View Full Version : Interesting Place Names
Looking at road signs as I drive, and looking on the map of Scotland, I find it fascinating all the different and unusual place names.
What little or obscure Scottish places have you heard of or been to?
My favourite one so far is on the West Coast, Mellon Udrigle.
I would love to know where some of the place names came from.
I'd love to visit "Devil's Beef Tub"
I live near a village called Kirton. jan x
j4bberw0ck
24-Jan-07, 19:24
I'd love to visit "Devil's Beef Tub"
Saveman, that's on a wonderful road winding up from Moffat - the A701. Particularly good on a motorbike, and some superb views.... but you need to stop to admire them. You definitely do not want to go off the road there - it's a long way down. :eek:
I like Findo Gask on the A9 from Stirling to Glasgow. Sounds as though it might be the name of a character out of "Star Wars".
Must admit I've not been there, but researching the family history, the Orkney island of Rousay throws up some wonderful names...like WOO. And HOO. Even TOU. :confused
Or there's the loch known as Muckle Water -no mystery about the meaning, it just sounds good! :D
percy toboggan
24-Jan-07, 20:36
[quote=dozerboy;184716]
My favourite one so far is on the West Coast, Mellon Udrigle.
quote]
We were there in '96 on my four cylinder Yam XS1100. That's where she started firing on two cylinders ! Still got us home though - eventually.
There is a lovely beach at Melon Udrigle. Not too far from Gairloch.
I wonder which country has the funniest names - England or Scotland? Up there I like Puddledub. Down here, Crackpot, Wetwang and Bugle take some beating.
Used to live in plymouth years ago and there was a place called Penny Come quickly lol always had a laugh when I sa wthat one .
the second coming
24-Jan-07, 21:18
Twatt in Orkney (and in Shetland)
j4bberw0ck
25-Jan-07, 13:26
My grandmother lived not far from Middle Piddletrenthide in Dorset..... :lol:
Thanks for these. Some of these are brilliant!
Keep them coming please!!
I also like Achiltibuie (prob spelled wrong!)
My grandmother lived not far from Middle Piddletrenthide in Dorset..... :lol:
Think I may have driven past it on the way to Weymouth? -but was struggling to get to the ferry on time...
Some goodies in the Cotswolds I used to find -
The "Slaughters" (Upper & Lower), Cobbler's Bottom, Catsbrain Tump, and Gomm's Hole, to name but a few...:lol:
cuddlepop
25-Jan-07, 13:41
These are two of my favourites.
Auchinleck in Ayrshire and Kilmaluag on Skye there brill.
spelling may be wrong but you get the picture:lol:
Just about got my small child calmed down after passing through Mosstodloch, when we hit Mickle Wartle, which set it off again. Had the same experience passing through Nether, Upper and Middle Wallop in Wiltshire.
A friend had a series of swear words which were place names - Muckle Flugga, I remember among others
Try to get hold of Douglas Adams' books 'The Meaning of Liff ' where he takes place names and puts his own meaning to them
eg Scrabster: a small dog which continually tries to hump your leg
Twatt in Orkney (and in Shetland)
lol there was a story about that village in the paper a while back because people kept nicking the sign. Cant figure out why though!! [lol]
i was near cumbria working in a place called cockermouth lmao
i was near cumbria working in a place called cockermouth lmao
Ooo i've driven through there!!! hehe
Valerie Campbell
26-Jan-07, 11:35
Overscaig at Loch Shin in Sutherland. Always thought it was a quirky name for a place.
connieb19
26-Jan-07, 11:42
Ecclefechan always reminds me of when my granny used to bake ecclefechan tart.
Stuff me Pipe, Come to Grief,London Apprentice and Gweek.
Stuff me Pipe, Come to Grief,London Apprentice and Gweek.
Where do they get them from?
Nobody got any long unpronouncable Welsh ones yet??
Skinflats near Falkirk.
Apparently it's a corruption of the Dutch name for Beautiful Plains which was what the area was called by the Dutch engineers brought in by the Earl of Zetland to reclaim land from the River Forth when they had completed the work.
It has been called the ugliest placename in Scotland I believe.
Dusty.
