Landforms
Why Rivers Often Become the Quiet Organisers of a County
See how river valleys organise settlement and movement, and learn to read their influence without mistaking one…
The full collection
All articles
Explore Grand County Review's articles on the landforms, settlements, routes, boundaries and place names that shape how counties are read.
Settlements
Village, Market Town or Port: Reading a Settlement’s Shape
Read a village, market town or port through its routes, centre and waterfront, and separate visible settlement…
Routes
The Old Road That Still Shapes a County Map
See how an old road can shape a county map long after its purpose changes, by tracing its surviving line through newer…
Boundaries
A County Boundary Is Not Always a Natural Edge
A county boundary can cross fields, roads and rivers without following a natural edge. Learn how to read the line and…
Place Names
What a Place Name Can Suggest, and What It Cannot Prove
Learn how to read a place name as a clue to language or landscape, and separate a plausible interpretation from claims…
Our point of view
A map is a beginning, not the whole story
We look beyond lines and labels to notice how land and human choices give places their character. Every explanation aims to distinguish what a map shows from what it cannot tell us.