Support

Email support@shadowmarkmaps.com. We aim to reply within two working days.

Post: Shadowmark Ltd, Level 30, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4AB

Getting started

• Swipe up the panel at the bottom of the map for the LiDAR views, map type, protected areas, 3D, offline areas and Pro.
• "Try it" in the panel has demo places in England, the USA and France, and a demo of the protected-site warning.
• Tap the location button (top right) to show where you are. The app works without location: you can search or scroll anywhere.

Pro, trials and refunds

• Restore Pro on a new phone or after reinstalling: panel › Unlock Pro › Restore purchases. Use the same Apple Account or Google account you bought with.
• Cancel a subscription: on iPhone, Settings › your name › Subscriptions; on Android, Google Play › Profile › Payments and subscriptions › Subscriptions. Pro stays on until the end of the period you've paid for.
• Free trial: the annual plan starts with 7 days free for new subscribers. To avoid the charge, cancel before the trial ends (on iPhone, at least 24 hours before).
• Refunds are handled by Apple (reportaproblem.apple.com) or Google (Google Play refunds). We can't issue them ourselves.

Offline areas

• Zoom in until the screen covers 25 km² or less, then open the panel and tap Save this area for offline. The app shows progress, then the saved size.
• A saved area keeps the national LiDAR, the base map and the Scheduled Monument outlines. With Pro it also keeps the Pro view you're using. Satellite imagery isn't saved: its licence doesn't allow offline use.
• One saved area is free; Pro saves as many as you like. To delete one, tap Delete twice.
• Saved areas don't update by themselves. Save the area again to refresh it.

Search

Search works without a signal. Try a place or river name, a postcode district or sector (such as SN8 or SN8 1), an OS grid reference (such as SY 669 884) or coordinates (such as 51.39, -1.67).

Finds log

• Tap Finds › Add find, then add photos (camera or library) and notes. The app fills in your GPS or map position and a 10-figure OS grid reference; the Code of Practice asks for at least 8 figures, a 10 m square.
• Finds are stored only on your phone, and in its own backups if you use them. Use Export PDF or Export CSV to keep a copy or send it to your Finds Liaison Officer. Deleting the app deletes your finds.

Compass

Tap the compass (top right) to turn the map the way you're facing; tap it again for north up. On iPhone the app asks for motion access the first time. If you said no, allow it in Settings › Shadowmark Maps.

Protected-site warnings

• Red areas are Scheduled Monuments from Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
• With location on, the app shows a red warning when you're on or within 50 m of one, even if the red layer is hidden. Tap OK and it stays quiet until you leave that monument.
• Warnings work offline in saved areas and in places the app has already downloaded.
• They cover England only, and the outlines are a guide, not a legal boundary. The app doesn't show other restricted land: see the rules below.
• If an outline looks wrong, the record belongs to Historic England. Check the National Heritage List.

The rules for detecting and digging

A summary for England and Wales, based on the Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting and GOV.UK. It isn't legal advice: read the Code itself.

Before you go

• Get permission from the landowner, and the tenant if there is one, for any land: fields, woods, parks, beaches and foreshore all have an owner. Agree in writing who owns any finds.
• Stay off protected places.
  • Detecting on a Scheduled Monument without consent is a criminal offence. In England the consent comes from Historic England, in Wales from Cadw.
  • Sites of Special Scientific Interest may need Natural England's consent.
  • Military aircraft crash sites need a Ministry of Defence licence.
  • Access rights on open access land don't cover metal detecting.
  • Land in some farm environment schemes is restricted.
  Take extra care near boundaries, which aren't always clear on the ground.
• Get public liability insurance, for example through the National Council for Metal Detecting or the Federation of Independent Detectorists.
• Find your local Finds Liaison Officer.

While you're detecting

• Work on ground that has already been disturbed, such as ploughed land, and only to the depth of ploughing. Fill in your holes neatly.
• Stop digging if you find something below the ploughsoil or a concentration of finds, and ask your Finds Liaison Officer for help.
• Record each findspot to at least an 8-figure grid reference. The finds log does this from your GPS.
• Follow the Countryside Code.

Afterwards

• Report Treasure within 14 days. In England and Wales, report potential Treasure to your local Finds Liaison Officer within 14 days of finding it, or of realising it might be Treasure. Not reporting it is a criminal offence (GOV.UK: Report treasure; Treasure Act 1996).
• Show your finds to the landowner, and record archaeological finds with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
• If you find human remains, call the police on 101 and tell the landowner.
• If something might be a live explosive, don't touch it: call the police or HM Coastguard, and tell the landowner.
• Taking archaeological objects more than 50 years old out of the UK needs an export licence.
• Report illegal detecting to the police.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

• Scotland has its own law. All archaeological finds must be reported to the Treasure Trove Unit, and consent for Scheduled Monuments comes from Historic Environment Scotland.
• Northern Ireland has its own rules. Check with the Department for Communities' Historic Environment Division before you detect.
• The app shows Scheduled Monuments for England only.

Where the data comes from

LiDAR shading comes from national mapping and environment agencies, the base map from OpenStreetMap contributors, and Scheduled Monuments from Historic England. The data and licences page lists every source; in the app, see the map's ⓘ credits or panel › Data and licences. Coverage depends on what each country has published. Shadowmark Maps is independent and is not affiliated with any government body.

Deleting your data

Everything you create stays on your phone. Delete saved areas or finds in the app, or delete the app to remove it all. To delete your purchase record, email us with the order number from your App Store or Google Play receipt. Privacy policy.