That is a good idea. I have been carrying a 3" magnifying glass in my pocket on my last couple of long distance walks as it was less likely to get broken than my glasses. A cheap pair of glasses that magnify a bit more, that I could hang around my neck, could be even better. I used to use the magnifying bit in the end of the compass but it was a bit too small to really help much!

How about doing it that many times that you don't need the bloody maps any more?

I would recommend just taking the footprint maps as the walk is so well signposted and eroded it's difficult to get lost apart from the farmland