road trip uk rude names

20 of the rudest and most outrageous street names in the UK revealed

From Backside Lane to Crotch Crescent, motoring experts at LeaseCar.uk have researched the UK’s most offensive road signs to create the ultimate route for cheeky travellers

• 09:00, 23 APR 2023
• Updated 10:15, 23 APR 2023

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Despite its prim and proper reputation, the UK is littered with smutty-sounding signs, meaning a rude road trip takes in all four corners of the country.

As motorists make their way around the UK, they can grab a selfie with the infamous Court Cocking road sign, take a trip to Fanny Street or even take in the view of Bell End.

Some of the names are so outrageous they have devalued homes in the area and caused humiliation and bullying for residents.

READ: Alton Towers rollercoaster shame sees 'self-hating' hairdresser transform his body

In fact, research shows that innuendo-laden roads have an average 22 per cent dip in price compared to other houses in conventionally named streets nearby - which iis bad news for many homeowners because there are at least 17 Cock Lanes across England and Wales.

However, despite petitions by local residents to try and change the inappropriate names, councils report having no plans to do so which is excellent news for those eager to make this road trip.

Tim Alcock at Leasecar.uk which carried out the research, said: “This country is known for its eccentric nature, and the general reaction to these wacky road names really demonstrates our frank British humour.

“We have created the rudest road trip in the UK, which is bound to be the weirdest drive you’ll ever take.

“From Dick Place in Edinburgh and Semicock road in Northern Ireland, this road trip is so inappropriate we suggest not taking your kids on this one.

“Who knows how long these roads will keep their rude names as we’re already seeing residents want to get them changed.

“Have a laugh and visit these crude spots across the UK as soon as you can before they just become a part of history.”

Here is Leasecar.uk ’s rudest road trip in the UK:

• Backside Lane, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN4
• Dick Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9
• Assloss Road, Kilmarnock, Scotland, KA3
• Semicock Road, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, BT53
• Trailcock Road, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, BT38
• Slack Bottom, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7
• Lickers Lane, Prescot, Lancashire, L35
• Spanker Lane, Belpher, Derbyshire, DE56
• Grope Lane, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1
• Hardon Road Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV4
• Minge Lane, Upton-upon-Severn , Worcestershire WR8
• Fanny Street, Cardiff, Wales CF24
• Court Cocking, St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26
• Slaparse Lane, Exeter, Devon, EX52
• Cock-A-Dobby, Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47
• Crotch Crescent, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3
• Titty Ho, Raunds, Northamptonshire, NN9
• Hooker Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR7
• Butthole Lane, Shepshed, Leicestershire, LE12
• Willey Lane, Newthorpe, Nottinghamshire, NG16

There are also some rather rude and strange sounding names in and around Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire:

- Butt Lane, Talke

- Bird Cage Walk, Hanley

- Cheapside, Hanley

- Pall Mall, Hanley (the London one is worth £140 on Monopoly)

- Salem Street, Etruria

- Slippery Lane, Hanley

In Burslem you will find:

- Cocks Entry, Burslem

- Brickhouse Street, Burslem

- Amicable Street (they're a friendly lot)

- Bleak Place (We know it isn't)

Leek also has its fair share of unusual names :

- Badgers Rise

- High Up Lane (not great if you have vertigo)

- Nab Hill Road

- Pump Street (that's one for the kids).

Tunstall and Cheadle both have a Coronation Street, Fenton has a Best Street and Trentham has a very cold-sounding Arctic Place.

Meanwhile, if you travel to Uttoxeter you'll come across the very strange sounding Cockstubbles (we daren't ask!)

Do you know of any other rude or unusual sounding street names in the the area? Let us know in the comments.

