Google your way around the UK with Street View
Recently, Google has unveiled its street view platform in the UK. Originating in the USA first, Google Street View offers users a 3d view of streets and cities. With Street View you can navigate along hundreds of thousands of roads, exploring in great detail using the navigation features to travel down any road, close, avenue, dual carriage way, or motorway of your choice.
Image of London in Google maps
To the right is a screenshot of Google Maps which is the higher platform to Google Street View. In order to go into a street view session, you need to select the orange man on the top left hand corner, click and drag him to the area you wish to explore, and let go. At the moment Google is still updating views of the UK.
Google Maps was the starting point for Google’s navigation based platform, allowing users to user either a map or satellite view of the terrain to explore areas, find locations, and locate businesses and more. As time went on the Maps platform expanded, offering more dynamic views of the earth, with interactive views, 3d imaging and terrain exploration.
Google’s next step was to allow webmasters to integrate Google maps with their websites, allowing the plotting of coordinates and customization of the maps.
The current step has now brought Google to creating the Street View platform which offers an incredibly detailed 3d view of streets using high quality imaging. You can explore in any way you wish, choose what road to go down, what junctions to take, zoom in on shops, even take a look at the people that have been captured leaving pubs, shops and much more.
It’s amazing to think that Google have managed to create the idea and put it into existence considering the sheer volume of places throughout the USA and the UK. The amount of storage needed for this huge volume of images would near an exobyte in size.
So what kinds of views are on offer?
Take a look at some of the famous UK landmarks with Google Street View, below is Big Ben
Big Ben in Google Street view
Here is a snapshot taken from Google Street View, this is one of the most famous landmarks in the UK and is found in central London.
When you are done exploring Big Ben, why not take a trip to Regent Street, London
Regents Street in Google Street view