Ship of Fools: Strange or stupid street signs or place names

Thread: Strange or stupid street signs or place names Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Silver Faux (# 8783) on :

There is a main thoroughfare in Calgary, Alberta named Bow Bottom Trail, and that's the honest truth! It runs off Deerfoot Trail.

Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :

For stupid I most vote for a city in Virginia that has streets by the names of Sixth Street, Sixth Place, and Sixth Ave all running parallel to each other. Heaven help them in an emergency.

Posted by Squirrel (# 3040) on :

In the Washington, DC area there's a place called Foggy Bottom. As I recall there's also a subway stop with that name.

Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Graven Image:
For stupid I most vote for a city in Virginia that has streets by the names of Sixth Street, Sixth Place, and Sixth Ave all running parallel to each other. Heaven help them in an emergency.

We have that same pathology in Portland, though not the Street/Avenue bit--all the numbered ones are Avenues, unless they're Places or Courts.

However, what is it with needing to name streets after famous people with their full names? 39th Ave. was recently changed to Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. I'm totally fine with naming it after him, but we have Grant St., not Ulysses S. Grant Street, and Sherman St., not William Tecumseh Sherman Street. Why not just call it Chavez Ave.?

[ 09. July 2012, 04:33: Message edited by: Timothy the Obscure ]

Posted by Paddy O'Furniture (# 12953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Squirrel:
In the Washington, DC area there's a place called Foggy Bottom. As I recall there's also a subway stop with that name.

Yes. I'm from that neck of the woods and I always wondered about the name. When my gay male friends and I used to ride the subway and pass that station, they always called it 'Faggy Bottom'. Gay men... what silly dears they are.

Posted by W Hyatt (# 14250) on :

For stupid street signs, I would nominate a warning sign near where I live. It says "REDUCED SPEED AHEAD" not 60 feet (20 meters) before the road ends with a stop sign at a "T" intersection, both of which are clearly visible from before the warning sign. If, for some reason, a driver wished to continue through the intersection without reducing speed, they would immediately encounter a large boulder several feet high at the far side of the intersection, also clearly visible from before the nominated sign. I have never been able to figure out why anyone ever decided that such a sign provided the right kind of warning at this particular spot.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

A thing I find irritating - and which posties/ deliverymen must curse on a daily basis - is a housing development not so far from here where the same name is used throughout. Having started with the usual ______ St and ______ Ave, through Gdns, Pl, Court, Rise, Loan, Hill, Grove and Wood to the frankly desperate Howe, Shaw and Crook.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

I was born in Ramsbottom.

[Big Grin]

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

Here's somewhere we passed on our recent holiday [Snigger]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gray1720/7496988018/in/photostream

Dawkins would love it...

AG

Posted by Sighthound (# 15185) on :

While walking in Shropshire I came upon a signpost to 'The Bog.' It's a village/hamlet, apparently.

Posted by Balaam (# 4543) on :

@Sandemaniac - Is that the Twatt in Orkney or the Twatt in Shetland?

In Manchester, Canal St, at the centre of the city's Gay Village is often defaced. Apt.

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :

There's a hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales called Booze.

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:
There's a hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales called Booze.

And one in Dorset called Beer.

Which caused some amusement when we ran a youth team cricket tour to that area several years ago. The invoice item "Youth Team Cricket Tour: Beer" was quite strongly queried by the people who were funding it!

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

a street near mine is called Whigmi. I asked around. it stands for What Have I Gotten Myself Into? named by the property developer.

I love honesty.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Balaam:
@Sandemaniac - Is that the Twatt in Orkney or the Twatt in Shetland?

It's the Orkney one. We couldn't find the road sign that just points to Twatt (rather than Finstown as well), but that may have something to do with the hen party we saw in Kirkwall clutching one...

AG

Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :

Local-ish to me we have "Claggy Bottom".

There's also the fabled pub/town/county combo, but it relies on mis-pronouncing the county contraction slightly (Hertfordshire > Herts should be pronounced "Hearts" but is sometimes pronounced "Hurts"):

The Cock
Welwyn
Herts

(Welwyn is correctly pronounced well-in, not well-win).

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :

There is also the Ugley Women's Institute somewhere in Suffolk I believe, and the Idle Working Men's Club in Bradford.

Posted by Balaam (# 4543) on :

Does it often rain cats and dogs here?

Posted by Erik (# 11406) on :

There is a small alley in York which at some point must have changed its name but the sign reads-

NewName Street
formerly Mad Aliss Lane

I would love to know the story behind that.

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

Foggy Bottom got its name from the fact that it is frequently foggy and it's bottom land--i.e. low-lying land near the river.

Moo

Posted by WearyPilgrim (# 14593) on :

There's a section of the town of New Portland, Maine
known as Katy's Crotch. There is (as one can imagine) an allegedly true story involving this, but SOF is not an appropriate forum in which to share it.

[Big Grin]

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :

In Northfleet, Kent, there is a housing estate named for Battle of Britain pilots and one of the roads is named Bader Walk, which was quite an achievement as the man himself, Squadron Leader Douglas Bader, had lost both legs in a flying accident.

Many years ago my dad was involved in a cricket tour to the West Country. They played Beer on the Saturday then Looe on Sunday.

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

How about:

Bad Bargain Lane (on the outskirts of York)

Argument Yard (in Whitby)

Posted by kingsfold (# 1726) on :

York is also home to Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate.

And there's Land of Green Ginger in Hull.

And the Perthshire village of Dull which is to be linked to the US town of Boring

[ 09. July 2012, 13:11: Message edited by: kingsfold ]

Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :

Port Isaac in Cornwall has Squeeze Belly Alley.

Posted by Photo Geek (# 9757) on :

Meigs County in Ohio has Bear Wallow Hollow Rd.

Posted by Meerkat (# 16117) on :

In good old London town, there is a little 'alleyway' called Austin Friars Passage... it always made me smile!

