Harvey Maps was founded in 1977. The founders of the company were Robin and Susan Harvey, who remain its Directors to this day. From the beginning, Harvey specialised in making maps for outdoor recreation, principally walking, cycling and orienteering. The maps have always benn based on original mapping derived from new surveys from air photography.

In 1977 the company produced the map for the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon. This map was the beginning of what is now an extensive series.