ABC Towns and Villages

[bluenotebob]

I’ve just stumbled across this – a nice thread!

A couple of queries .. I realise it has to be done sequentially but is there a start date? .. does it have to be done in a calendar year? Or just as and when you have the time?

I’d have thought ‘X’ would have been a real problem here in France but as ‘Great Oxenden’ (upthread) is OK then I’ll have a better chance.

Any non-UK contributors – or would I be the first?

I’ll get cracking on this is April.

 

[Mike_P]

No specific rules re start so as and when is common. Three byes were said to be permissible so if X is your only concern you could skip it and then use the ?X place for a second letter version.

 

[Willd]

No time limits, some people have done it over several years

AFAIK there are no UK place names beginning with X. So for my first go - first word variant, I used Exhall, (Oxhill was also available) and on the second word version Great Oxendon, as you've mentioned

It'll be interesting to see a French version.

 

[bluenotebob]

@Mike_P and @Willd .. thanks for your replies.

OK – it’s a bit more complicated than I first thought and I may well need to take advantage of the three byes mentioned above.

I’ll start with ‘one word’ place names and see how I get on.

I’m also thinking about a French variant which is ‘La Ville xxxxxxxx’ – there are loads of those … probably not an ‘X’…. but who knows?

After that, ‘two word’ place names (and in most of those, ‘Le’, La’ or ‘Les’ will be the first word).

I never need a reason to be out on my bike (I’m out every day) but it’ll be nice to have another reason to have the camera with me when I’m out.

 

[13 rider]

@bluenotebob there are basically no rules so if it feels right to you then go with it ,just a reason to explore . In the UK single word places are more common . It will be interesting to see a continental version ie La Leicester (or le or Les )

 

[Mike_P]

Q was one I did take a bike by the sign picture when I did them originally - a slight fudge with it being a school name

Revisited RST today

 

[Mike_P]

U and V, the latter a bit of a fudge being English Heritage Grade II Listed gardens, revisited yesterday and W today

X along with Z was skipped and I did picture the bike by Y originally.

 

[All uphill]

Oh no!

I'm cycling in the Netherlands next week and just noticed that there is a town called Xanten over the border in Germany.

A round trip of 140km just to take a photo of a place name.

What am I to do?

 

[BoldonLad]

Oh no!

I'm cycling in the Netherlands and just noticed that there is a town called Xanten over the border in Germany.

A round trip of 140km just to take a photo of a place name.

What am I to do?

Go for it!

PS. Mrs @BoldonLad's assessment of my "collecting" photographs of place names, Saint's names etc is "you are mad you, harmless, but mad".

 

[Mike_P]

Oh no!

I'm cycling in the Netherlands next week and just noticed that there is a town called Xanten over the border in Germany.

A round trip of 140km just to take a photo of a place name.

What am I to do?

Take a train part of the way?

 

[Spartak]

Avonmouth, Berkeley, Codrington &
today..... Dodington.

 

[Mike_P]

Made a start on Saturday on a second word second letter version with Leeming B ar

 

[bluenotebob]

I spent April pouring over local maps – and most of May dithering, unsure as to which category to start with (single placenames, two-word placenames beginning with le, la, les or l’ – or three-word placenames beginning with ‘la Ville).

It dawned on me that I’d probably be pushing up the daisies before I posted anything (or simply too old to get on my bike) so .. I’ve decided to start with my ‘la Ville’ series.

I’ve located 20 out of 26 of these so far – hopefully I’ll find another two or three this summer (which aren’t too far away from home).

I will visit – and post – all these places in alphabetical sequence .. but the posted photos may come from my photo archive (if they are better than those taken on the day of my visit).

First up is la Ville Aumont, visited today. It’s just off the road between Mauron and Trémorel, about 1km north of the sablière at la Ville Caro.

 

[bluenotebob]

la Ville Briend - just south of the D2 between Evriguet and St Brieuc-de-Mauron

Visited this morning .. today's photo below ... plus one more (from March this year) when the vegetation hadn't gone crazy ..

 

[bluenotebob]

Two more additions to my ‘La Ville xxxxx’ series, both visited this afternoon…

.. la Ville Coquelin, roughly midway between Guilliers and le Bois-de-la Roche. I hadn’t been here for a couple of years but there used to be a sign for the village as you approached from the north which gave a great view over the roofs of the village, the valley of the Yvel and (in the distance) the Forêt de Paimpont. Maybe a combine had taken the sign out because it’s not there any more – nor are the any signs on the roads that join from the west and the east … but thankfully there was still a sign at the bottom of the village ..

… and la Ville Davy, north of Mauron. It’s on the road between Mauron and Trémorel and I must have arrived at rush hour (or what counts for rush hour in this quiet part of France) as cars and lorries were almost constantly thundering past in the few minutes it took me to throw my bike into the undergrowth, grab my camera and take a couple of photos. However, I did manage to get a traffic-free photo…