There is this place, too... Catsick Hill. near Barrow Upon Soar, Leicestershire

and

Catbrain Hill, Bristol BS10

Posted by WhyNotSmile (# 14126) on :

And then there's the town of Dull, in Scotland, which has recently been twinned with Boring, in Oregon:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/06/dull-and-boring-scottish-village

Posted by Nanny Ogg (# 1176) on :

I live on "Dog Kennel Lane" - although my postal address for my house differs [Roll Eyes]

There are some wonderful place names nearby;
Wasps Nest
Tongue End
Spital in the Street
No Mans Friend
Mavis Enderby
Little Steeping

And my favourite: Bicker [Smile]

Posted by St. Stephen the Stoned (# 9841) on :

There And Back Again Lane in Bristol, and Carsick Hill in Sheffield.

Not to mention Effingham Street.

[ 09. July 2012, 15:08: Message edited by: St. Stephen the Stoned ]

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

I remember a bus line in the Chicago area which made a stop at the corner of Tripp Street and Pratt Street.

Posted by monkeylizard (# 952) on :

Then there's Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located in the heart of Amish country.

Posted by Cedd (# 8436) on :

My personal favourite is a village sign in Sussex:

"Black Boys. Please drive carefully"

Seems a bit discriminatory... [Biased]

Posted by Janine (# 3337) on :

We have streets called Kangaroo Court, Quickie Drive, Eureka Drive, Ringo Cocke Road; Bull Run Road runs along a piece of the "Old Spanish Trail" -- I suppose there had to be cattle driven along there at one time, it's a ridge through the swamps.

Bars and clubs come up with odd names sometimes -- there's a Dog House and a Somewhere Else. A cousin's bar was Little Al's Corral, years ago.

Nearby neighborhoods include Elsewhere and Waterproof (named for the old plantation there, never flooded I guess).

Towns around Louisiana include Tickfaw, Swindleville, Rum Center, Jigger, Loco, Hooker Hole, Coochie, Belcher, Glasscock, Cut Off, Cocodrille, Chacahoula, Boeuf, Pointe au Chenes (or au Chiens), Bunkie (pronounced "Bonkie")...

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :

quote:
Originally posted by monkeylizard:
Then there's Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located in the heart of Amish country.

You're missing out. Also in that area:

Blue Ball
Virginville
Bird-in-Hand

Been there, lovely places - all in the heart of Pennsylvania's Amish Country!

Now in my area, "Our Lane" is a private road...

Posted by Oferyas (# 14031) on :

My family come from Shropshire, a county replete with silly names. How about the neighbouring villages of Homer and Wigwig to start with?

Posted by BessHiggs (# 15176) on :

I've always loved the name of a local community: Skullbone.

As for stupid street signs, the ones that always get me are the numerous signs around here warning of Slow Moving Farm Equipment. It leads me to assume that somewhere, there is a farming community with Fast Farm Equipment, kind of like NASCAR for combine harvesters...(which I would totally pay good money to watch BTW)

Posted by no_prophet (# 15560) on :

There is a lake on the Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan called "Bad Fart Lake" in Cree. The next lake downstream is "Dead Lake". Apparently they were not named intentionally this way. But we liked it alot when we paddled through in 2006.

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :

Now near Fairmont, West Virginia, a developer wanted to raise up a plan of "McMansions," upscale homes with pretentious plan names such as "Rider's Glen", or "Hunting Ridge" (not any more, with all those houses around!) or "Southpointe" (yes, with the added "e", raise your pinkies everyone!). Trouble was, his land was along Pinch Gut Hollow Road. He and some of the residents tried to get it changed to no avail. Story is, the horses used to pinch their bellies at a narrow pass along the road.

South Heights is a town in my area with no corresponding North, East, or West Heights, or even another town to associate it with! And the surrounding township is higher ground still!

Eighty Four, PA is a town in Western Pennslvania. NO one is quite sure how it got that name, but the link gives a few possibilities.

Cute Story: There are, in this hilly country, yellow diamond traffic signs with arrows indicating curves in the road ahead. When my oldest daughter was about 4 or 5, she saw one that wiggled left and right before pointing straight up, and asked me what it was. I told her it showed you how to drive. She then asked me why they wanted you to wiggle and go up in the air!

Blessings,

Tom

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

When I lived in Kissimmee many, many moons ago, my address was 7777 7 Dwarfs Lane. It now goes to Princess Way.

Posted by Meerkat (# 16117) on :

What about 'Pratts Bottom' and 'Badgers Mount'?

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

There was a town named Turnip Hole near where I grew up.

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

We came across a Rue de Condom in Normandy.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

Why, Arizona was supposedly named that because three major highways form a Y.

(If you visit it you'll wonder 'why' they bothered!)

Posted by Bene Gesserit (# 14718) on :

... and, back in the UK (Herts, in England), there is a village called Nasty.

Posted by ecumaniac (# 376) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:
There is also the Ugley Women's Institute somewhere in Suffolk I believe, and the Idle Working Men's Club in Bradford.

When I lived near my work, my closest WI would have been the Ugley Women's Institute! I refrained from joining. (It's in Essex)

Posted by Campbellite (# 1202) on :

This sign is about half way between me and Moo.

Posted by Campbellite (# 1202) on :

And this little community is in western Kentucky on the shores of the Ohio, just before it empties into the Mississippi.

Posted by Oferyas (# 14031) on :

My ancestors came from the Clun Valley in South Shropshire. Our favourite place name in the valley was New Invention, to which somebody had usually added '[Patent applied for]'.

A good friend of mine was churchwarden of Great Bolas, which is next to Little Bolas.

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

I grew up one street over from Gay Way.

And I have traveled on Zzyzx Road in the California Mojave Desert.

Posted by Campbellite (# 1202) on :

And another real place just west of Nashville on I-40.

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

Goodnes knows where I came across this place

Slag St

it's in Broken Hill Australia [Confused]

Posted by Oferyas (# 14031) on :

When I lived in Lincolnshire, two famously adversarial neighbouring parishes were named Wrangle and Bicker.

