Being laid up prompts Great Britain name game playing

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Jeff Maguire

EMC Lifestyle - My wife and I were walking downtown recently when a couple we know stopped for a chat. She likes my writing and was good enough to say, "I hope you take another trip soon so we can read about it."

I assured her that, all things being equal, there are definitely more travel adventures in our future.

Not long after that enjoyable encounter I had a far less memorable "adventure" with a very nasty stomach bug. I'm rarely ever sick and seldom stop working. So that made the few days I needed to get back on my feet especially long.

Recalling our friend's travel advice I decided to revisit the pages of one of my favourite books, our trusty 'Great Britain A-Z Road Atlas.'

We are looking ahead to a special event we plan to attend in Scotland this coming summer. So, what better time to explore possible side trips and plot out a few potential routes than when you're propped up on the couch, fighting off the lingering effects of gastroenteritis?

I spent a lot of time poring over the comprehensive (250-page plus) Great Britain (GB) road atlas. I focused some attention on the rugged west coast of Scotland where Kathleen hopes we can spend a little time this year.

We take a very different view to most people today. The trend in our fast-paced world is to pick a travel destination and get there as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Kathy and I enjoy the trip itself - well, after the flying part that is. Flying is strictly a means to an end. It's the ground transportation we like. Traveling in different countries or areas we've never visited by road or rail is a great adventure for us, no matter how long it takes. When we're on vacation time takes a back seat.

Britain's road and rail network, especially in the more heavily populated south, is something to behold. An impossibly complex spider's web that defies imagination! We quickly discovered why a road atlas is mandatory equipment there. On Britain's roads an atlas, regional map or the modern equivalent, the GPS, is as vital as putting petrol in the tank. But having a precise map is still no guarantee of success in many places!

Speaking of "places" that is where last week's living room, United Kingdom road atlas journey led me eventually. To the index. And what an index! In our book there are 50 full pages of place names. They are reproduced in what we in the printing trade call "six point type." For the uninitiated, that is very small.

Endless list

I read somewhere once that there are more than 30,000 place names in Great Britain. And that doesn't include duplicate names of which there are countless.

Let's start with Carleton Place, where we live and do a quick comparison. I know from my local knowledge that our community name originated from "Carlton Place", a postal district in Glasgow, Scotland. When the name of our home community was officially changed from Morphy's Falls to Carlton Place, about 1830, an official of the British-directed Canadian postal service inadvertently added an "E" and it stuck.

In our modern U.K. road atlas there are five communities named Carleton. Three of them are in one county, the northwest jurisdiction of Cumbria. There is also Carleton Forehoe, Carleton Rode and Carleton St. Peter all in the county of Norfolk, part of an area called East Anglia.

There is no Carleton Place but there are nine centres beginning with the world 'Carlton' without the E. Among them are such unique spots as Carlton in Cleveland (North Yorkshire) and Carlton-le-Moorland (Lincolnshire).

I'm a regular visitor to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) website where I can check on the latest happenings in the storied islands, its wonderful capital London (easily my favourite big city) as well as in the areas where our family and friends over there reside.

Weather comparisons are always interesting, especially in winter when their temperatures and conditions are normally moderate compared to ours.

Enter a particular word or place name at the BBC weather site and you are likely to end up with multiple choices.

What words say "England" better than Kings and Queens? I entered Kings in the BBC site and up popped nine community names. Among them is Kings Hill in Kent and Kings Nympton in Devon.

Our atlas is far more comprehensive though. It lists more than 70 places whose names begin with those five important letters. For some reason I like the name 'King's Thorn.' Somebody must have had a sharp landing! It's located in Herefordshire in the West Midlands, bordering on Wales.

As for Queen or Queen's, no worries. There are a dozen places I counted beginning with that majestic title. Queen Dart in Devonshire sounds intriguing.

I'm not necessarily focusing on comparisons to Canadian place names because given our roots there are so many. But I did find 10 Kingstons and four other communities beginning with the word Kingston.

Also, near the beginning of the formidable index, the name 'Ashton' jumped out. No doubt because we have an Ashton so close to us. Or perhaps because our Ashton also happens to have the most British of pubs you're ever likely to find in this country.

There are seven Ashtons in the GB road atlas and six more that begin with the word. My personal favourite is Ashton under Hill. We'll have to look under the hill next time we're in Worcestershire (yes, it is more than just a sauce).

I haven't even touched on unusual names and believe me there are myriad. Enough to keep you map reading for weeks, months or even years if you are so inclined.

As bored as I was during last week's flu recovery, finding the oddest place names in Britain suddenly became a calling!

Under 'C' there are the curious Carrycoats Hall (Northumberland) and the tongue twisting Catherston Leweston (Dorset). Or how about Chester-le-Street (County Durham) which has an intriguing Roman history!

The same letter of the alphabet directed me to the picturesque Cotswolds region, sometimes called 'The Heart of England', and oddly named towns such as Chipping Campden and Chipping Norton. "Chipping" is old English for market place. In the same part of west-central England my fickle finger located Stow-on-the-Wold, an interesting village we have visited with ties to the English Civil War (circa 1646).

Truly unusual

You can find unusual names under every letter of the alphabet in the GB road atlas.

How about Three Leg Cross (East Sussex). It's hard enough crossing two sometimes!

The letter 'H' led me to Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire) - a personal favourite of mine - and the truly intriguing Husbands Bosworth (Leicestershire).

In northeast Scotland I enjoyed discovering Upper Knockando (Moray). Of course I can't think of villages in Scotland without touching on Muthill (Perthshire) located not far from Comrie which is twinned with Carleton Place. In this case it is the pronunciation which is the issue. If you want to make friends in the village then don't pronounce it "Mutt Hill" which is what it appears to be at first glance. It is "Muth-ell".

Surely Seething (Norfolk) must have an interesting history? Or how about Weston-under-Lizard (Staffordshire). And there is something very elegant about White Ladies Aston (Worcestershire).

Of course the British Isles and sheep go hand in glove. Witness Sheepwash (Northumberland) or the wonderful Sheepy Parva (Leicestershire).

Anyone who knows me also knows I love a British staple, baked beans. Little wonder my wandering eye settled on Thornton-le-Beans (North Yorkshire).

Obviously I could go on and on - and on!

But a move toward the end of the index brings me to the letter 'W.'

You can meet your "Waterloo" in the UK of course. In a dozen different places by that name.

There are five communities called Worlds End and somehow that seems the right place to bring this week's name game to a conclusion.

All I have really done is to give you some truly original place names. Imagine how much fun you could have exploring the background of these locations and countless others. Great Britain is your oyster. Enjoy!

If you have any comments or questions for Jeff Maguire he can be reached by e-mail at: jeffrey.maguire@rogers.com