Edgelands · England & Wales
Find the in-between.
Britain's overlooked land, mapped.
A research tool for the curious. We map every registered freehold in England and Wales. The bits in between are where it gets interesting.
§ 01
What you're looking at
Edgelands shows every registered freehold polygon in England and Wales, drawn straight from HM Land Registry's INSPIRE dataset. Pan around. Zoom in. The gaps between the polygons are where your own research starts.
We don't tell you who owns the land. We don't tell you it's yours for the taking. We show you what's in the public record and what isn't. What you do next is up to you.
INSPIRE polygons over an OS Outdoor basemap.
§ 02
Three steps
- Step 01
Open the map
Pan to where you live, or somewhere you're curious about. Switch between Outdoor and Satellite views to get a feel for the terrain.
- Step 02
Look for the gaps
Coloured polygons show registered freehold land. The empty space between them is where the questions start.
- Step 03
Build a field log
Save sites you want to follow up on. Add notes, photos, a status. Track each site from "spotted" through to "researched" or "abandoned".
§ 03
What this app is, and what it isn't
Three things every prospector should know before starting.
- 01
Unregistered isn't unowned
Most unregistered land in Britain has an owner. The Crown, the Church Commissioners, ancient estates, councils, family trusts. It simply hasn't passed through the Land Registry's freehold register since registration became compulsory.
- 02
We only cover England and Wales
Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own land registries. Edgelands doesn't include them yet. Leasehold titles aren't included either.
- 03
Boundaries are indicative
INSPIRE polygons aren't legal title plans. They show the approximate position of registered land. Use them to find sites worth investigating, not to settle disputes.
Could one of these gaps end up yours? Maybe, the long and patient legal way, with a solicitor in your corner. Can we help with that bit? Not a chance. We just point at the land nobody else is looking at. The wondering is the fun part.
§ 04
One plan
Full access to the map, polygon overlay, and unlimited site logging. 7-day free trial. Card required up front.
Cancel any time from your account.
No ads. No data sales. No long contracts.
§ 05
Common questions
Where does the data come from?
HM Land Registry's INSPIRE Index Polygons, released under the Open Government Licence. Updated on the first Sunday of each month.
What's missing from the map?
Leasehold titles, some Crown Estate parcels, the foreshore, most public highways, and Scotland and Northern Ireland entirely. There's no separate 'gaps' layer to switch on: the map draws every registered freehold, and the unregistered land is the space it leaves behind.
Can I actually claim unregistered land using this?
Finding it is step one, and step one is what Edgelands does. The legal route is adverse possession: twelve years of factual possession on unregistered land, an intention to possess, and no consent from any owner. The part most people don't know is the difference notification makes. Apply on registered land and HM Land Registry writes to the owner, who can object, and usually does. On unregistered land, no letter goes out. Nobody gets notified. Twelve years is the price of entry and most people won't wait, which is exactly why the gaps are still there. Find one worth pursuing and a solicitor takes it from there.
Why £5?
It's the price of one decent pint. It covers hosting, map tiles, and ongoing development. We'd rather charge a fair price than fund the app with ads or data sales.
Do you sell my data?
No. We store your account, your saved sites, and your notes. That's it. Nothing leaves the database.
Can I use this for serious property research?
It's a useful starting point. For anything that matters legally, pay HMLR for the actual title plan (£7 per title) and talk to a solicitor.
Why is the app called Edgelands?
The term was coined by Marion Shoard in 2002 and popularised by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts in their 2011 book. It describes the transitional spaces between countryside and town. The marginal places. We thought it was a good fit.
What if I cancel mid-month?
You keep access until the end of your billing period, then your account goes dormant. We don't charge again. Your saved sites stay in the database for 90 days in case you change your mind.
Is there a free tier?
No. The 7-day trial is free. After that, it's £5 a month or nothing. We tried to design the trial long enough to actually use the app properly.
§ 06
About
I'm Jamie. I live in Cornwall, and I built Edgelands because I couldn't find anything that did this well.
HM Land Registry publishes the outline of every registered freehold in England and Wales. It arrives as 318 separate downloads in a format that needs converting before you can look at it, so almost nobody looks at it. I do the converting, one council at a time, and put it on a map.
I'm not a solicitor and this isn't a claims service. Most unregistered land has an owner. Edgelands is a research tool for finding the places worth investigating, and what you do after that is a question for someone qualified to answer it.
The name is borrowed from Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts' book of the same title. I recommend it.
Built on HM Land Registry INSPIRE data, Ordnance Survey, MapTiler, and OpenStreetMap.
Open data · Open record