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Next stop, Twatt! My tour of Britain’s fantastically filthy placenames

The UK is full of extremely rude-sounding towns and villages. But what’s it like to live in them? Some locals can’t wait to change the names, while others embrace the quirk – even selling signpost souvenirs

O n the road to Twatt, a message arrives from a resident there. Am I making the pilgrimage up through Scotland to this hamlet on the island of Orkney only to admire its notorious, unwittingly rude road sign? If so, don’t bother. “Our council was so frustrated by that sign being stolen, they have now not replaced it,” says Judith Glue, who runs a gift shop selling pictures of the old Twatt sign to tourists who might otherwise leave the region disappointed. Grateful for her warning, I thank Glue and read over a list I’ve made of those other dwelling places in the UK that through some quirk of linguistic evolution have found themselves with fantastic, filthy-sounding names. At Cock Bridge, in Aberdeenshire, they have the same trouble as in Twatt. “Our sign is constantly being pinched,” says Geva Blackett, a councillor for the region. “People have been taking them away as mementoes. Why do they do it?”

It’s an early lesson from my road trip around these towns, villages, parishes, hamlets and farms, many of which are irresistible to Insta-tourists and sign thieves – always phone ahead. One autumn day, I drive for over an hour to visit an Ass Hill in Dorset, just to find it’s an unremarkable and uninhabited lane between hedgerows. The village of Shitterton, about 20 miles away, is much more interesting. Residents here are quite accustomed to hobby-horse types like me wandering through to have a nose around and ask questions. Most are proud, even defiant about this startling name of theirs, which derives from the fact that about 1,000 years ago the site was an open sewer.

One local, Peter Gordon, tells me he always makes sure to include Shitterton on his driving licence, because it’s a reliable conversation starter if he’s ever asked to show ID. Gordon directs my attention to an enterprising local plumber who has gone all-in on a branding opportunity, renaming his premises Pooh Corner. Not every local person takes quite such pleasure in their geographic distinction however. One of Gordon’s neighbours, Ian Ventham, tells me about a quarrel he used to have with his late mother-in-law. She always swore that the “h” in Shitterton was silent. “There are still adherents to the ‘Sitterton’ variant today,” sighs Ventham.

I first became curious about these places – what it was like to live in them, what the benefits were, what were the frictions and frustrations for locals – when I read about the put-upon citizens of Fucking in Austria. This remote, socially conservative village had suffered from decades of unwanted attention, ever since the second world war when British and American soldiers passed through and took home word about a truly unforgettable little place. (The name is thought to stem from a centuries-old landowner.) By 2005, Fucking was so routinely overrun by backpackers and bucket‑listers, all of them chasing selfies or keepsakes, that CCTV cameras had to be pointed at every Fucking sign in town. Even this wasn’t enough to deter people, and in 2020 the local mayor, Andrea Holzner, oversaw a change of name to Fugging. Holzner did not respond to my requests to be interviewed, and no wonder, having told reporters in 2020: “We’ve had enough.”

When I chat to Shittertonians about the plight of the Fuckingites, though, they’re sympathetic, having adopted their own special measure against sign thieves in 2010. Instead of a standard aluminium sign, too easily dug up and thrown in the boot of a car, residents invested in a great big lump of limestone, about the size of a fridge and surely heavier. It would require some sort of mobile crane to spirit away this engraved rock as a memento. After I’ve admired it for a while, I give councillor Blackett in Scotland a call. You should see this thing, I say to her! It’s the answer to Cock Bridge’s problems. She promises she will look it up online.

B rowsing on Google images becomes a risky business should you ever undertake to research such a trip. Internet queries about Three Cocks, a village in Powys, or Three Holes, a hamlet in Norfolk, can go wrong, quickly. It’s no fault of the places themselves. The etymologies of these names trace back hundreds of years. Pare away a millennium of British history, says John Baker, associate professor of name-studies at the University of Nottingham, and most of our towns and villages were named for features of the landscape, or a landowner, or an agricultural quirk. “The names tended to reflect immediate local circumstances,” says Baker. “A particular hill. The condition of the soil.”

