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Gift your family a map to race across the world this Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2025 in Gift Ideas, Travel News

Marco Polo map used in Race Across the World

Is your home team is glued to Celebrity Race Across the World?

There’s a reason…

Recently, a friend lamented that her daughter never looked up from her phone long enough to know where she was. On a family road trip, they hit traffic near a McDonald’s. Hours later, the daughter looked up in another traffic jam and said, “Are we still at McDonald’s?” Her mother was sure if she let her daughter out of the car at that point, she’d have had no idea where she was. 

A friend visiting Oxford from the US was frustrated by the Google map on her phone. Every time she tried to find the beginning and the end of the Cotswolds, she lost track of the little villages she wanted to visit in between. She begged me to draw the area on an A4 sheet of paper so she could remember where all the itty-bitty stops were that she wanted to make. I realised after what she needed was a trusty map of England that helps orient you in an area you’re not familiar with. What these do is help you plan, while sparking a little imagination and curiosity.

Setting out to discover something new, somewhere you’ve never been, or something you’ve never seen before is one of the most satisfying human experiences available to us. Maps bring out the child-like wonder again, the sense of surprise when you see a world map and realise just how tiny your little corner of it is.

Just look at how popular Race Across the World has become. At Heartwood, we have proudly supplied Marco Polo maps for every season of the BBC’s award-winning series. Why is the show so popular? Because it combines the thrill of competition with authentic travel experiences that are beautiful and educational. Viewers connect with the contestants and the unscripted tension produced by the no-tech, low-budget premise. It’s exciting and terrifying! And the Marco Polo in each of us is there for it!

How much of our own world do we miss when we are locked into pre-programmed GPS with a projected arrival time we’re trying to beat? And aren’t we all looking for a little more adventure?

So this Christmas, maybe the printed map is something we all need to rediscover. Truth is we’re all desperate to unplug. So why not unscroll a wall map with your family and plot your own course for a race across the world in 2026. It’s been said that the safest child these days is actually one who can navigate the world without their phone. And that starts with the sort of perspective that only printed maps can offer.

We are delighted to work closely with the production team for the BBC’s popular Race Across the World TV series. We have created mapping to support contestants’ adventures for of the series to date and counting.

See our full range of maps here.

Marco Polo World Political Marco Polo Folded Map with Flags