Posted by monkeylizard (# 952) on :

quote:
Originally posted by BessHiggs:
kind of like NASCAR for combine harvesters...(which I would totally pay good money to watch BTW)

I can hear it now:

DW:Larry's trying to make a move to the inside in that number 18. Can you believe that, Mike? They're almost two-wide going into turn number four! Boogity Boogity Boogity!

Mike Joy: I haven't seen racing like this since rotary combines were banned in 1984 following the tragic death of combine-racing great Eddy "Chicken Feed" McGrath.

[ 09. July 2012, 19:45: Message edited by: monkeylizard ]

Posted by monkeylizard (# 952) on :

There's a Hungry Mother State Park in Virginia.

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :

Sussex has a rich variety of place names, almost as rich as its variety of faith communities, of which the Virgoans HQ is one of the less wacky.

Of the names Upper Dicker stands out then there is Fulking, overlooked by Fulking Hill. Less than a mile away from there is Bushy Bottom. With all those names to chuckle at it's a wonder they do any useful work in Sussex by the Sea.

btw, how did Adversane get its name?

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :

Campbellite: There is a Bucksnort Bar in downtown Mesick (there's another goofy placename!), Michigan.

(Naturalist's note: Bucks do snort.)

Here is another great place name. We sometimes find outselves in Hell if we take the scenic route to/from Ann Arbor, through the Pinckney and lakes area. There's not a lot in Hell except a bar and a souvenir shop/ice cream emporium. So I've had an ice cream cone in Hell, and it was quite good.

Posted by Tree Bee (# 4033) on :

We always titter at Crotch Crescent in Oxford.

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LutheranChik:
Campbellite: There is a Bucksnort Bar in downtown Mesick (there's another goofy placename!), Michigan.

(Naturalist's note: Bucks do snort.)

Here is another great place name. We sometimes find outselves in Hell if we take the scenic route to/from Ann Arbor, through the Pinckney and lakes area. There's not a lot in Hell except a bar and a souvenir shop/ice cream emporium. So I've had an ice cream cone in Hell, and it was quite good.

I've been to Hell and back as well! Oddly enough, it was when my mother, sister and I took a vacation without my dad (who was seeing another woman at the time), so we went to Hell to escape Hell!

And recently, my wife was confronted with a buck snorting at her from the edge of our woods line. it move several times, not aggressively, but at each spot would snort at her as she moved about watering the plants in our yard. [Ultra confused]

[ 09. July 2012, 20:29: Message edited by: TomOfTarsus ]

Posted by ecumaniac (# 376) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Zacchaeus:
Goodnes knows where I came across this place

Slag St

it's in Broken Hill Australia

Makes sense - Broken Hill being a mining town (and slag being a mining waste product)

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

quote:
Originally posted by monkeylizard:
Then there's Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located in the heart of Amish country.

Virginia has a tourism slogan VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS

I have seen bumper stickers saying VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS BUT PENNSYLVANIA HAS INTERCOURSE.

Moo

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:

Of the names Upper Dicker stands out then there is Fulking, overlooked by Fulking Hill.

Isn't there a Cocking as well?

Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :

Tree Bee, that reminds me of Cockbush Avenue in my home town, which I manage to forget exists, then pass and snigger when it catches my eye.

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

quote:
Originally posted by TomOfTarsus:

quote:
Originally posted by monkeylizard:
Then there's Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located in the heart of Amish country.
You're missing out. Also in that area:

Blue Ball
Virginville
Bird-in-Hand

And Intercourse is north of Paradise and far to the west of Nether Providence. Mapmakers in Pennsylvania have just too much fun.

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :

Where i grew up the next village was called Lover, actually pronounced as Low-ver by the locals. However each Valentines Day people would go there to post their Valentine's cards just to get the special village post office postmark on them saying 'Lover'.

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:

quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:

Of the names Upper Dicker stands out then there is Fulking, overlooked by Fulking Hill.
Isn't there a Cocking as well?

Yes, and I've just remembered that Fulking is to the north of Devil's Dyke.

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:

quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:

quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:

Of the names Upper Dicker stands out then there is Fulking, overlooked by Fulking Hill.
Isn't there a Cocking as well?
Yes, and I've just remembered that Fulking is to the north of Devil's Dyke.

I was born and brought up in Brighton. The Devil's Dyke and Fulking Hill are on its borders, so those names don't seem odd to me at all. Quite normal. Why would anyone find them funny?

On the other hand, the OS map (though no-one I ever talked to in real life) called a valley we used to play in when we were kids "Balsdean Bottom". We thought that was hilarious.

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sighthound:
While walking in Shropshire I came upon a signpost to 'The Bog.' It's a village/hamlet, apparently.

quote:
Originally posted by Oferyas:
My family come from Shropshire, a county replete with silly names. How about the neighbouring villages of Homer and Wigwig to start with?

I never went to Shropshire before Friday just gone, when we went to stay in Bishop's Castle for a couple of days. Went in to a local museum and asked the person there what Bishop it was named after.

Answer: "No-one's ever asked me that before..."

We passed a small, no, a tiny, hamlet called "New Invention". Wikipedia tells me that there is another place called that not far away in Staffordshire.

And it seems there is a place there called "Ruyton Eleven Towns", which is spelled "Ruyton XI Towns" and is perhaps the only village in England with a Roman numeral in its name.

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :

Climax and Colon are other villages in Michigan.

And, come to think of it, I've been in Paradise as well as Hell.

Posted by Unreformed (# 17203) on :

There's a Ballsville, Virginia not too far from me.

"Balls". Huh. Huh-huh-huh-huh, heh-heh-heh.

Posted by ToujoursDan (# 10578) on :

In the NYC area there is:

Skunk's Misery Road - Locust, New York (Upstate)
Ploughman's Bush* - Riverdale, Bronx
Gay Street - Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Force Tube Avenue - Ridgewood, Brooklyn
Schenke Avenue (pronounced "skank"** as it is Dutch in origin) - Bed-Sty, Brooklyn
Cat Elbow Corner City, New York (Upstate)
Delaware Blue Balls***, Connecticut

In northern New York State and southern Québec there are streets, cities, rivers and mountains named N*gger. It's believed that the NY State names come from the anglophone pronunciation of the French word "Nigre". The State of New York has very quietly removed the names from their state maps in recent years.

