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Odd things that have happened at dusk in the UK.

272 replies

rewilded · 13/09/2024 23:00

I was driving back to my campsite from Lizard's Point to St Ives at dusk, and my sat nav kept directing me onto narrow B roads. One particular turn felt wrong from the start. We were quite high up, and the lane grew narrower and more rugged as we went further down. The road eventually turned into a rubbly track, with steep banks on both sides, dense undergrowth, and trees leaning over, giving it an eerie atmosphere. I grew anxious, worried that another car might come from the opposite direction since reversing would have been impossible. I was also convinced that one side was either a cliff edge or a steep drop. The thought of being ambushed crossed my mind, especially since I had my teenage daughter with me.

Suddenly, the sat nav cut out, and we found ourselves at a dead end with a fjord at the bottom. The road ended abruptly, swallowed by thick undergrowth and forest on the other side. An overwhelming sense of dread washed over me—an indescribable feeling of pure evil. I was terrified.

It took everything I had to reverse back up the hill, and it felt almost impossible to make it out. When I finally reached the top and got back onto the road, I stopped for a moment to compose myself. Just then, a car emerged from that very lane and sped off. I’ve never gotten onto an A road so quickly in my life.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
LochKatrine · 14/09/2024 10:56

You never know when you may need rosary beads (genuflects).

sashh · 14/09/2024 11:03

LochKatrine · 14/09/2024 10:56

You never know when you may need rosary beads (genuflects).

I discussed it with a work colleague, we thought maybe they should be in one of those, "in case of emergency break glass" things on the wall.

Then we went on to think there should be things for people of other faiths, prayer beads, prayer mat, smudge stick etc.

1dayatatime · 14/09/2024 11:06

This reply has been deleted

This was the work of a previously banned poster.

Brilliant 😀

FadedRed · 14/09/2024 11:15

@sashh @LochKatrine : these are emergency Rosary beads - masquerading as an attractive but not overly flashy bracelet - until the ‘emergency’ manifests…

Odd things that have happened at dusk in the UK.
Trainerstrainers · 14/09/2024 11:19

@LochKatrine I did respond

LochKatrine · 14/09/2024 11:21

Trainerstrainers · 14/09/2024 11:19

@LochKatrine I did respond

Sorry! Missed it! Too distracted by mashed potatoes. Mea Culpa.

LochKatrine · 14/09/2024 11:22

FadedRed · 14/09/2024 11:15

@sashh @LochKatrine : these are emergency Rosary beads - masquerading as an attractive but not overly flashy bracelet - until the ‘emergency’ manifests…

I have similar! Very useful.

FadedRed · 14/09/2024 11:23

I once had a job that involved a lot of driving, and made the error of selecting ‘shortest route’ instead of the more usual ‘fastest route’ on the Sat-nav when coming back from a remote part of the High Peak. It was also late afternoon in Autumn, so rapidly approaching dusk. Well, that was a mistake I did not make again…Single track unmettled ‘roads’, spooky wooded lonely roads, suicidal/homicidal sheep, abandoned buildings, farmyards and a couple of fords. I kept to the A roads after that.

Trainerstrainers · 14/09/2024 11:23

He did have a license though

https://badgerdrive.uk

Badger Driving School - Badger Driving School

https://badgerdrive.uk

Trainerstrainers · 14/09/2024 11:23

Safety first!

LochKatrine · 14/09/2024 11:24

Trainerstrainers · 14/09/2024 11:23

He did have a license though

https://badgerdrive.uk

😂😂

RabbitsRock · 14/09/2024 11:28

It’s Kara Tointon

GladBluePigeon · 14/09/2024 11:31

FadedRed · 14/09/2024 11:23

I once had a job that involved a lot of driving, and made the error of selecting ‘shortest route’ instead of the more usual ‘fastest route’ on the Sat-nav when coming back from a remote part of the High Peak. It was also late afternoon in Autumn, so rapidly approaching dusk. Well, that was a mistake I did not make again…Single track unmettled ‘roads’, spooky wooded lonely roads, suicidal/homicidal sheep, abandoned buildings, farmyards and a couple of fords. I kept to the A roads after that.

