We recently had this informative message sent by PC Lynn Black, National Rural Crime Scotland:

“As of Tuesday 9th March 2021 Police Scotland will now use the ‘what3words’ app to help pinpoint a particular location in emergency situations in addition to traditional addresses.

What3words works by gridding the Earth into 3×3 metre squares – the coordinates of each are then given three unique words to pinpoint an exact location. This will be useful for members of the public who are contacting the police from rural or unknown areas.

“What3words will help frontline police officers and staff to locate members of the public quickly when they are calling from an unknown or rural area. When Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease, we know that people may want to venture further from home, to remote or rural locations. What3words does not change the requirement to ensure that you are properly prepared if heading to the hills, always have a map and compass and ensure that you have your route planned out in advance.”

Superintendent Iain MacLelland”

More information about what3words can be found on the what3words website: https://what3words.com/about

It’s worth having a wee look and acquainting yourself with the app. We had a bit of fun [online, at  https://what3words.com/ ] and, purely to be able to provide examples, found that,

  • If you’re sitting on the Quay End bench, your 3 words will be ‘unscathed.tangling.shepherdess’
  • If you’re visiting the castle, you could be standing on ‘historic.daredevil.gravitate’ and
  • At the top of Wardlaw, your 3 words could be ‘drank.pursue.joyously’!

What3Words can you find? Within What3Words are you sitting right now?!