How the crowd draws
25 drawings of its land border, from memory on Borderline’s United Kingdom map, 28 September 2026 to 26 October 2026.
In numbers
| The real one | The crowd’s | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,272 km²491 sq mi | 1,193 km²461 sq mi↓6.2% smaller |
| Outline | 226 km140 mi | 222 km138 mi↓1.6% shorter |
| Centre | 2.28° W, 53.52° N2.3° W, 53.5° N | 2.29° W, 53.50° N2.3° W, 53.5° N↓2 km south1 mi south |
| Westernmost | 2.73° W, 53.52° N2.7° W, 53.5° N | 2.72° W, 53.58° N2.7° W, 53.6° N→1 km short1 mi short |
| Easternmost | 1.91° W, 53.54° N1.9° W, 53.5° N | 1.96° W, 53.54° N2.0° W, 53.5° N←3 km short2 mi short |
| Southernmost | 2.16° W, 53.33° N2.2° W, 53.3° N | 2.18° W, 53.33° N2.2° W, 53.3° N=the same |
| Northernmost | 2.13° W, 53.69° N2.1° W, 53.7° N | 2.30° W, 53.65° N2.3° W, 53.7° N↓4 km short2 mi short |
Near the land border, 53% of the crowd’s lines run inside Greater Manchester.
Borders
| Border with | In the game | The crowd’s |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 83 km in the game | 74 km the crowd’s↓10.8% shorter |
| Cheshire | 67 km in the game | 83 km the crowd’s↑23.9% longer |
| West Yorkshire | 31 km in the game | 21 km the crowd’s↓32.3% shorter |
| Derbyshire | 31 km in the game | 25 km the crowd’s↓19.4% shorter |
| Merseyside | 18 km in the game | 22 km the crowd’s↑22.2% longer |
Watch the drawings
See every line on The Drawn UK →How it is measured
The crowd’s Greater Manchester: every few km along the real line, each drawing’s nearest point, inside Greater Manchester or outside it; the median over a short stretch is where the crowd puts the line there, and the real outline moved by it is the crowd’s. Where the move folds a narrow inlet over itself, the loop is cut.
The 25 drawings that scored 10 or more on Borderline’s United Kingdom map, scribbles left out, the real line the game’s own. Area true to scale; the outline copies the real line’s detail, so its length changes only where the shape moves or a loop is cut.
Measuring how far the crowd moves the centre was Matt Forrest’s idea (forrest.nyc).
Draw Greater Manchester yourself and add your line to the next update.