The ordinance survey books of the whole county I have found the best ( better than the A-Z) for having the farms on them with the currant name . I also use google maps on an iPad but useless when u get away from 3G
Ader1:
I need some maps which will show even farms…
Why only even farms? Do you have some kind of prejudice against odd farms?
I think all farms deserve equal treatment regardless of whether they are odd or even. 
Here’s a tip when in a village looking for a farm. The following tend to be near a church.
Church Farm (obviously).
Manor Farm.
Rectory Farm.
Chapel Farm (can be hit and miss as most village chapels are now houses).
Grange Farm.
In many cases if you need to find a house such as 'The Old Forge" that wont be far from the centre of the village either (often near a pub).
Philips Navigator 
Ordnance survey map is the best, & phone number of the farm your headed for. Sat nav’s and Google rely on signal & some farms are in black spots as far as signal goes.
weeto:
Ordinance survey maps show just about all the farms in the country, just get the ones for the areas you need.
As a road rally navigator, we use 1:50 000 series, that’s the pink covered ones, and we have to read them at speed when going down country lanes, and we use them to pick out markers so we know where we are, and that includes farms.
However, as they are about the size of a dining table when fully open, you would have to stop periodically to alter the section of map that you would need.
Don’t buy them from camping shops as they are about £8 each, instead get them from a company in Cornwall called Dash4it, as there price is about half and usually includes postage. Turnaround about 2 days. dash4it.co.uk
Ken.
This thread makes me wonder how I ever managed all those rural deliveries back in the 70s without all the technical kit you guys have now.
Mainly, I used a special direction finder. It was called a “mouth”, as in “can you tell me where ****** farm is please?”
Rarely failed, and the battery never went flat!
emmerson2:
This thread makes me wonder how I ever managed all those rural deliveries back in the 70s without all the technical kit you guys have now.
Mainly, I used a special direction finder. It was called a “mouth”, as in “can you tell me where ****** farm is please?”
Rarely failed, and the battery never went flat!
In the 70’s if you asked somebody where so and so farm was they’d probably know, and if it was in Norfolk they probably also be their brother, cousin and Father. 
Now if you can find anybody to ask it’ll probably be somebody who’s retired and moved from a City and doesn’t know anybody and is annoyed that you’ve driven your big smelly truck into their village.
Quinny Are you telling us that you can actually read a map sitting beside one of them DAFT buggers you are a brave man that even gets in the motor. Eddie.
Ader1:
I need some maps which will show even farms…mainly in south and west Wales. Somebody did suggest Philip’s. Would that be the Philip’s Street Atlas series? Or would you advise purchasing something else?
Take it you got the job then; well done, see you about on the road.
I use OS 1:50000 maps, backed up by the Phillips county ones. Both are good; the only caution about the Phillips maps is that unlike OS they don’t differentiate between minor roads which you can and can’t do in a lorry. Once you’ve been to a farm, mark it on your map; it’s also a good idea to mark the farmer’s surname as well but since in that area they’re all Thomas, Rees or Evans it can get a tad confusing. You will also find milk tanker drivers and posties to be your best friends.
Muckaway; good point and it works fine in England. Down here you can have one place name for four farms, mebbe even more. For example, you’d get a delivery to “Pen-y-Bont” (Top of the bridge) and you could have;
Pen-y-Bont Uchaf (Upper)
Isaf (Lower)
Fach or Bach ( Little)
Fawr (Big or Great)
Not only are they different farms but sometimes they’re not even on the same access road, or even in the same valley.
Emerson; again it’s different down here. farms with nameboards at the lane end are the exception rather than the rule; local knowledge is priceless. Also worth noting that Welsh miles are usually twice as long as English ones.
erfguy:
Quinny Are you telling us that you can actually read a map sitting beside one of them DAFT buggers you are a brave man that even gets in the motor. Eddie.
Yes.
Used to do the forest type stuff that you see on the tv, some 20 years ago, but now do the type of stuff that takes place usually on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, hurtling down country lanes at warp factor 10, errrr, I mean an average of 30 mph officer.
Ken.
#1: buy an Android mobile phone, that has Hotspot option(50 GBP). Menu- Wireless and settings- Tethering and hotspot- Mobile AP
#2: buy an used ASUS eee 7" netbook 8 GB SSD (20 GBP on Ebay) - install a free Linux on it, Lubuntu Linux(free)- install Flash(free)
#3: buy Mobile Web allowance for you SIM card
#4: connect to the phone via Wifi
#5: buy a mouse to the netbook
For farm names:
streetmap.co.uk/
All the times up to date database,edited and maintainded by volunteers:
openstreetmap.org/
Use postode finder, to confirm,and make sure the address is exists where you heading to:
royalmail.com/find-a-postcode
Use Street View
maps.google.co.uk/maps?output=classic
Good luck 
N0rbert:
#1: buy an Android mobile phone, that has Hotspot option(50 GBP). Menu- Wireless and settings- Tethering and hotspot- Mobile AP
#2: buy an used ASUS eee 7" netbook 8 GB SSD (20 GBP on Ebay) - install a free Linux on it, Lubuntu Linux(free)- install Flash(free)
#3: buy Mobile Web allowance for you SIM card
#4: connect to the phone via Wifi
#5: buy a mouse to the netbookFor farm names:
streetmap.co.uk/All the times up to date database,edited and maintainded by volunteers:
openstreetmap.org/Use postode finder, to confirm,and make sure the address is exists where you heading to:
royalmail.com/find-a-postcodeUse Street View
maps.google.co.uk/maps?output=classicGood luck
And what do you do when you’re in the middle of nowhere without phone reception let alone 3g?
Ader1:
I don’t think many farmers sit by the phone all day. And I can’t imagine many of the ones I know carrying around a mobile either. But I agree, it’s worth giving them a call as the wife might well be around…unless she’s gone shopping/feeding the arnimals or whatever?
When I lived in Yorkshire for a few months, I was delivering corn seed and had to call the farm before leaving the seed place and if the farmer didn’t answer it was his wife, or I left a message and they called me back either to say he’ll be in or if he wasn’t the keys to the tele handler are left in it…
Anyway back on topic, the best maps to find farms are the A2Z’s…
muckles:
And what do you do when you’re in the middle of nowhere without phone reception let alone 3g?
Check it before your departure.
DAF95XF:
Ader1:
I don’t think many farmers sit by the phone all day. And I can’t imagine many of the ones I know carrying around a mobile either. But I agree, it’s worth giving them a call as the wife might well be around…unless she’s gone shopping/feeding the arnimals or whatever?When I lived in Yorkshire for a few months, I was delivering corn seed and had to call the farm before leaving the seed place and if the farmer didn’t answer it was his wife, or I left a message and they called me back either to say he’ll be in or if he wasn’t the keys to the tele handler are left in it…
Anyway back on topic, the best maps to find farms are the A2Z’s…
couldn’t agree more always ring the farmer first there might only be one way into the farm narrow bridge narrow gate could be anything whatever your collecting might not even be on farm could be at a barn somewhere else
N0rbert:
muckles:
And what do you do when you’re in the middle of nowhere without phone reception let alone 3g?Check it before your departure.
So you’ve planned your route using various websites, but you got to a point and find it’s not possible to continue and have to work out a new route?
It’s happened to me, in fact a couple of weeks ago, planned my route check it using street view, all seemed good until I got within a km or 2 of my destination and found that I couldn’t go any further due to roadwork in a village.
muckles:
(…) I couldn’t go any further due to roadwork in a village.
Option 1: call the customer,and ask him for directions.
Option 2:Call your planner, and tell him, you are lost.
N0rbert:
muckles:
(…) I couldn’t go any further due to roadwork in a village.Option 1: call the customer,and ask him for directions.
Option 2:Call your planner, and tell him, you are lost.
Like I said earlier you don’t have a phone signal.
We could go round like this for ages and I’m not out to prove you wrong, what you suggest will probably work most of the time and they are useful links. and I’m not some Luddite who think we should be navigating by where the moss is growing. I use Google maps and sat nav, and I think they’re great tools, far better than the box of AtoZ’s that I used to carry.
But for the sake of a few quid having a really decent map could be useful back-up when the technology doesn’t work, which can happen in very rural areas, where my mother lives you can’t get a mobile phone signal and where I live you can’t get data and I wouldn’t say either place was the back end of nowhere.
N0rbert:
muckles:
(…) I couldn’t go any further due to roadwork in a village.Option 1: call the customer,and ask him for directions.
Option 2:Call your planner, and tell him, you are lost.
what if you tip at at a farm with a poor signal, then have to reload at another farm which also has a blackspot?
calling the customer is fine, he can give you directions but what if he doesn’t know where you are calling from, he might tell you directions from the other side?
and some drivers don’t have office bods and planners on the other end of the phone all day. my boss is great with helping me with directions but I know of others who have bosses driving too and cant be at call all day, all of this is ok if you know where you are calling from though, and you have a signal!