OpenStreetMap with Location Marker

OpenStreetMap is a free to use mapping service, maintained by a group of volunteers in a manner similar to Wikipedia.

This article explains how to create a link to a map with a marker symbol on the chosen location.

Enter a search term in the search box, for example "cineworld edinburgh". You will get a set of results in the search results bar. Clicking on the result will produce a map centered on that location with a marker pointing to this spot.

However, the marker may not  be in the exact position you need it. In this case, double-click on the desired location; this will re-center the map at this point; it will also zoom in by one increment. The location marker will still be displayed in the original  position.

Adjust the zoom level to your requirement.

Now click on the "Permalink" at the bottom right of the map: this will reload the page with a permanent URL in the browser's address bar specifying the latitude and longitude of the chosen location as well as the chosen zoom level:

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=55.94125&lon=-3.21823&zoom=15&layers=M

However, this link will show the map without location marker. To display the map with a marker, modify the link by prefixing the longitude and latitude parameters with an "m":

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=55.94125&mlon=-3.21823&zoom=15&layers=M

The modified link will show a map with a highly visible bright red marker. The following example uses the location of the Scottish Independence Yes Campaign launch at Cineworld, Edinburgh: