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The iPhone version of Google Maps makes it possible to store maps offline, limited to blocks of 50km square. To do this, first search for an area then, when its label appears at the bottom, swipe up then tap the menu button (three dots) followed by ‘Save offline map’. Now pinch to zoom into the area and tap SAVE. Type a name then tap SAVE again. To call up saved maps, tap the app’s main menu button (three lines), then tap ‘Your places’.

We know of no current easy (or legal) way to save Google Maps data on a PC, because Google has changed the way the service works to make it difficult to do so. However, the free GMapCatcher

program (bit.ly/1Fo5FGa) which previously did the job for Google Maps now lets you download maps from a variety of popular services, including Microsoft’s Bing Maps (www.bing.com/maps) and the popular OpenStreetMap (www.openstreetmap.org).