Many such meanings have been obscured or eliminated by time. Languages evolve. Different citizenries come and go. Suddenly you find yourself learning about a place called Clench in Wiltshire, and instead of that name summoning the idea of a hill in the vicinity, as it would have done in the 1200s, the modern ear hears only something lavatorial. (Or mine does.) A Viking settlement comes to be known in Old Norse as Hill of Sekk, or Sekkshaughr, and 1,000 years later we have the wonderful enigma that is the Yorkshire parish of Sexhow. There are actually two Twatts in the UK, one in Orkney and another in Shetland. We might have ended up with more, says Tom Birkett, a linguist from University College Cork, only the Old Norse word for “meadow” evolved somewhat more innocuously south of the Scottish-English border, becoming Thwaite. Residents of Haithwaite in Buckinghamshire might want to breathe a sigh of relief.

Baker makes the point that we are hardly the first people in history to find ourselves snorting with amusement, or blushing with embarrassment, as placenames become unmoored from their meanings. There is an Ugley in Essex that for decades in the 19th century was primly rebranded as Oakley. “Locals didn’t want the association,” says Baker, who tells me about a district of Leicester, now known as Belgrave, that was once down in the records as Merdegrave. Norman conquerors, arriving in the 11th century, didn’t like the sound of that merde . Why not make the place sound less shitty and call it something beautiful, or belle, instead?

Knowing all this, I start to feel more impressed by those places that have stuck fast to their filthy names, despite the pressures of genteel bowdlerisation. In the late 00s, there was a decision made by the ruling council in Castleford in Yorkshire to alter the name of a thoroughfare in the middle of town. Tickle Cock Bridge became Tittle Cott Bridge, albeit briefly, because locals were so irritated by the prudish switch that they campaigned for a reversal. Tickle Cock Bridge endures. When I drive to Sandy Balls in Hampshire one day, it’s a surprise to find that this ancient place – once a sandy, bumpy field, thus the name – has been turned into a modern holiday park. There’s now a boules court on site, and a Segway garage. When I pass through, some children are being introduced to a domesticated alpaca. The name Sandy Balls is up in lights, everywhere, no squeamishness whatsoever.

I get the same impression when I visit the village of Wetwang in east Yorkshire. Here, notoriety has been embraced, even greedily courted. Since the late 1990s, the people of Wetwang have taken it upon themselves to invite minor celebrities to serve as honorary figureheads. The tradition started when the TV presenter Richard Whiteley, then the host of Countdown, made a few fond mentions of the village (it once meant “wet field”) on air. He was invited to be mayor, and agreed, holding that title for years until his death in 2005. “When Richard died, they wanted him replaced,” says Paul Hudson, a weather presenter at the BBC. “For God knows what reason, I won an election in the village.”

Hudson, like Whiteley before him, had never so much as visited. But he had mentioned the village on TV a few times, during some lighthearted weather segments, and he was installed as Wetwang’s second mayor in 2006. “I help choose the best vegetables at the summer fair,” Hudson says. “I judge the annual scarecrow competition. I do it for fun, I’m not even paid mileage … I get the feeling the residents just like it that they’re different. They’re small. But they’re on the map for something. I suppose it’s quite a British thing.”

I n the village of Penistone, 70 miles south-west of Wetwang, I meet photographer Dominic Greyer. After many hours spent driving, and bleary from travel, I’m quite star-struck to meet Greyer in person. This 50-year-old must have put in more miles than anyone alive in his pursuit of obscure and obscene British placenames, establishing himself as the Indiana Jones of his field. Sure, every few years some well-intentioned hiker or cyclist takes it upon themselves to tour the notorious sites, starting at one of the two Twatts and working south, fundraising for charity. But these men and women are amateurs, mere hobbyists, compared with Greyer, who has made a career out of a niche of all niches. “I’ve done 20 years at the coalface of great British placenames,” he says, when we’re sitting down together for lunch.

