and Tiree.
What an extraordinary career, what an extraordinary life. It’s no surprise that Dunbar has been “smiling about his job” for 37 years. He said that it had “given me this deep appreciation for Scotland”. And if that’s not an inspiration to go out exploring in this beautiful place we call home, we don’t know what is.
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