Some good pub names throughout England as I recall...
The Lamb & Flag and The Eagle & Child (AKA The Bird) in Oxford for starters...
The one I like best in Edinburgh's The Sheep Heid at Duddingston. (Not a bad pub either!) :D
Skinflats near Falkirk.
Apparently it's a corruption of the Dutch name for Beautiful Plains which was what the area was called by the Dutch engineers brought in by the Earl of Zetland to reclaim land from the River Forth when they had completed the work.
It has been called the ugliest placename in Scotland I believe.
Dusty.
No insult meant to anybody who stays there, but it's a pretty ugly little place as well if you ask me - a bit like it's close neighbour Grangemouth - where the air always smells so fresh strange, a mixture of goodness knows what all!! It's other close neighbour, Carronshore is not much better.
Where do they get them from?
Nobody got any long unpronouncable Welsh ones yet??
I know a few silly sounding ones (in English) - some of my relatives live in Ceredigion so I spent some time learning Welsh pronunciation...
you have:
Cilybebyll - pronounced killer-babe-ich
Ynysmeudwy - pron, Un-uis-moy'doy
Ystradgynlais - pron. Us-strid-gun-lice
Cwnllynfell - pron. coom-clin-vech
Llanwrtyd - pron. Clan-oo'err-tid
Dolgellau - Doll-gekch-lye
Machynllech - Mac-cunk-cliff
the obvious one is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliog ogogoch
(which took half an hour of practise to get it right, but it's pronounced Clan-vie,air-puch-gwin-gich. Go-ger-rikch. Win-tro-boch. Clan-too-silly-o, goeg-o'-goch in case you feel like having a crack at it (it was an amusing way of passing an evening))
The scariest place name in the world however has surely got to go to Bangkok ?
It's bad enough in English, but the Thai's call it:
Krungthepmahanakonbowornratanakosinmahintarayudyay amahadiloponoparatanarajthaniburiromudomrajniwesma hasatarnamornpimarnavatarsatitsakattiyavisanukamph rasit
!!
Some good pub names throughout England as I recall...
The Lamb & Flag and The Eagle & Child (AKA The Bird) in Oxford for starters...
The one I like best in Edinburgh's The Sheep Heid at Duddingston. (Not a bad pub either!) :D
Used to frequent both of those on a fairly regular basis. The Lamb and flag was a great pub - great (rock) music and everyone was really friendly. The Eagle and Child was a bit posh though, lot of sneering toffee-nosed 22 year olds who knew it all. Oxford's nice though - the sun always seems to shine there for some reason and loads of interesting buildings and places to see. Nightmare to park - even for a motorbike!
Pity Me, County Durham.:roll:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pity_Me
'Spittal' :D has got to be one of the strangest - and I am from Caithness
I've just posted this link in the Twatt road sign thread, but I suppose it's relevant here as well. Enter your postcode for "amusing" place names "near" you.
http://places.jump-around.com/closest/
Cheers
Ian.
cuddlepop
26-Jan-07, 16:17
In Glasgow you got Aitkenhead,Rottonrow and Powfoot in Dumfries.
Wonder how they got there names.:)
'Spittal' :D has got to be one of the strangest - and I am from Caithness
I'm not sure if the Caithness Spittal falls into this category, but there are quite a few about.
There is/was a street in Aberdeen called Spittal, and I think it comes from the name of a leper hospital in medieval times (?)
[quote=emb123;185333]Used to frequent both of those on a fairly regular basis. The Lamb and flag was a great pub - great (rock) music and everyone was really friendly. The Eagle and Child was a bit posh though, lot of sneering toffee-nosed 22 year olds who knew it all.
I really meant I liked the names rather than the pubs themselves...although I agree with your assessment!
The Lamb & Flag provided a very good Spotted Dick....
Now there we go again. :lol: It always made for some childish merriment ...
Some good pub names throughout England as I recall...
The Lamb & Flag and The Eagle & Child (AKA The Bird) in Oxford for starters...
The one I like best in Edinburgh's The Sheep Heid at Duddingston. (Not a bad pub either!) :D
Our local pub is called the Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower
[lol]
I've just posted this link in the Twatt road sign thread, but I suppose it's relevant here as well. Enter your postcode for "amusing" place names "near" you.
http://places.jump-around.com/closest/
Cheers
Ian.
here are some near me...