He says he first got interested when he was a student in the 1990s, doing data entry for a transport consultancy firm in York. The firm had a large collection of maps, and Greyer started poring over them, noting down the tiny-lettered names of any farms, footpaths, fields or thoroughfares that caught his eye. High Back Side near Pickering? He’d have to go there one day. Long Fallas Crescent in Brighouse? He added it to his list. In 2004, Greyer published the first of three photobooks that presented his more abstract discoveries (Seething in Norfolk, Tiptoe in Northumberland, Fryup in Yorkshire, Minions in Cornwall) with those placenames that had a bit more tang, including Penistone itself, which derives from the older, more innocent-sounding Peningston, or “farm on a hill”.

After years spent running a magnifying glass over Ordnance Survey maps and truckers’ atlases, and trudging with his camera over farmland, ditches, clifftops, Greyer has been mistaken for an animal-rights campaigner and a drains inspector. He’s also been quizzed at least once by police officers about his intentions while lingering to take photos in places such as Dancing Dicks Lane in Essex or Busty View in Durham. Once he realised there was money to be made from those pictures in his archive that got people laughing, Greyer founded a company called Lesser Spotted Images and started manufacturing Penistone mugs and Sandy Balls greetings cards, as well as all the Twatt merch that Glue has been selling for years from her shop in Orkney.

Greyer once got into an argument, he says, at a Women’s Institute fair in Harrogate, when a male security guard made him cover up his Titty Ho tea towels. (It’s a junction of roads in Northamptonshire.) On another occasion, he was laying out his wares at a fair in the village of Muff in County Donegal in Ireland – he sells Muff products, too – when a local person looked over his photos from Happy Bottom in Dorset and Slack Bottom in Yorkshire, and asked why Greyer didn’t take photos of something nice instead, like flowers.

Why don’t you take photos of something nice instead, like flowers, I ask? “If it’s there, I want to see it,” is all Greyer can say to explain his lifelong compulsion to catalogue these places. He points out that his work has been recognised by the art world, and that Grayson Perry invited him to exhibit at a Royal Academy show in 2018. Greyer remembers stewing over what to submit. A photograph of No 2 Passage in Manchester? He settled on one of Cumcum Hill in Hertfordshire, instead.

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As we’re talking, a passing hiker notices one of Greyer’s photographs on the table between us. He comes over to inspect it (Lady Gardens, Herefordshire) and introduces himself. Turns out this hiker has a similar eye for placenames. He and Greyer briskly compare notes, as if they are butterfly hunters or birdwatchers meeting in the field. Greyer asks: “Have you ever been over to Scarborough, and those cliffs called Randy Bell End?”

“No. But we do live close to Upperthong,” says the hiker.

“I have a photo of the sign at Netherthong,” says Greyer, “not Upper.”

“I prefer Upper.”

“I think Nether is better.”

“Have you ever heard of Fanny Moor Crescent in Huddersfield?”

“Trumped,” says Greyer, “by Fanny Hands Lane in Ludford.”

I leave them to it, driving south out of Penistone into wilder country. Earlier that day, on the roads around Wetwang, I passed evidence of a traffic accident. Tyre tracks left the road towards a ditch – exactly where Wetwang’s big welcome sign loomed, as though a passing driver had seen the name, been distracted by mirth or disbelief, and lost control. Leaving Penistone, I almost get into similar grief. The landscape is stunning here, rolling hills of green and brown, moss-covered walls, brooks. When I pass a craggy rock that’s engraved with directions to the nearest village, I have to hit the brakes, and come to a screeching halt. It’s a marker for Penistone, forged from actual stone. It has been scratched all over by long-gone vandals, some of their faded carvings surely meant to be penises.

I sit beside the stone for a bit, feeling unusually in tune with my compatriots. There is so much that divides us and makes us frustrated with each other, politically, economically, tonally. But we do share these ridiculous islands, with our Twatts, our Clench, our churches named after a saint called Sexburga. I find something comforting and levelling about it, whenever I hear of a new one. Assington in Suffolk. Cuckoo’s Knob in Wiltshire. Out of pride or perversity, sometimes because of the conservation efforts of unsung heroes, we’ve stuck by these names. When a petition was launched in Rowley Regis in the West Midlands, to try to alter the name of a local road that was felt by some to be bad for house prices , a counterpetition was launched: Save our beloved Bell End! I like what these campaigns say about us, stubborn little weirdo nation that we are.

