Google maps has launched its Streetview facility quite recently in the UK and I'm stunned by it. It's one of the most interesting things I've seen on a PC for a while. By shutting down the left-hand side menu and hitting F11, you can make the picture very large and also split the screen with the small map at the bottom right or reduce it back down again.

Although my house and road are mysteriously and annoyingly absent (even though all the surrounding roads are present for miles around...) it's still very good. I've been to see the house in which I was born and note the changes over half a century. I was able to visit schools, workplaces, parks, flats and houses that were part of my life decades ago. I'd never have done it in the car. On a PC it's quick and surprisingly interesting.

A hotel I stayed in in 1968. Switzerland.

Because you can almost play Streetview like a 3D game and move around the roads, I was able to 'drive' myself along once familiar routes in other cities and it's amazing what you remember despite the passing of time. I found myself feeling that the experience was a little odd. It was a bit like having a time machine and going back to earlier parts of my life.

A field next to one house I had long ago was covered in new houses. A house where I lived in a top floor flat was instantly recognisable. The route to the pub when I was a student stayed with me 27 years on.

I found, also, places that had been of significance to me on holiday - particularly in France - and they were still there as if I could be standing by them again all those years ago.

Way back when                                            In the here and now

Another thing I've enjoyed doing with Streetview is taking mystery tours. To do that you just drop yourself somewhere random in, say, Italy or France - and then wander about checking out the buildings and people. This can go wrong if you land at the side of a dull and long road but you can always get back into the Streetview Tardis and fling yourself a couple of hundred miles away to try again.

These are just a few of the locations I've revisited in Streetview.  I spent 23 years of my life in these places when I add it all up and it's a surprise to see them again after so long.

   
I was born in the first house and lived in the others in the 70s

If you haven't tried it then give it a shot yourself. You might find a lump in your throat too. Go into Google. Hit Google Maps. Then see where you can drop and drag that little gold coloured icon of a man. When you hover over the map you'll see the areas go blue where imagery is available. It isn't everywhere but I hope it is before long. Drop the icon where you want to go and start using the mouse and arrow keys to virtually turn your head to look around you, e.g. up trees, or to travel along roads exploring.

The U.S. imagery appears washed out and low res compared to the European photos, and many countries don't feature at all. All the European Streetview material is really clear, though. I found myself wishing I could go into parks I knew - or, indeed, the open door of that bar in France! This isn't possible. You can only go where the Google camera vans went which is along roads.

See what you can find. If you have coverage, it's as easy as putting in your postcode and choosing the Streetview option to go straight to your location. If this isn't possible, as I've outlined already, drag and drop the little gold man icon and if the roads turn blue on the map, you're in business.

Whether your road is on it or not - and mine isn't - everyone can take a trip to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris and have a good nose at the general area and all the people. Their faces may have been blurred by software as are number plates on cars and some signs, but you still get a sense of the moment and some, at least, of the experience of travel.

FlameDruid April 2009

UK watchdog rules Streetview doesn't invade privacy