I really need to know more about the suicidal/homicidal sheep.

SockQueen · 14/09/2024 11:49

AbbeyGrange · 14/09/2024 08:50

The OP meant these

I know. The tongue in cheek didn't come across in text!

Plus is it really a ford if the road doesn't continue on the other side? Just a weird dead end.

rewilded · 14/09/2024 12:04

Plus is it really a ford if the road doesn't continue on the other side? Just a weird dead end.

There was a road maybe 10 or 15 metres. It then ended abrupted onto a bank and trees. It looked like an inland cove. You wouldn't have been able to pass it with a car. The car would have had to have been covered over to look like a bush for me to miss it.

I might draw a diagram.

OP posts:
Fescue · 14/09/2024 12:08

Was it perhaps a submarine and not a car?

LochKatrine · 14/09/2024 12:46

Fescue · 14/09/2024 12:08

Was it perhaps a submarine and not a car?

Perhaps something fiendish devised by Q?

FadedRed · 14/09/2024 12:59

@GladBluePigeon the post by @Trainerstrainers sums it up nicely.

Odd things that have happened at dusk in the UK.
EarthyMamma · 14/09/2024 15:29

Love Katrine
"I was thinking Audrey and Norris from Coronation Street. Having a caravan break and getting lost. Finding the ghost of Ena Sharples by a fjord, having mistakenly arrived in Norway by following the satnav."

The dog has decided he doesn't like crowds today As he is a most social creature this was a surprise during a visit to a local food festival. We had to leave early. I have developed the most horrid head cold and feel dreadful.
This thread is just what I need and the above comment made me laugh out loud. Just setting the scene and explaining why I am so grateful for this properly MN thread.

There's a street in our village that definitely gives me the chills. I couldn't live there and I walk through as quickly as possible.
Sadly we have neither fords or fjords, just some rather large potholes that make walking along the pavement a rather hazardous experience.
Add in the uncut hedges and it's a walking reconstruction of OP's scenario, if you ignore the streetlights and ability to cross over or turn around.

Elphame · 14/09/2024 16:26

timetodecide2345 · 14/09/2024 01:15

I don't understand the dusk reference. What's dusk got to do with anything? Has this happened multiple times at dusk? What?

Dusk is a liminal time. Like dawn, it is neither day time nor night.

ICallPeopleDudeNow · 14/09/2024 17:53

Elphame · 14/09/2024 16:26

Dusk is a liminal time. Like dawn, it is neither day time nor night.

Ooh… that would be the best introduction to a creepy novel… or this thread, tbh Grin

Sharptonguedwoman · 14/09/2024 18:56

LochKatrine · 14/09/2024 08:34

A badger was driving as a passenger? That's so dangerous, it really ought to have been in the driver's seat for secure control.

😂😂😂

crackofdoom · 15/09/2024 11:09

Ooh, I have my own mysterious Cornish dusk anecdote to add now.

Went to Lizard Point last night with the new boyfriend because he had never seen a seal, and I have never been there without seeing at least one snouty sea doggo bimbling around.

It was beautiful. Magnificent sunset. Beautiful moonrise. The anticipated seal (although she didn't come inshore to have a look at us as they sometimes do- too busy fishing or not in the mood for humans).

We were the last ones left in the car park, completely on our own. We went to drive away, and his immaculately maintained 2 year old car started flashing up with all kinds of fearsome messages, started making weird noises and couldn't make it up the slight hill from the car park. He disconnected and reconnected the battery and it started again fine. Stopped and started several times in the course of the evening and it was absolutely fine.

That's definitely mystic Cornish dusk vibes at work on the electrics (nods sagely).

LochKatrine · 15/09/2024 11:10

A computer error in the car? I've had the same in Wigan.