Ever since the start of my trip, I’ve been trying to get in touch with Linda George, the woman who stood up for Bell End (which probably referred to a bell pit in a bygone mine), successfully petitioning for its protection in 2018. When we finally speak my travels are almost done. I ask her, why go to battle for Bell End?

“I lived there with my grandmother as a baby,” George explains. “She was a great storyteller about her village. There used to be a coaching house dating to the 1700s. There used to be Georgian pubs. By the time I was an adult, almost all of this was gone. It had been demolished for modern buildings. Even the church has been rebuilt several times. My kids fall about laughing whenever I talk about Bell End and protecting it – but it’s an ancient name. It’s one of the few things the village has left in terms of its history. In a way, if we lose Bell End, we lose everything.”

I wish George luck, and she does the same, asking me where I’m heading next on my road trip. I tell her I’m not sure. I have my eye on Butts Wynd in Fife. Or maybe Pant in Shropshire. We’ll have to see.

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Someone’s created the UK’s rudest road trip using very inappropriate street names

From Backside Lane to Willey Lane, you’re guaranteed laughs all the way!

The UK’s most outrageous road names have been revealed to create the rudest road trip ever.

Drivers looking for a laugh have been told where to go on the UK’s rudest road trip while out enjoying the sunnier driving weather — and there’s a few dotted around the North West!

From Dick Place to Crotch Crescent, motoring experts at LeaseCar.uk have researched the UK’s most offensive road signs to create the ultimate route for ‘cheeky’ travellers.

Despite its prudish reputation — believed by some — the UK is littered from top to bottom with all sorts of smutty-sounding road signs. And this rude road trip takes in all cracks and crevices of the country.

Lancashire, West Yorkshire and Edinburgh are just three areas drivers will tick off as they embark on the road trip to hunt down UK’s crudest spots. 

And as motorists make their way along the glorious south coast, enjoying the beautiful beach views of St Ives, they can grab a selfie with the infamous Court Cocking road sign. 

Wales also has a few corkers, with Fanny Street in Cardiff causing many an eyebrow to raise as road trippers drive by. 

Some road names, like Bell End in Rowley Regis, are so outrageous that they have devalued homes in the area — allegedly caused humiliation and bullying for residents. 

Research shows that innuendo-laden roads have an average 22% dip in price compared to other houses in conventionally named streets nearby. 

This is bad news for many homeowners because there are at least 17 Cock Lanes across England and Wales.

  However, despite petitions by local residents to try and change the inappropriate names, councils report having no plans to do so which is excellent news for those eager to make this road trip. 

Tim Alcock at Leasecar UK,  said: “This country is known for its eccentric nature, and the general reaction to these wacky road names really demonstrates our frank British humour.

“We have created the rudest road trip in the UK, which is bound to be the weirdest drive you’ll ever take.

“From Dick Place in Edinburgh and Semicock road in Northern Ireland, this road trip is so inappropriate we suggest not taking your kids on this one.

“Who knows how long these roads will keep their rude names as we’re already seeing residents want to get them changed.

“Have a laugh and visit these crude spots across the UK as soon as you can before they just become a part of history.”

Here is Leasecar.uk’s rudest road trip in the UK: 

• Backside Lane, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN4
• Dick Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9 
• Assloss Road, Kilmarnock, Scotland, KA3   
• Semicock Road, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, BT53
• Trailcock Road, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, BT38

• Slack Bottom, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7
• Lickers Lane, Prescot, Lancashire, L35
• Spanker Lane, Belpher, Derbyshire, DE56
• Grope Lane, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1
• Hardon Road Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV4
• Minge Lane, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire WR8
• Fanny Street, Cardiff, Wales CF24
• Court Cocking, St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26

• Slaparse Lane, Exeter, Devon, EX52
• Cock-A-Dobby, Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47
• Crotch Crescent, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3
• Titty Ho, Raunds, Northamptonshire, NN9
• Hooker Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR7
• Butthole Lane, Shepshed, Leicestershire, LE12
• Willey Lane, Newthorpe, Nottinghamshire, NG16

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Flanagan shared the health update on Instagram after taking a break from social media

Former Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan has revealed she experienced an episode of psychosis after having a ‘bad reaction’ to ADHD medication.