White Knobs Way
Cock Pond
Titsey Park
Bonar Road
Knob Hill
Mincing Lane
Pratt's Bottom
Balls Cross
Hooker's Farm
Gay Street
[lol]
For my sins, I seem to be near:
Bottom Burn
Fanny Burn
Fanny Hill
Turdees
Bitch Craig
Fatlips Castle
Dickland
Rotten Bottom
and
Spunkie
Here in Edinburgh we have Dick Place & also The Royal Dick Veterinary College (AKA The Dick Vet) where my Dad was a student many years ago....:lol:
For my sins, I seem to be near:
Bottom Burn
Fanny Burn
Fanny Hill
Turdees
Bitch Craig
Fatlips Castle
Dickland
Rotten Bottom
and
Spunkie
Here in Edinburgh we have Dick Place & also The Royal Dick Veterinary College (AKA The Dick Vet) where my Dad was a student many years ago....:lol:
LOL - that is hilarious!![lol]
These are near where I used to live!
Penistone (pronouced pennystone, just in case you're wondering lol!)
Camp Town
Fartown
Upperthong
Hole Bottom
One of the books in my pile of "to read" is entitled From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow - How Maps Name, Claim and Inflame
No insult meant to anybody who stays there, but it's a pretty ugly little place as well if you ask me - a bit like it's close neighbour Grangemouth - where the air always smells so fresh strange, a mixture of goodness knows what all!! It's other close neighbour, Carronshore is not much better.
What about the Bog in Falkirk , you would always get a battle between the bog boys and the (Y G B ) young Grangemouth boys . I wonder if that still goes on.
I like "Tullybelton" near Perth, "Arpafeelie" near Inverness, "Milngavie" & "Findochty" because non-scots don't know how to pronounce them.:eek:
I went to Helensburgh once and on the road to Fastlane, we passed a place called 'Stuckenduff'.. we had to turn back to check it out.. yessss it was true .. lol :lol:
There's a Tillytoghills near where I live.
Cedric Farthsbottom III
26-Jan-07, 23:56
I like "Tullybelton" near Perth, "Arpafeelie" near Inverness, "Milngavie" & "Findochty" because non-scots don't know how to pronounce them.:eek:
Spot on mccaugm.Milngavie in Glasgow,to all pronounced mil-n-gavie,ye wid think.....but oh no,the residents say it should be mil-guy......eh???????
Same as Bearsden......pronounced Bears-den.....but no,the residents say Burs-dun,eh???:confused:
these are brilliant. thanks all who have added their bit....
slainthe math......................
the charlatans
27-Jan-07, 00:15
there is a Horn in the Lofoten Islands in Norway. we had to stop and reverse madly to get our photos taken with the sign.
and i like Lilliesleaf in the Borders and Tullybelton near Perth, we call it Tummybutton. Or Tullibody near Stirling - the locals call it Tullybungle
Just south of Evanton theres a river called the 'Allt Graad' What on earths that all about? :confused
To name just a few more!!!!!
Bell End near Lickey End (Wales)
Fingringhoe (Essex)
Boggy Bottom (Abbots Langley, Herts)
Lord Berkeley's Knob (Sutherland)
Lord Hereford's Knob (near Hay-on-Wye)
Brown Willy (Cornwall)
Three Cocks (Wales)
Minge Lane (Upton-On-Severn, Worcs)
Nob End (South Lancashire)
Butt of Lewis (Hebrides, Scotland)
Pisshill (near Reading)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allt_Graad
Jings I'm sorry I mentioned Skinflats, ye hiv aw fairly ripped my local area to bits whit wi Skinflats, Grangemouth, Carronshore and the Bog aw cummin in fur a lashin.
You are of course all correct, the area was built to fulfil the need for housing for workers in the shipyard, many sawmills and foundries which are now no longer in existance and the lack of investment shows.
Anyway, what about Culross, pronounced Coorus (it's quite nice) or Sheildhill known in the local vernacular as Shi-hill. In the town of Bo'ness (there's a place that's getting better) there is an area called Muirhouses which is pronounced Murries by the locals!