===========================================
*which would be a double ententre in North American slang - "Bush" being the hairy area around the genitals.

**"Skank" is a woman of loose morals.

***"Blue balls" is slang for what a man gets when he's sexually aroused but doesn't climax.

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
Here's somewhere we passed on our recent holiday

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gray1720/7496988018/in/photostream ...

AG

I had a feeling you were going to mention that ... [Snigger]

[tangent ON]
About 25 years ago, David installed the organ in that church, with help from me and my dad. My contribution was making the tea and noticing that they'd put a row of pipes in the wrong way round ... [Big Grin]

The church has recently been replaced with a new building; I think the organ is looking for a good home. [Frown]

[/tangent OFF]

Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ken:
I was born and brought up in Brighton. The Devil's Dyke and Fulking Hill are on its borders, so those names don't seem odd to me at all. Quite normal. Why would anyone find them funny?

I feel the same about Lickey End and Bell End, which are both near where I grew up.

We used to spend many a happy afternoon feeding the ducks up the Lickeys...

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

There is a stream in Vermont known to the locals as Bare Ass Brook, because boys used to swim there naked.

However, the government maps call it Bartlett Brook. [Frown]

Moo

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :

@ Hedeghog: Yeah, I forgot about Paradise, but I've not heard of Nether Providence. But also here in Western PA, we have the oddly-named SNPJ, a "borough" created for the sole purpose of obtaining a liquor license for Sunday sales.

Now since we seen to gravitate toward the [Hot and Hormonal]

, no good list of odd places or signs would be complete without Big Bone Lick State Park. I first saw that one when I passed it while on a job with a co-worker (thankfully, male) and we just looked at one another , like, "How do you not see what you just did...?"

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :

Oh, dear Lord. I missed the edit window, but just saw that Big Bone Lick park is located on Beaver Road... innuendo, anyone? [Eek!]

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

What is now Roanoke was originally called Big Lick because there was a large salt deposit where many browsing animals came.

Moo

Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :

I have lived at 4 Skinner Avenue and 4 Kinnel Street (now called Crown Street for some reason). Nearby we have a cottage called Bluebell End and one recently renamed Cockaynes Norton (cocaine snorting?).

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :

@Moo: Yes, throughout Appalachia there are a lot of licks, it was a common term for just what you describe.

Now on to others. I haven't seen Weed, California mentioned yet. It was named for the town's founder, Abner Weed, but they make the most of it with plenty of cannibis-related puns. However, they do not allow even medical marijuana sales in the town.

There was even a sign, frequently stolen, that had to be the best college viral marketing campaign ever...

[ 10. July 2012, 12:55: Message edited by: TomOfTarsus ]

Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:
There is also the Ugley Women's Institute somewhere in Suffolk I believe, and the Idle Working Men's Club in Bradford.

They are the "Women's Institute of Ugely". Dunno about Idle Men, though.

Posted by Balaam (# 4543) on :

Idle men.

Posted by irish_lord99 (# 16250) on :

There are the towns of 'Circle' and 'Chicken' in Alaska; as well as one of my favorite signs warning people not to use illegal substances after passing through a particular gate.

So... if I use illegal substances before going through the gate, then I'm alright? [Devil]

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

quote:
Originally posted by TomOfTarsus:
Oh, dear Lord. I missed the edit window, but just saw that Big Bone Lick park is located on Beaver Road... innuendo, anyone?

You've also missed that it's next to Beaverlick! [Snigger]

This one is a landmark on my holidays that always makes me smile. We've disembowelled its meaning here before, but I still enjoy it. It says a lot about Britain's roads...

AG

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

That last post would make so much more sense if I'd remembered the link. Try now...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gray1720/2887297884/in/set-72157621174965273

Meanwhile, here's

Lord Hereford's Knob.

AG

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :

I've walked on Lord Hereford's Knob! [Big Grin]

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :

My sister used to live in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, a completely flat city. I always wondered why they would name it that - apparently, no one knows (the founder never told anyone) - 'cause when people look around and see there's no mountain, they just might start to question the "pleasant" as well.

In Troy, MI (a northern Detroit suburb), there's a major road called Big Beaver Road. It's such a major road most locals don't even think about what a strange name it is.

quote:
Originally posted by LutheranChik:
Here is another great place name. We sometimes find outselves in Hell if we take the scenic route to/from Ann Arbor, through the Pinckney and lakes area. There's not a lot in Hell except a bar and a souvenir shop/ice cream emporium. So I've had an ice cream cone in Hell, and it was quite good.

I grew up not too far from Hell (in Hamburg). It's named after a river in Germany. One anecdote I have about the place: I worked at a post-production facility for a short while (in Farmington, a Detroit suburb), and we made some car commercial where they wanted a pun on hell freezing over, so made a sign that said, "Welcome to Hell, Michigan" or something like that. Somehow we found out that people were going to Hell looking for that sign, and not finding it (of course; it was in our studio), so we donated it to the city. I've actually never seen it.

quote:
Originally posted by Campbellite:
And this little community is in western Kentucky on the shores of the Ohio, just before it empties into the Mississippi.

Is anyone else besides me just bothered by the missing apostrophe?

Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :

quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:

quote:
Originally posted by Campbellite:
And this little community is in western Kentucky on the shores of the Ohio, just before it empties into the Mississippi.
Is anyone else besides me just bothered by the missing apostrophe?

No. Me too. My brain immediately tried to understand 'eyebrow' as a verb, and didn't register anything else until it had given up on that attempt.

Posted by Oferyas (# 14031) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ken:
I never went to Shropshire before Friday just gone, when we went to stay in Bishop's Castle for a couple of days. Went in to a local museum and asked the person there what Bishop it was named after.

Answer: "No-one's ever asked me that before..."

TANGENT ALERT -
Ken, the Bishop was of course the Bishop of Hereford, who had a (minor) castle where the bowling green lies, by the Castle Hotel. Traces of it can be found all over the town, since my ancestors nicked the stone and incorporated it their own houses. (Bishop's Castle is traditionally bandit country.)

