Well I never, that’s where that town is!

[CormoranStrike]

I have spent fifty years - okay, cumulatively probably just fifty minutes - being utterly convinced Exeter was near Cambridge.

Today I had to check it in a map! Who knew? It’s kind of a Torquay/Plymouth way.

My world is tilting in its axel.

Anyone have other random finds like this?

Going a bit further afield, I was dumbfounded at a news report from Timbuktu in west Africa. But Timbuktu is in Nepal. Except apparently it isn't but my brain can't accept the truth.

Ginfordinner - no need to check a map, as obviously I knew where Alasaka was . And obviously Google maps (when I did double check, as there was NO WAY a train journey up the east coast could take over two days) went and moved the whole state, just to be irritating or make a point or be smug and knowitall, something like that I assume .

I struggle with huge chunks of the country, as we drive from Surrey to North Scotland regularly, and motorway signs just meld into one another over the 10-12 hour journey. So everything north of Birmingham becomes "Manchester-ey way". Everyone I speak to though is a bit gobsmacked that Carlisle is only half way through the journey, they don't seem to realise that the north of Scotland is actually quite a long way away from Edinburgh/Glasgow.

Is the Billericay = Irish thing because of Tipperary ??

Maybe you're right, @HeronLanyon, but it doesn't remotely rhyme, does it? Isn't Billericay pronounced 'Biller-ICK-y?

@alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 I've been quizzing on quiz up a lot lately on history quizzes

Revealed my knowledge of Australia is non existent!

I was shocked it's only existed as a whole country since 1901, we get taught sod all about Australia or even Canada at school

I always thought Timbuktu was in Canada but it's in Africa! That's after I learned it was a real place

Me and my husband were both convinced Brunei was in the Middle East too

Doesn’t Brunei have a Sultan, which you tend to find in the middle East?

You are correct RustyBear. DH gets irritated by people calling it Northumbria though as he is from Northumberland.

Not a smug know it all MyVisionsComeFromSoup just nosy about where we want to travel to. Although a train journey across the Rockies is also on my wish list.

Lots of people don't seem to realise that Watford Gap is Northamptonshire and not just north of London (though given that Northamptonshire is probably just north of London to people in Scotland).

Salop is another name for Shropshire.

And Oxon for Oxfordshire.

I'll get me anorak

Brunei isn't in the Middle East?! Where the fuck is it? 😱

they don't seem to realise that the north of Scotland is actually quite a long way away from Edinburgh/Glasgow

I live up in north Scotland and the amount of people travelling up that will message me saying "hey I'm in Glasgow/Edinburgh for a few days do you fancy meeting up?" that are shocked when I tell them I can't travel that far or would have to stay over is amazing. I don't drive so public transport often ends up being 2 or 3 buses or a train or two, never mind the cost of it all for what would only be an hour or so socialising.

Although nothing quite beats the friend from the US who was coming over to London and was wondering if I could just pop down to meet her there. She was surprised at how far even halfway was when I suggested I might be able to manage somewhere in the middle when she actually looked it up. Ok the UK is small compared to the US or Australia but we're not exactly the tiniest island in the world either.

Sorry Ginfordinner - I meant that Google Maps was being a smug knowitall, not you! I appreciate that my sentence structure didn't help (am a bit longwinded and fond of brackets). Apologies and

Ok thanks for info

@PenguinsOnParade

I’m also in the north of Scotland and friend in London recently suggested that we meet up for the day “ half way “ - in York!!!

So that would be the 2 hour train journey for her and the 6-7 hour train journey and overnight for me. Halfway would probably be Glasgow or Edinburgh.

I'd always thought Carlisle was in Wales, it sounds 'right' to me, until I went there. But I didn't realise quite how close to Scotland it was until I noticed a lot of people there sounded a bit Scottish.

I was impressed by a girl whose dad lived in Beverly, was a glam lifestyle she must have I thought to myself. But I'll let myself off with that one as it was in primary school!

Im going to have to Google Brunei... ( note to self... not middle east) but then I was mid 20s when I realized Torquay wasnt in Italy.. ..

It isn't just the distance but the transport/road infrastructure SHARON

For example, I met up with DD yesterday. The distance she had to travel was twice as far as mine. She got an LNER high speed intercity train that took an hour. I took a Northern Rail train and Trans Pennine Express train to get to our destination, and my journey took nearly twice as long.

People forget that many A roads in Scotland are the equivalent of country lanes where I live, and no motorways north of Perth.

Northamptonshire is some weird no-mans land that is neither Midlands nor South East. Sorry Northamptonshire

West/ East Midlands always seemed an odd split. North/ South Midlands would just sit better.

With all the The North and The South signs on the M1, I think there's only one for The Midlands. And the zone between London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh rarely gets a mention on the weatherforcast. One could develop quite an inferiority complex

@SHAR0N

Funnily enough York was suggested as the first halfway point until I said that was still really far for me. Even Glasgow and Edinburgh are a real struggle as a "day trip" idea but it's hard to find somewhere properly halfway without being in the arse end of nowhere. Or adding a few more buses or trains (and all the extra time) to the journey. Even if I drove it wouldn't be much easier with some of the roads and the lack of motorways around here.

@Didiplanthis I thought Torquay was in Spain until I was around 20.

I thought for many years that Wales was underneath Scotland.

In my defence, I don't live in the UK!

Yes, Pontefract belongs in Wales, and Erith in Scotland.

I am always surprised how much more of England there is north of say Manchester! And how much further west of Exeter Cornwall is? Can you tell I'm a central Southern Softie? Though with Cornish parents 🤪

DH and I were put with a couple of 20 yr old students on a quiz. Q - which country are the Faroe Islands part of? DH -Denmark, student - I was going to say Egypt!
But I was another wondering why Argentina were invading islands off Scotland so no better

Someone mentioned Bangor. Many many years ago my exh and me took a weekend trip to Bangor. We went exploring for the day and I had to look on the map for the way back. Ended up in the wrong Bangor but we didnt realise there was 2 and it blow our minds for a couple of hours as it was totally different to the one we left earlier that day

That's not possible WingingIt; you'd have to get on either a plane or a ferry to get from one Bangor to the other as one is in North Wales and the other in Northern Ireland. It would be a rather long and expensive day out!

When I was little and playing dolls, they always used to go on holiday to Rochester. I don’t know why. I have never been there but I don’t believe it’s a well known holiday destination.

But Timbuktu is in Nepal

No,no,no it's in South America and Pp, Brunei is part of the Middle East but moved due to continental drift on an epic scale.

I always thought Billericay was in Ireland? It sounds Irish to me?! ☘️