Flanagan shared that she had been struggling with her mental health after splitting from her ex-partner 18 months ago.

She said she had been really struggling with her mental health in December and January.

She also had to pull out of a theatre tour where she was supposed to play the role of Miss Scarlett in Cluedo 2 – The Next Chapter.

The 33-year-old who is a single mother to three children – Matilda, seven, Delilah, five, and Charlie, two, who she shares with Scott Sinclair – is best known for playing Rosie Webster in Coronation Street.

She split from footballer Sinclair in October 2022.

In a post on Instagram, after ‘having a few months off’ from social media, Flanagan wrote: “Had a few months off from social but I’m back now xxx. So basically I really struggled mental health wise December/ January xxx.

“I felt really not great in my head over Christmas and I didn’t really feel that much different when I took the kids away for new year xxx 

“I had a lot of difficult things going on things I just can’t talk about on Instagram x.”

Flanagan continued: “I felt terrible, so I was due my theatre tour which I was excited about so when I came back from holiday I thought it was best for me to take some medication so I’d feel better and be able to cope better with being a working single mum of three and I was emotionally struggling with the break up from the father of my kids but I had a really bad reaction though to the medication ( an ADHD medication) and it sent me into a psychosis for a few days which I didn’t know I was in x.

“I just love my kids so much x this bad reaction though was a few days before rehearsals were starting and sadly I just wasn’t mentally well enough to do it xxx.

“I was heartbroken as I’ve always been professional as an actress but i needed to stay at home and feel better for me and my kids, with the help of my amazing parents xxx.”

The actress and model added: “I’ve always been honest on here and I feel in a really good happy place now xxx.

“therapy can be amazing and I feel like I’ve worked on myself with things that were quite tough to me but I feel lighter now anyway sending love and please be kind.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Helen Flanagan (@hjgflanagan)

In the comments section, Girls Aloud member Nadine Coyle wrote: “Sending loads of love gorgeous girl!!! Xxx.” Carol Vorderman also posted: “Sending huge love my little meerkat angel.” And former Made In Chelsea star Ashley James commented: “I love you. nice to see you back.” 

About Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), NHS England says: “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. 

“People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse. Symptoms of ADHD tend to be noticed at an early age and may become more noticeable when a child’s circumstances change, such as when they start school.

“Most cases are diagnosed when children are under 12 years old, but sometimes it’s diagnosed later in childhood.”

Northern hiring train drivers with salaries of £54,000 per year

Northern, which operate trains across Greater Manchester and the North of England, is looking to hire train drivers. The company is hoping to entice people who haven’t considered a career in rail before, with no experience required. If successful you’ll eventually earn £54,000 per year, following a 64-week training course – the starting salary during this training period is £23,000.

And if you fancy becoming a conductor instead, wages start at £22,000 before rising to £29,000 following a 16-week training course. Throughout the year Northern wants to hire more than 300 train drivers and conductors,  which breaks down as 108 drivers and 198 conductors. Recruits will be able to train in both Manchester and Leeds, and you must finish a paid apprenticeship in one of these two training academies. Available roles will be advertised over the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled.

The company’s chief operating officer, Tricia Williams, said: “We have a range of rewarding roles for anyone who wants to become part of a dedicated team that runs more than 2,500 services a day to over 500 destinations. “We are looking for customer-focused people with excellent communication skills who thrive in a dynamic environment and may not have considered a career in rail before.

“Successful applicants will demonstrate a high level of responsibility, a strong work ethic and a commitment to maintaining safety standards. “We’ll be recruiting throughout the year and provide all the training you need. We want our workforce to reflect the communities we serve and we’re proud to include people from all walks of life in our team, from military veterans and ex-police officers, to former office workers and stay-at-home parents.” Head to Northern’s careers page here for further info and job alerts.