The museum you visited was presumably 'The House on Crutches'? My great grandfather opened his grocery shop in that building in 1864, although it later became a store for his bigger shop in a neighbouring street. In 1878 my grandfather knocked down a policeman while sledging on the hill outside: since he had just been expelled from school he was deemed out of control and shipped to Canada where he became a lumberjack and champion wrestler!
- TANGENT ENDS

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lucia:
I've walked on Lord Hereford's Knob!

That must have made his eyes water...

AG

Posted by birdie (# 2173) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ken:
On the other hand, the OS map (though no-one I ever talked to in real life) called a valley we used to play in when we were kids "Balsdean Bottom". We thought that was hilarious.

There are quite a few Bottoms around where I grew up. My favourite being Velvet Bottom.

There's also Bully Hole Bottom not too far from where I now live.

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :

Churchgeek: I'm well acquainted with Mt. Pleasant -- it's only a half-hour away, and is where we go to experience cultcha when living in our tiny community starts to get to us -- and it is indeed one of the flattest places I can think of in our entire state.

Posted by St.Silas the carter (# 12867) on :

Around these parts is Street Road, as well as Rhode Street. Formerly, Richmond st. was called Point-no-Point Road. Cocksink and Cocksocky lost their names in the 50's. I don't know whatever Happened to Devil's Pocket, but there are still some people from around that part of Philadelphia that refere to it as that. Formerly also, there was neighborhood called Bankahoe. I grew up in Black Bottom, which is'nt officially on the map anymore either, but most people there still call it by that name.

Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :

quote:
Originally posted by birdie:

quote:
Originally posted by ken:
On the other hand, the OS map (though no-one I ever talked to in real life) called a valley we used to play in when we were kids "Balsdean Bottom". We thought that was hilarious.
There are quite a few Bottoms around where I grew up. My favourite being Velvet Bottom.

There's also Bully Hole Bottom not too far from where I now live.

Pratt's Bottom (Orpington, Kent) is still going strong.

[ 10. July 2012, 21:16: Message edited by: Morlader ]

Posted by Oferyas (# 14031) on :

I know it well, Morlader. Not far from Badger's Mount.

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

And the buses used to stop at the Cock, Pratts Bottom.

We've got a Twankham's Alley here, which regularly has its sign changed, and my parents live on Evil Woods Lane where they live.

There are Over Wallop, Middle Wallop and Nether Wallop in Hampshire, known as the Wallops when driving through them.

Weymouth (where the Olympic sailing being held) has UpWey and Nether Wey further up the Wey (river). And the other famous Dorset river is the Piddle, with Piddlehinton and Piddletrenthide - farther downstream they change to Puddletown and Affpuddle. Close to the Piddles there is Plush and down by the Puddles there is Throop.

In Hampshire you've got Inkpen and Ham - both appear on the same signposts.

And then you've got the Dorset villages with Latin names - Toller Porcorum, Ryme Intrinseca and Fontmell Magna - or the other odd names like Iwerne Minster, Tarrant Gunville and the Gussages - Gussage St Michael and Gussage All Saints.

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :

The Cotwolds in Gloucestershire, England have two picturesque villages named Upper and Lower Slaughter known together as 'The Slaughters'.
Apparently it's nothing to do with killing things but comes from the old English 'Slohtre', which means simply 'Muddy place'.

Another neighbouring village to where I grew up is called 'Nomansland'. The history of the name can be found in the Wikipedia article here. The pub shown in the Wiki entry photo straddles the county line and has its door in one county and its bar in the other. In the summer the New Forest ponies wander over to the shade of the front of the pub and more or less stick their heads in through the open doors!

[ 10. July 2012, 22:49: Message edited by: Lucia ]

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

quote:
Originally posted by irish_lord99:
There are the towns of 'Circle' and 'Chicken' in Alaska; as well as one of my favorite signs warning people not to use illegal substances after passing through a particular gate.

So... if I use illegal substances before going through the gate, then I'm alright?

up here? probably so. For awhile in our bar we had a sign that said, "designated marijuana use area: across the street in the Village Park". we took it down after getting the hairy eyeball from the troopers.

let's not forget Tok and Eek, and there's Jakolof, Beaver, and my personal favorite, Tatitlek! (pronounced tuh-TIT-lick)

I remember driving through Washington and getting a good solid laugh out of the sign for the Humptulips river. What did those tulips ever do to you?

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LutheranChik:
Churchgeek: I'm well acquainted with Mt. Pleasant -- it's only a half-hour away, and is where we go to experience cultcha when living in our tiny community starts to get to us -- and it is indeed one of the flattest places I can think of in our entire state.

I figured you were somewhere in the vicinity.

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :

quote:
Originally posted by St.Silas the carter:
I grew up in Black Bottom, which is'nt officially on the map anymore either, but most people there still call it by that name.

Long ago there was a neighborhood in Detroit called Black Bottom. I'm not sure where the name came from, but it ended up one of the few places Black people were allowed to live (back in the days of segregation [Mad]

). The Black cultural center was named Paradise Valley in part to undo that awful name, Black Bottom. However, the horribly racist post-war city government decided Black Bottom and Paradise Valley (with world-renowned blues & jazz clubs) was precisely where I-75 needed to go. ( [Mad]

again)

Posted by St.Silas the carter (# 12867) on :

quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:

quote:
Originally posted by St.Silas the carter:
I grew up in Black Bottom, which is'nt officially on the map anymore either, but most people there still call it by that name.
Long ago there was a neighborhood in Detroit called Black Bottom. I'm not sure where the name came from, but it ended up one of the few places Black people were allowed to live (back in the days of segregation ). The Black cultural center was named Paradise Valley in part to undo that awful name, Black Bottom. However, the horribly racist post-war city government decided Black Bottom and Paradise Valley (with world-renowned blues & jazz clubs) was precisely where I-75 needed to go. ( again)

Same story here. Black Bottom was where Philadelphia's Black population lived till the Universities of Penn, Drexel, and the University of the Sciences used eminent domain to claim the majority of the neighborhood for redevelopment. A few families did manage to stay on though, but the fabric and culture of the neighborhood didn't really survive. [Frown]

Posted by Campbellite (# 1202) on :

Another of Virginia's odd place names.

