In 2015, the Environment Agency released it’s LIDAR data to the general public. LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) uses a laser “to scan and map the landscape from above and is widely considered to be the best method for collecting very dense and accurate elevation data across the landscape.” [source]

Stefan Janusz from Defra Digital has posted a way of using this data on a Raspberry Pi (not to mention Macs and Windows machines) to generate 3D terrain maps based on this data. In particular, Minecraft Pi Edition is used to generate these maps in a live environment. It’s all very ‘big data’-y and exciting, and fun! You can explore this method of using the LIDAR data here. Make sure you read the whole thing and get to the Pi instructions, which are a little way down the page.