Dusty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allt_Graad
Jings I'm sorry I mentioned Skinflats, ye hiv aw fairly ripped my local area to bits whit wi Skinflats, Grangemouth, Carronshore and the Bog aw cummin in fur a lashin.
You are of course all correct, the area was built to fulfil the need for housing for workers in the shipyard, many sawmills and foundries which are now no longer in existance and the lack of investment shows.
Anyway, what about Culross, pronounced Coorus (it's quite nice) or Sheildhill known in the local vernacular as Shi-hill. In the town of Bo'ness (there's a place that's getting better) there is an area called Muirhouses which is pronounced Murries by the locals!
Dusty.
I have always known Boness as Bone-yuck
Blazing Sporrans
27-Jan-07, 22:32
Just south of Evanton theres a river called the 'Allt Graad' What on earths that all about? :confused
The trouble with the Gaelic place names is that there could be several reasons for a place name eventually resulting in one spelling or the other. The main reason for this appears to be illiteracy and you can see how many surnames end up with variable spellings through simple mistakes, anglicisations etc over the years. In fact, to illustrate such a point, I have a friend called MacKintosh, whose uncle insists on the spelling McKintosh.
Anyway, my mother, who is a native Gaelic speaker, tells me that there is no such word as 'Graad', which makes the root harder to determine. There is however a word 'grad', which refers to speed and coupled with the word 'allt', which refers to a burn or a river, it may possibly be as simple as a fast-flowing burn, as opposed to the 'Ugly Burn' that Wikipedia has come up with. This is just conjecture on her part though and I'd be interested in any alternative theories.
Yes, I vote for Tulleybelton as just a nice balance between the ridiculous and thought provoking to while away a few more miles on the A9.
When I was a very young ghillie I was often asked to name that er, small pointed mountain beside Morven by posh middle aged ladies accompanying their husbands on fishing trips. Have to admit that I always bottled it and ended up saying it had slipped my memory or some other lame excuse.
However these days when asked how many munroes have I climbed the answer is what those mundane mountains, no, I am now intent on climbing all of Scotland's mamary glands from the Maiden Pap to the Cuillins Cioch, the Cioch of Applecross, (Cioch, Gaelic for breast) the Paps of Jura, the Pap of Glencoe and any other aptly named bra less summits. It is a healthy, thought provoking business and an important study of an aspect of our national heritage, perhaps the Tourist Authority or someone will give me a grant to write a guidebook on the subject.
Just south of Evanton theres a river called the 'Allt Graad' What on earths that all about? :confused
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allt_Graad
Read all about it! ;)
I always thought there should be more to Kindallachan. I can't put my finger on it but it is missing something.
Cedric Farthsbottom III
30-Jan-07, 22:25
I always thought there should be more to Kindallachan. I can't put my finger on it but it is missing something.
Kindallachan,lovely wee place on the A9,KennyL.Something missing to it,did ye no read the sign as ye come up to the hooses"Don't Blink":lol:
What on earth is the origin of Latheron Wheel?
I was told it was a corruption of Leather on Wheel which was a sign for stagecoaches telling them to get the brake on.
But if that's the case there would be a whole series of Leather-on-wheel type names, each one near a steep hill.
Any alternative ideas?
There's a town in Ontario called Barry.
To me Barry suggests suede shoes and hair oil and a wee moustache.
There is not a neighbouring town called Vince (I checked) but there should be!
There's a town in Ontario called Barry.
To me Barry suggests suede shoes and hair oil and a wee moustache.
There is not a neighbouring town called Vince (I checked) but there should be!
rich, you don't get out enough. The place is called Barrie.
Now there are some small towns in Southern Saskatchewan whose names always gave us a bit of comic relief on the long trip home to Winnipeg. But I don't think that they would pass the org censor.
thes a place called SAD in what was Yugoslavia
Greenrunner
31-Jan-07, 12:41
In county Durham I have driven through No Place and Pity Me
Thanks all for your place names.
I am closing the thread so it doesn't go stale. Give other new threads a chance.
Great names, and for once a thread which stayed on topic!!
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