Posted by Silver Faux (# 8783) on :

For the kinky with fond memories of being slippered in school, there is a sign in Salmon Arm, BC, for the Shuswap Paddling Centre (pronounced shoes-wap) where one can rent paddle boats.

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

There's a resort area in Indiana called French Lick.

And we have passed this road sign many times. We knew our kids were really getting exposed to popular culture when they started to giggle at it.

[ 12. July 2012, 04:06: Message edited by: Mamacita ]

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Campbellite:
Another of Virginia's odd place names.

Isn't that where the bankers hang out?

Posted by Balaam (# 4543) on :

Solid is the name of a lane in Huddersfield. Not Solid Lane or Solid Street, just Solid. Yes we know, if it was Liquid it would be a canal.

At five letters and no spaces, and with the demolition of A Row in Birmingham it has to also be the shortest Street name (discounting A1, M62 etc.)

There is AB Row in London, but the space makes it longer.

Posted by Avila (# 15541) on :

Needless Alley in Birmingham is well known.

Just up the road from me is Bog Lane, then the village of Rock, in the other direction is Stoke Bliss.

I remember in my home town when major road works led to a sign for 'Temporary Long Stay Car Park'

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :

I don't know if it still exists, but there was a street in central London called Of Alley. It was between Duke Street and Buckingham Road (or some similar pairing, I don't know exactly what.)

Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :

When The West was opened up by the railroads, there were so many new stations*, sometimes with towns attached, that naming them all became quite a problem.

One example is Dotsero in Colorado, next to a volcano of the same name, named from being the "zero-point" of a survey of the area.

When a new cutoff, shortening the line from the east, was built to join the old line at Dotsero, the other, eastern end was called, obviously, Orestod, since you had to go back to get there.

Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :

Sorry, added the * and didn't put the explanation in: given the technology of the time, there had to be telegraph stations at most ten miles apart for traffic control on the single lines with passing loops, but there were quite large areas where it was obvious that there would never be much in the way of villages, let alone towns.

Posted by JeffTL (# 16722) on :

Here in Chicago we can have some rather complicated addresses...you could, for example, have a service entrance at 151 East Lower South Water Street...signifying a door a furlong and a half east of State Street on the south side of the lower level of South Water Street. Which is in turn so named to distinguish it from North Water Street on the other side of the river, not the usual use of South to indicate the part of a road south of Madison Street.

Don't get me started on the three streets that rhyme with the naughty bits of a lady.

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Horseman Bree:
When The West was opened up by the railroads, there were so many new stations*, sometimes with towns attached, that naming them all became quite a problem.

One example is Dotsero in Colorado, next to a volcano of the same name, named from being the "zero-point" of a survey of the area.

When a new cutoff, shortening the line from the east, was built to join the old line at Dotsero, the other, eastern end was called, obviously, Orestod, since you had to go back to get there.

Novi, Michigan is said to have been named after its railway stop (No. VI), but I don't think there's solid evidence for that one, and it's (sub)urban legend. (The town's name is pronounced NO-vie; non-locals tend to mispronounce it as "NO-vee". Of course, we also pronounce Saline, MI as "suh-LEEN" - except my dad, who has always pronounced it as in "saline solution" - and Milan, MI as "MY-lin".)

And while we're on pronunciation of weird names, in the UP (Michigan's Upper Peninsula; "UP" is pronounced as the two letters, not as the word "up" - and people from there are known as "yoopers") we have Sault Ste. Marie, which is pronounced "Soo Saint Marie" and even informally written as just "Soo". The locks there (between Lakes Huron (via waterways) and Superior) are the Soo Locks.

And spanning the strait between Michigan's peninsulas, you have the Mackinac Bridge, pronounced "MACK-in-aw". The bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac, in which you might visit Mackinac Island... but at the bridge's southern point on the Lower Peninsula, you find yourself in Mackinaw City, where there's a Fort Michilimackinac. It's all due to the French transcription (Mackinac, but pronounced "-aw") of the Native American place name (Michinnimakinong); and when the British heard the French pronounce it, they transcribed it as Mackinaw.

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

In Charlottesville, Virginia, there is a street called Rio Road. Outsiders are amazed to hear the locals call it rye-oh, because they assume it's from the Spanish word for 'river'. In fact, it was originally a road which ran alongside the railroad tracks and the old maps showed the name R10, R standing for 'railroad'. (I don't know where R1-R9 were located.)

Moo

[ 14. July 2012, 22:06: Message edited by: Moo ]

Posted by no_prophet (# 15560) on :

If you go to Saskatchewan, Canada, you'll have decide whether to your trip sequence is Love first, and then Climax, or the other way around. Climax has a sign on the way out telling you to Please Come Again. I think I'll just mention Big Beaver and leave it there.

Posted by blackbeard (# 10848) on :

We have a Great Bottom Flash.

(explanation - the Great Bottom is, of course, a valley bottom; a canal passing through it has formed a lake, technically known as a flash).

Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :

That's near Aldershot, isn't it.

Going back to Shropshire, there is - or was - a Gropecunt Lane in Shrewsbury where the local demoiselles de la nuit used to ply their trade.

[ETA - Cocking is in West Sussex between Chichester and Midhurst; there is a Tiddle Hill nearby.]

[ 16. July 2012, 11:35: Message edited by: Matt Black ]

Posted by BroJames (# 9636) on :

Langley Vale used to be known as Langley Bottom, but bottoms aren't genteel [Eek!]

. Wikipedia says the name changed some time between the wars. It was still Langley Bottom on the place name road signs when I was commuting through it in the early 1980s.

Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :

One of the members of our congregation is called Mellish. Locally, there is a Mellish's Bottom and, at after-church coffee, much* merriment is made by comments such as "I went up Mellish's Bottom the other day."

