National Lane Reference Numbers

This is an 'unofficial' system used by many to identify a lane anywhere in the country. The system works by assigning an OS grid reference and a direction indicator to each route.

If a set of rules are applied then the users can designate fully the National ID of a lane (the only exception is when 2 lanes start and end at the same six figure grid reference, which is expected to be very rare).

To achieve the National ID, we would propose . . .

1.    FIND THE BEGINING OF A LANE

• Select the WESTERNMOST end of the lane.
• Should the lane be true South to North then select the SOUTHERN end.
• Give the 1km square grid reference of this starting point, including the 100km Sq letters

2.     CALCULATING THE DIRECTIONAL INDICATOR

• Using a protractor or by mathematical means find the angle (in degrees) of the lane (from start to end points) relative to North.
• Using the table below add the number as a decimal (tenths)

 

Angle Between (Inclusive)	Decimal	Compass Heading
0.0  - 22.49	0.0	N - NNE
22.5  - 44.99	0.1	NNE - NE
45.0  - 67.49	0.2	NE- NEE
67.5  - 89.99	0.3	NEE - E
90.0  - 112.49	0.4	E - SEE
112.5 - 134.99	0.5	SEE - SE
135.0 - 157.49	0.6	SE - SSE
157.5 - 179.99	0.7	SSE - S

Therefore, if the angle was 45 degrees, our example from above would have a resulting National Lane Reference of SO1234.2