Tag: Present day

• Which way do cricket pitches face?

  

  The old advice says a cricket pitch should run north to south, out of the evening sun. I measured every cricket pitch in OpenStreetMap and every sports pitch in the UK: 55% of cricket strips follow the rule, tennis courts mostly do, and football pitches point anywhere.

  Tristan Hotham

  Data stories, Games & other interests

  Britain, OpenStreetMap, Present day, sport, Sunlight, UK, weather and climate, World

• Bus deserts: the villages with no bus and the last bus home

  

  I counted every timetabled bus in England on a Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday and checked every village. 41% have no stop with four or more weekday buses within 800 metres, 62% have no bus after seven in the evening and 68% have none on Sunday.

  Tristan Hotham

  Data stories, Games & other interests

  Britain, cities, England, Poverty and wealth, Present day, Remoteness and access, Transport

• Do by-elections make Parliament listen?

  

  I followed 366 UK by-elections through a century of Hansard. Around polling day the Commons mentions the town 4.0 times as often as similar towns, and a year later still 1.9 times. Before 1945, no detectable rise.

  Tristan Hotham

  Data stories, Games & other interests

  Before and after test, Britain, elections, Hansard, Parliament, Present day, Public attention, Twentieth century, UK

• A day from London

  

  Leave Charing Cross at dawn and travel for twelve hours. In 1750 that reached 5% of Great Britain; in the 1830s 19%; by rail in 1850 at least 47%; in 1910 at least 72%; today 97%. I rebuilt five eras of roads and railways to map the edge of the day.

  Tristan Hotham

  Data stories, Games & other interests

  Britain, cities, Georgian, history, London, Present day, railways, Roads, Transport, UK, Victorian

• Manhattanhenge for every British town

  

  On which days does the sun set straight down your street? I worked it out for 37,224 straight streets in 377 UK towns and cities, with the hills on the skyline. 1,072 line up with a solstice, about as many as chance would give, and Midsummer Boulevard in Milton Keynes misses midsummer.

  Tristan Hotham

  Data stories, Games & other interests

  Britain, cities, OpenStreetMap, Present day, space, Street names, Sunlight, Terrain model, UK