Sark (Sercq) is the resonate original title of this 1965 U.K. Ministry of Defence survey, a bilingual nod to the island’s Norman heritage and its liminal position between Britain and France. Set within the Channel Islands, the sheet marries meticulous military precision with a refined aesthetic, using a detailed grid reference system to anchor every contour, headland, and hamlet to an exact place. The muted palette—green in the lowlands, earthy brown over the heights—draws the eye across a compact landscape of cliffs, folds, and cultivated fields, while political notations fix the administrative realities of the mid-twentieth century. The result is a document conceived for governance and defense, yet equally compelling for the civilian viewer: a lucid, measured portrait of an island whose small scale belies extraordinary geographic character.

Topography is the map’s quiet drama. Contour lines crowd the coastal margins to signal precipitous cliffs, then relax inland into measured intervals that trace the island’s rhythm of hills and shallow valleys. The ascent to The Moulin—Sark’s storied high point—reads clearly in tightening rings and darkening tints, a visual crescendo that resolves in the island’s roofline. Between upland knolls and sheltered dips, the cartography discriminates fields, orchards, and residential pockets through crisp land-use annotation, revealing the human geometry laid over ancient rock. The color scheme reinforces relief without shouting, the greens cooling the lower slopes and the browns warming the crestlines, so that form and elevation can be read at a glance while still rewarding close study.

Settlement and movement interlock with thoughtful clarity. The principal village of Sark is styled as the administrative heart, its symbol and typography distinguished amid the surrounding patchwork of farms. La Grève sits close to the sea, a coastal outpost poised between landward lanes and maritime approach. The Moulin, more than a mere toponym, is a navigational landmark in its own right, commanding both literal and symbolic heights. Roads are graded by width to show hierarchy—main routes threading the island’s spine, minor lanes splaying toward fields, cliffs, and coves—echoing Sark’s famed pedestrian and tractor-drawn cadence. Footpaths and trackways, implied by the careful lattice, complete a network that privileges human scale, binding village, hinterland, and shore into a unified, readable fabric.

Political boundaries, finely keyed to the era, add a layer of governance to the physical script. The map records mid-century administrative divisions with unobtrusive linework, allowing jurisdictional realities to coexist with terrain rather than obscuring it. In the post-war context, such clarity served both civil management and strategic readiness—an island’s communications, land tenure, and access routes had meaning beyond the purely local. The grid reference system, crisp and exacting, is the operational backbone: an index for dispatchers, surveyors, and planners, enabling precise location of infrastructure and settlements. Nomenclature alternates between English and French forms, acknowledging Sark’s legal and cultural lineage while situating it firmly within a broader Crown dependency framework shaped by defense, commerce, and maritime vigilance.

Water frames the island like an illuminated border. Balline Bay and La Baie de Sercq are inscribed with the poise of maritime toponyms that are both destination and warning, their arcs enclosing waters whipped by tides and narrow passages. Surrounding sea routes are traced with the economical assurance of a navigator’s hand, aligning coastal approaches with the lanes that reach inward via roads and paths. The cliffed perimeter breaks into intimate amphitheaters of shore—bays, inlets, coves—each rendered in contours that describe depth and exposure as eloquently as they do height. This littoral choreography, paired with land-use notation inland, makes the map a complete island portrait: a composed dialogue between sea and rock, authority and community, utility and enduring beauty.

Cities and towns on this map

• Sark — primary settlement and administrative center
• La Grève — smaller settlement close to the coastline
• The Moulin — notable location with local significance

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Detailed topographic lines indicating elevation changes
• Roads marked with varying widths to denote importance
• Settlement locations labeled with distinctive types of symbols
• Surrounding maritime features, including bays and sea routes
• Annotation of land use (e.g., agriculture, residential areas)

Historical and design context

• Date created: 1965
• Mapmaker/Publisher: U.K. Ministry of Defence
• Muted color palette highlighting topographic variation (green for low-lying areas, brown for elevations)
• Detailed grid reference system for precise location identification and navigation
• Depicts both physical and political features of Sark (topographic and administrative)
• Emphasizes mid-20th-century administrative divisions and road networks (topics: political boundaries, transportation)
• Reflects post–World War II military and administrative importance of the Channel Islands (defense and governance context)

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

Please note: the labels on this map are hard to read if you order a map that is 20in (50cm) or smaller. The map is still very attractive, but if you would like to read the map easily, please buy a larger size.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

If you are not happy with your order for any reason, contact me and I'll get it fixed ASAP, free of charge. Please see my returns and refund policy for more information.

I am very confident you will like your restored map or art print. I have been doing this since 1984. I'm a 5-star Etsy seller. I have sold tens of thousands of maps and art prints and have over 5,000 real 5-star reviews. My work has been featured in interior design magazines, on the BBC, and on the walls of dozens of 5-star hotels.

I use a unique process to restore maps and artwork that is massively time consuming and labour intensive. Hunting down the original maps and illustrations can take months. I use state of the art and eye-wateringly expensive technology to scan and restore them. As a result, I guarantee my maps and art prints are a cut above the rest. I stand by my products and will always make sure you're 100% happy with what you receive.

Almost all of my maps and art prints look amazing at large sizes (200cm, 6.5ft+) and I can frame and deliver them to you as well, via special oversized courier. Contact me to discuss your specific needs.