*Well, about 5 seconds' worth.

Posted by Selmo (# 14632) on :

My hone county, Staffordshire, has the highest village in the British Isles. It's called Flash.

I have seen people there walking around in long raincoats. It was raining, though.

Posted by coniunx (# 15313) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Selmo:
My hone county, Staffordshire, has the highest village in the British Isles. It's called Flash.

I have seen people there walking around in long raincoats. It was raining, though.

Perhaps they were expecting flash floods.

Posted by Trudy Scrumptious (# 5647) on :

Newfoundland is one of the Odd Place Name capitals of the world so we have plenty of interesting names to choose from. I drive through Paradise on a regular basis; my husband once tried to sell encyclopedias door-to-door in Nicky's Nose Cove; yesterday, after doing some work up at the cabin, my parents had lunch in Dildo. And this is barely scratching the surface.

Posted by no_prophet (# 15560) on :

re Newfoundland. You reminded me of being on the south of the Avalon peninsula. We walked a piece of the East Coast Trail. Pee-pee Island was on the map, with Arse Leg Point on the island marked. I suspect bored sailors and fishermen in olden times.

Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :

Down here we have 'Anker Lane' in Stubbington (Anker being an old Dutch word for smuggler, and booze smuggling being big business locally in the 18th century); the street signs for it inevitably have 'W's chalked on them regularly, despite the best efforts of Fareham Borough Council and local residents to clean it up, by bored teenage boys who think it's really big to do that.

Posted by Balaam (# 4543) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Going back to Shropshire, there is - or was - a Gropecunt Lane in Shrewsbury where the local demoiselles de la nuit used to ply their trade.

It is now simply Grope Lane.

Posted by Paddy O'Furniture (# 12953) on :

In North Carolina there's a Fuquay Varina and Bun Level.

Posted by Aravis (# 13824) on :

Somewhere in Bridgend there's a road called Hafod Decaf. Actually it has nothing to do with coffee, and should be pronounced Have-od Deck-av (but usually isn't).

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Down here we have 'Anker Lane' in Stubbington (Anker being an old Dutch word for smuggler, and booze smuggling being big business locally in the 18th century); the street signs for it inevitably have 'W's chalked on them regularly, despite the best efforts of Fareham Borough Council and local residents to clean it up, by bored teenage boys who think it's really big to do that.

I bet it's not just teenage boys. It would present an irresistible temptation to many of us. As does (slightly less naughtily) Melly Road not far from here.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

Off Metropolis Ave. we have Lois Lee Ln., Krypton Ln., and Atlantis Ln. (Then later was added Endeavor-without the 'u'.)

Someone read comics much? [Big Grin]

Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :

SLOW / CHILDREN / AT PLAY is a great road sign, for car passengers to laugh at.

I've always liked Accident, Maryland. While browsing their website just now, I saw that their Municipal Building is at 104 South North Street.

Posted by Carex (# 9643) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:

quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Down here we have 'Anker Lane' in Stubbington (Anker being an old Dutch word for smuggler, and booze smuggling being big business locally in the 18th century); the street signs for it inevitably have 'W's chalked on them regularly, despite the best efforts of Fareham Borough Council and local residents to clean it up, by bored teenage boys who think it's really big to do that.
I bet it's not just teenage boys. It would present an irresistible temptation to many of us. As does (slightly less naughtily) Melly Road not far from here.

Then the next time you happen to be visiting Oregon you can stop by Wanker's Corners, a bit south of Portland. The general store is still there (founded by Grandfather Wanker), but the bar/pub has since moved down to Wilsonville, though keeping its name for the benefit of those (mostly across one Pond or the other) who find it humourous, as the word doesn't have the same connotation in American English.

Posted by John Holding (# 158) on :

I used to visit family friends in Fetcham, Leatherhead (in Surrey) who lived on...The Street.

There were in fact many other streets in Fetcham.

John

Posted by Campbellite (# 1202) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
In Charlottesville, Virginia, there is a street called Rio Road. Outsiders are amazed to hear the locals call it rye-oh, because they assume it's from the Spanish word for 'river'. In fact, it was originally a road which ran alongside the railroad tracks and the old maps showed the name R10, R standing for 'railroad'. (I don't know where R1-R9 were located.)

Moo

And Rio Rd crosses what used to be known as Seminole Trail, even though the nearest Seminoles lived hundreds of miles away... in Florida.

Why was it called Seminole Trail? Back before the Interstate system was built, the two main routes from New York to Florida were along US Route 1 (though Richmond) and US Route 29 (through Charlottesville) It was dubbed Seminole Trail by local businesses to encourage vacationers to take US 29 (and spend money locally). You would think having Monticello in their back yard would be enough.

Posted by Galloping Granny (# 13814) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Janine:
Bull Run Road runs along a piece of the "Old Spanish Trail" -- I suppose there had to be cattle driven along there at one time, it's a ridge through the swamps.

There's a Bull Run Road not half an hour from here.

I kept my train ticket from Hell (this one in Norway) for some years after coming home. I don't know whether Condom in the south of France is on the railway.

I understood from my Mum that a small railway station in the South Island was called Oidono after the locals asked a visiting dignitary to name it and he was stumped for a good idea. But I've never found it and suspect that either it was a non-urban legend or that it was subsequently given a better name.

The citizens of Bulls in New Zealand sent food parcels to Cowes in England during WW II.

The roadside restaurant at Flat Hills is in hilly country. It features a mural of a shepherd with his dogs arriving gratefully at Flat Hills after a day mustering on the steep hills all around.

Next time I go south I must watch out for Windwhistle – I like the sound of it.

GG

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

In Montebello (a little town east of LA) there is a Masser Place: it was named after my great-grandfather who developed a large part of the city and dead ends at the police station and fire department. Though not exactly in a rural area, the street was not paved until 1969. I have been there once and have a photo to prove it.

I think Oxnard, a seaside town north of LA near Malibu, has a strange and funny name...

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :

In Hardingham, Norfolk, there is a short street named Policeman's Loke. There's another one in Lowestoft, but I've not seen that one. I believe a loke is a private road.

Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :

Near where I live is Hardley, with Hardley Evangelical.

Also not far is Lower Upham and Upper Upham.

When I lived in the Midlands I rather fancied having Pink Green as my address.

Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :

In Kentucky, where I was born and grew up, there are to be found these towns/villages (among others equally unusual): Monkeys Eyebrow, 88, Uno; there was once Possum's Defeat, but it has vanished. There are also London and Paris, and Cairo (pronounced Kay-Ro) is just across the river in Illinois.

Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :

quote:
Originally posted by georgiaboy:
In Kentucky, where I was born and grew up, there are to be found these towns/villages (among others equally unusual): Monkeys Eyebrow, 88, Uno; there was once Possum's Defeat, but it has vanished. There are also London and Paris, and Cairo (pronounced Kay-Ro) is just across the river in Illinois.

I'd love to have Monkeys Eyebrow as an address - it beats Pink Green hands down!

You have reminded me that I live close to Egypt and Canada.

Posted by Sighthound (# 15185) on :

Near Pilling in Lancashire, there is a road called Michael's Wife's Lane. I always wondered who Michael was, and who his wife was, and how she came to have a road named after her, or rather after her status as Michael's wife.

As I child I used to find the name 'Battery' amusing as a destination of the local buses in Morecombe. I associated it with the kind of battery that goes in torches, not the artillery version. In the same area is a place called 'Bare' While down in Maidstone Kent there is also a 'Loose' which again looked a bit droll on the destination blind of the local trolleybuses.

On Pendle Hill (of the witches fame) is a village called 'Fence'.

[ 21. July 2012, 10:09: Message edited by: Sighthound ]

Posted by Arethosemyfeet (# 17047) on :

I used to live in Portsmouth... a tiny hamlet about as far from the sea as you can get in England, much to frustration of various lost looking lorry drivers who came off the ferry at Hull and followed their sat navs. The name of the nearest town roughly means "murder death town".

I grew up near Shepton Mallet, Middle Chinnock, Norton-sub-Hamdon and Charlton Mackrell. I now live on an island with around 750 people and over 3000 recorded place names. Even our house has two names and it was only built in the 60s.

On the subject of Morecambe Battery, I always used to think of cruelty to chickens.

[ 21. July 2012, 22:59: Message edited by: Arethosemyfeet ]

Posted by Balaam (# 4543) on :

Much sniggering by schoolchildren (and those who should know better [Hot and Hormonal]

) about bus No 183 to Hard End.

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
And spanning the strait between Michigan's peninsulas, you have the Mackinac Bridge, pronounced "MACK-in-aw". The bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac, in which you might visit Mackinac Island... but at the bridge's southern point on the Lower Peninsula, you find yourself in Mackinaw City, where there's a Fort Michilimackinac. It's all due to the French transcription (Mackinac, but pronounced "-aw") of the Native American place name (Michinnimakinong); and when the British heard the French pronounce it, they transcribed it as Mackinaw.

churchgeek, are there any Mackinac places that are pronounced with the hard "c"? I seem to remember that there are but I can't remember which one. Today I was wearing my tee shirt (from a long ago vacation) that has an illustration of a big pile of bicycles with the caption "Mackinac Island Traffic Jam"* and I want to be sure to pronounce it correctly!

*because there are no cars allowed on the island, but you can rent bikes

Posted by Ye Olde Motherboarde (# 54) on :

I have been to Intercourse, Bird in Hand and Paradise, Pennsylvania, also Moon Run, Beaver Falls, and Squirrel Hill.

And churchgeek reminded me on Mount Pleasant, Michigan, where some of my relatives were born.

Here in New Mexico, we have Elephant Butte, Madrid (pronounced Mad Rid) and Cuba (pronounced Coo bah). along with Truth or Consequences, and Pie Town.
In Arizona, I've been to Surprise, Show Low,(a poker term) Bullhead City, Carefree, and Chloride,(near the Boulder Dam).

Posted by Sylvander (# 12857) on :

I recently pitched my tent near a village called Himmelpfort (Heaven's Gate). In Brandenburg. Nice wee village, too. It has a pillar box where you can post letters to Father Christmas, (provided by the church). And he answers them, too, a service of German Mail

Posted by JB (# 1776) on :

Bathtub Row

Posted by manfromcaerdeon (# 16672) on :

Essex has two villages called Messing and Mucking. The Ugley Womens' Institute has been mentioned already, (now called the Womens' Institute, Ugley) but Kent has a similar problem in the village of Loose. Nearby is Hucking, whose village signs are occasionally changed by passing comedians.

Yorkshire has Wetwang, Norfolk has Great and Little Snoring and Dorset has Piddletrenthide and Piddlehinton. One of these last two villages bottles the water from the river Piddle and sells it to the tourists as Piddle water.

Meanwhile Cornwall has Brown Willy, the highest point on Bodmin Moor, and in Yorkshire there is the town of Penistone. (pronounced penny-stone)

But my personal favourite for strange names must surely go to that famous village in Wales.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

There are many web sites which will tell you how to pronounce it so that you are able to impress your friends!

Fucking in Austria has achieved fame recently with tourists, along with Condom in France, where people delight in having their pictures taken standing by the village sign!

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

quote:
Originally posted by manfromcaerdeon:
Essex has two villages called Messing and Mucking.

Some humorist with a bent for Spoonerisms christened one of the fundamental problems of understanding early Anglo-Saxon settlement (so fundamental I can never remember which one it was...) the Mucking-Fobbing Question.

Incidentally, Essex also has Shellow Bowells.
AG

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

We have Bollo Lane near me, and we are so used to it the sign doesn't even get graffiti'd any more.

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sighthound:
Near Pilling in Lancashire, there is a road called Michael's Wife's Lane. I always wondered who Michael was, and who his wife was, and how she came to have a road named after her, or rather after her status as Michael's wife.

Near Ipswich we have Doctor Watson's Lane. I have no idea who he was, but he must have been an elementary sort of person, don't you think?

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