British Cartographic Society Teatime Talks

The British Cartographic Society produce a number of ‘teatime talks’, have a look at the BCS website for further information.

Their programme is quite limited at the moment with one forthcoming talk for 2026. Their programme for 2025 provides an idea of what’s to come.

The next talk on 26/Feb is by Adrian Dähler, Federal Office of Topography swisstopo on Swiss Mapping.

“Adrian’s talk will provide a brief overview of terrain representation on the Swiss national maps. He will examine how the rock and glacier areas are updated in the Swiss style. He will also talk about the history of the enormous landscape changes caused by glacial retreat.

Adrian has worked at the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo for over 13 years, where he also completed his apprenticeship as a cartographer. His main tasks are updating the Swiss national maps at scales of 1:25,000, 1:50,000, and 1:100,000 as a member of one of the five production teams.

Together with four other cartographers, he is also tasked with updating the rock outcrops and glaciers as well as the hill shading. These changes are mainly caused by glacial retreat and changes in the permafrost within the Swiss Alps and are updated using orthophotos and contour lines.

Since childhood, Adrian has been exploring the Swiss glacier regions and has experienced firsthand the beauty and fascination of this rapidly changing landscape.”