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Foot crossing called 'Nowhere'

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Norfolk25

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There is a foot crossing approx one mile south of Kings Lynn station called Nowhere. Occasionally there is a proper sign, but it doesn't seem to stay for long (souvenir collectors?). How did a crossing ever get such a strange name and why was the name kept? It must cause all sorts of confusion for drivers and pedestrians reporting their location.
 
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Skie

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There is a Halfway near Sheffield that the trams have as a destination. Does look strange a lot of trams announcing they're only going half way
 
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I can confirm that yes "Nowhere" is Ely side of Extons Road. It does have signage both sides of the crossing.

But it is only a foot crossing and cannot be used by vehicles
 

bishdunster

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On the Swanage Railway there is a footpath crossing at The Wilderness between Herston and Harmans Cross.
 

duffield

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Question: is this a map-maker's joke, or a joke played on a mapmaker? Anyone from Leyland here?
Sod Hall Lane, which this crossing is named after, appears on multiple maps - Google, Bing, UK streetmap etc. so it certainly seems to be genuine.
 

30907

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Sod Hall Lane, which this crossing is named after, appears on multiple maps - Google, Bing, UK streetmap etc. so it certainly seems to be genuine.
Indeed so, it seems. Googling it brought up a link to the Leyland Historical Society and a PDF document. Sod Hall (the dwelling was named after the peat) went back to at least 1789.
 

STEVIEBOY1

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There are are few Halfways that I can think of and some amazing funny place names in the UK and around the word. Some too rude to put here, but one in Austria comes to mind, the locals get fed up with the village name sign being stolen.
 

mirodo

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There are are few Halfways that I can think of and some amazing funny place names in the UK and around the word. Some too rude to put here, but one in Austria comes to mind, the locals get fed up with the village name sign being stolen.

Oh no, the ****ing sign has been stolen again...
 

61653 HTAFC

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There are are few Halfways that I can think of and some amazing funny place names in the UK and around the word. Some too rude to put here, but one in Austria comes to mind, the locals get fed up with the village name sign being stolen.
Why are they too rude? They're place names that just happen to have a different meaning in another context (or even a completely different language). These are often amusing, but I fear for the sanity of anyone who is actually offended by them.
 

pne508

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Yes, I know Sod Hall Lane well, it's not a map makers joke, although calling it a lane is being a bit generous. It's a farmyard track which runs on top of a causeway across the fields. I remember back in the 80s it was quite open and people did take their cars across the crossing, but these days it's overgrown and only accessible by foot.
 

ashkeba

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I can confirm that yes "Nowhere" is Ely side of Extons Road. It does have signage both sides of the crossing.

But it is only a foot crossing and cannot be used by vehicles
If it is the one I am looking at on the map, it seems to be connected to cycleways both sides but you probably mean motor vehicles cannot use it.
 

mrcheek

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I just worry about what might happen if a French tourist were ever to ask some for "Hainault"
 

alxndr

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Lots of crossings and bridges have names that probably made sense once, but the meaning behind them has been lost over time. Sometimes you can dig enough and find out where it came from by looking at old maps or census records, others are just lost from living memory. Often it's just a nickname that eventually sticks well enough to become official, even if it loses its relavence over time (e.g there's no shepherds or crossing remaining at Shepherd's Crossing, but there was once a crossing and presumably some shepherds!)
 

Skimpot flyer

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There are are few Halfways that I can think of and some amazing funny place names in the UK and around the word. Some too rude to put here, but one in Austria comes to mind, the locals get fed up with the village name sign being stolen.
I know the place. When I used to be on Facebook, I ‘checked in’ there.... so my status told people I was ‘in F***ing Austria’
 

ge-gn

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Do you know if the lane it sits in has been renamed also?

The lane remains “Sluts Hole Lane, but the railway powers decided to change the LC name for some reason, although it’s still universally known as Sluts Hole to staff.
 

Dr_Paul

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Lots of crossings and bridges have names that probably made sense once, but the meaning behind them has been lost over time. Sometimes you can dig enough and find out where it came from by looking at old maps or census records, others are just lost from living memory. Often it's just a nickname that eventually sticks well enough to become official, even if it loses its relevance over time (e.g there's no shepherds or crossing remaining at Shepherd's Crossing, but there was once a crossing and presumably some shepherds!)

There used to be not one but two thoroughfares called Dead Donkey Lane in Chiswick; the one near the LSWR Kensington and Richmond line (now the North London Line and District Line) is now called Magnolia Road, the other is now called Harvard Passage. A petition to the council to revive the old name unfortunately failed.Dead Donkey Lane 1.jpg Dead Donkey Lane 2.jpg
 
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