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?

I do love the name Beccles.
But it's nowhere near Eccles!
Southampton and Northampton are rather far apart too!

DS was doing some homework about the New Orleans hurricane and I found out that it's on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. I know it was on the Mississippi but I thought it was hundreds of miles inland .

medievalist could not agree more about France being in totally the wrong place. All this stuff about Brittany being similar to Cornwall ! Well blows my mind to see it sitting there due south of even the west of Cornwall !
Does everyone think we should tell one one about all of these errors on maps and satellite photos etc ?

Ds3 changed universities, partly because his first choice was too far from home (we live near Paisley and he went to Aberdeen).

He was studying Geography!

I'm still in denial that Beaumaris is in Wales!

I love maps, geography and all of that but we've lived in our new house for over a year and I keep forgetting the village next to us is actually South of where we live but I think it's North as it's UP A HILL. I have real issues going on

Surbiton. Shocked to discover it even existed and isn't a place invented by the writers of The Good Life as an exemplar of classic suburban living.

@Kernowgal I’m always convinced that Dunstable is near Whitstable. I also get confused with Reigate and think that should be on the coast

I was in my 20s before I learnt that Billericay wasn't in fact in Ireland

Sporcle has loads of free quizzes including UK geography. It's one of my favourite procrastination methods and I've learnt a lot!

The fact that there are 2 places in the UK called Bangor freaked me out when i realised that the other day.

I was surprised that Edinburgh is further west than Carlisle

It's also west of Bristol and (just) Cardiff.

Billericay is in Ireland, despite what atlases say.

The size of Northumbria gets me. Yorkshire should be nearer to Scotland!

And Hawaii. I know it's between Asia and US. I know it's in the Pacific. But my mind wants to put it with all the other islands in the Caribbean.

Fun app is GeoGuessr. Some of the results amaze me. I struggle with Russia/Poland area.

When i meet people from other places and say i am from Rutland i see a blank face look back at me, every time.

Without googling, where would you say Rutland is?

@megan2018

Pontefract isn't in Wales?! Wtf? Bloody hell I would have been smugly saying it was in a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire scenario!

I know better now because I found out at about 28 years old but used to think Leigh Delamere was a place in Spain. Not a service station in England.

I think I confused it with Lloret de Mar where we went on holiday a few times when I was tiny.

I have a feeling I'm going to learn an awful lot on this thread!

@BigusBumus isn’t one in Ireland though‽

Exeter just sounds like it should be in the east!

Yes! Billericay and County Durham - even having been to the latter, my brain still tries to insist that they're both in Ireland!

As for services at Gordano - I always get out feeling I will be somewhere like Gorgonzola or gérona. Sadly not !

@TheWomanTheyCallJayne Yes but its Bangor in Northern Ireland and Bangor in Wales as well.

I moved from North Oxfordshire to South Warwickshire - a distance of 20 miles if that. But the telly local news changed region so instead of Southeast and London they were doing stories about Derby or Rugby and I was like 'eh aren't they Up North' - when I say Up North I was thinking practically up by Scotland!!

Rutland is North East-ish of Leicestershire I think ?

I can remember laughing back in the day at how many people thought that the Falklands were off the coast of Scotland. 😮