To think most people are rubbish directions?

[MrsMook]

DS goes to wrap around care at site A. Today he's gone to holiday club at site B for the first time. Except when I got there, it was at site C which I've never been to before. Typically my phone was dead at home (I thought that I was going 10 minutes away to a familiar place). There probably is an A-Z buried deep under layers of child related stuff in the car...

Anyway, directions from site B to site C were rubbish. So were all the other directions that I got at local shops and bus stops all over the monotonous housing estate.

I got "oh, my grandson goes there" "it's behind the church". No one seemed to be aware that the school is in the grounds of a different church to the one it's named after which is a good mile away. No mention of road names, or named land marks.

I know my way through the main roads of this neighbourhood, but it is a warren of monotonous housing with several shops/ churches/ health clinics.

AIBU to think that most people are rubbish at directions?

In good news, I remember routes well once I've been there, so the odds are favourable that I will be able to find DS again, and that he's not lost for evermore

YANBU

I am absoutely appalling at directions - if anyone asks me I start with that caveat!

But I would probably have checked out directions before I set off so I had some idea.

My heart sinks when I'm walking along and a car slows down. I see the window wind down, and I know what's coming. I'm absolutely appalling at giving directions.
I'm quite relieved that I'm not alone in this.

The best one ever is when they say "well I wouldn't start from here as it's not the best way to go....."

You don't get asked for directions much these days. Last time was a couple of years ago when a man asked me for directions to the nearest cake shop. I think he may have been trolling me because of how chubby my thighs looked in the shorts I was wearing.

I get asked a lot as I live in an area with a river and railway bi-secting it. Loads of people can see the pub place they want to go but can't figure out how to get there. I have to explain that it's a 1 mile trip round in either direction or they can find somewhere to park in the estate and walk over the unmanned foot crossing over the railway and walk in. I always get the plaintive wail...."but it's just over there...." Yes, I know but you can't drive that way!!

I'm so bad at directions that a few times in the past have lied and said I was a visitor to hometown myself...

I'm terrible, even when I know where their destination actually is. I suddenly can't tell left from right and wave my hands around ineffectually enough to give them the right impression: clueless. Once they've gone, my brain comes out of freeze mode and I realise what I should have said. Awful. I even felt guilty about the lorry driver who'd obviously come off the motorway at the wrong end and expected directions to an industrial estate 'somewhere' off a very long A road that goes nowhere near my town.

I am not great at directions as I mainly walk/cycle places and rarely drive.

My town has a big one way system and I am sure I merrily send people down the wrong way.

I also hate it when you give a lovely set of directions, repeat them so you are sure that they have been clearly understood and then watch the car drive off and turn left instead of right like you told them they were supposed to.

I was asked recently about the nuns convent, oddly somewhere that I have actually been to! Like the neighbourhood I was circling earlier, mine is also somewhat devoid of landmarks. That was quite a good set to give; continue to roundabout, left, continue to next roundabout, right, continue to next roundabout, left. Up the hill a little, on your left. Easily summarised as left, right left.

I hope I can give sensible directions, there's an element of professional pride involved.

BTW I never get lost, just spontaneously explore... Shame DS wasn't impressed. I don't think he trusts me to retrieve him now!

I actively try to keep it to 3 directions only when someone asks. Any more than that I know they cannot remember so if it's more than that I tell them they will need to ask again at X point. I also try to think it all out in my head before saying a word because backtracking and elaborating is hugely confusing for the person asking. Ideally you write it down or draw a map for them. My MIL is horrific! She gives 30 min directions instructions every time, complete with the names of all family members and what school they went to for the house with the red door that is NOT at the left turn you don't take....... (bangs head on table multiple times).

YADNBU

I can think of at least 2 occasions.

One where he asked for St James's Road, cue me going off on a ramble of directions and much pointing in confidence. Only to then realise I'd sent him to St James's Place, having muddled them in my head, which was miles off in the opposite direction!

Just the other day someone asked for the High Street. Fairly simple you might think, but I wasn't on my normal route myself, and sent the person off to god knows where before I realised about the unexpected left turn at the rail bridge

I start of with a generic point in the direction of the place so they get an idea where it is so if they go off track a bit they can still think, "it's over to the left of the Castle". Luckily I live somewhere with large obvious objects set on hills :)