Drivers are now realising they’ve been using roundabouts wrong

Are you using roundabouts correctly?

They may have passed their tests a while ago, but some drivers are only just realising they have been using roundabouts wrong.

When it comes to roundabouts, most drivers will probably feel very confident they know what they are doing and think they how to use them correctly.

So, you know to give way to the right, but which way should you be indicating and which lane should you select for the turn-off you want?

We all remember being a nervous learner driver and the sheer panic that would overcome you when approaching a roundabout.

But after plenty of practice they soon become a doddle – until you’ve been driving while and have picked up some bad habits.

Roundabouts are some of the most common places where you hear angry drivers beeping their horns because someone has pulled out or driven into the wrong lane, and all sorts of silly reasons.

Many motorists will already know that if you’re taking the first exit off the roundabout, you select the left-hand lane and use your indicator to signal left – unless some signs or markings indicate otherwise – as per the Highway Code.

And when you’re turning right, you should select the right-hand lane with your indicator signalling right – and keep to the right before you need to change lanes.

However, if you’re driving straight over the roundabout, this is where many drivers get a little confused and make common mistakes.

According to the Highway Code, if your ‘intermediate exit’ is positioned at 12 ’o’ clock, you need to be in the left-hand lane – not the right-hand lane as many drivers seem to think.

It sates that you should ‘select the appropriate lane on approach to the roundabout, you should not normally need to signal on approach, you should stay in this lane until you need to alter course to exit the roundabout, and you should signal left after you have passed the exit before the one you want’.

It says that when there are more than three lanes at the entrance to a roundabout, you should use the most appropriate lane on approach and while you’re driving through it – which basically means you should use your common sense based on the rules of the roundabout.

The Highway Code also says: “When reaching the roundabout you should give priority to traffic approaching from your right, unless directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights, check whether road markings allow you to enter the roundabout without giving way. 

“If so, proceed, but still look to the right before joining, watch out for all other road users already on the roundabout; be aware they may not be signalling correctly or at all and look forward before moving off to make sure traffic in front has moved off.”

And when it comes to looking out for cyclists, it adds: “You should give priority to cyclists on the roundabout. They will be travelling more slowly than motorised traffic. Give them plenty of room and do not attempt to overtake them within their lane. Allow them to move across your path as they travel around the roundabout.”

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UK’s rude place names tour: Man on moped to do hilarious trip for charity

A man on a moped has plans to explore a 1,800-mile tour of places with rude names including The Knob in King’s in Northamptonshire and Butthole Lane in Leicestershire.

Paul Taylor, from Wantage, Oxfordshire , has set his heart on the charity fundraising trip on his Slovenian Tomos XL45 Classic in memory of his friend Alex who died of cancer last year.

Mr Taylor, who has named his challenge the Moronic Moped Marathon, is raising money for the Institute of Cancer Research.

His journey will begin in Shitterton, Dorset, on Wednesday and he will update everyone on his social media about his journey.

The hilarious trip will also take him to Twatt in Orkney and Booze in the Yorkshire Dales.

He told the BBC : “I thought this trip was a suitably ridiculous place to start and, as Alexis was a motorcyclist as well as a car nut, two wheels was not only appropriate but made it more of an adventure.

“Everyone starts a long journey like that from Lands End to John O’ Groats - I wanted to do something similar, with a bit of twist.”

Mr Taylor added: “There’s some good ones around there, like Happy Bottom Nature Reserve and Sandy Balls New Forest Holiday Park.

Funny street names on his itinerary also include Pity Me in Durham, Dull in Perth and Kinross.

Also, Mr Taylor will explore the neighbouring hamlets of Crazies Hill and Cockpole Green near Reading in Berkshire.

His bike has a top speed of 28mph.

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Brothers drive 2,000 miles on UK’s rudest road trip to discover the most offensive British destinations

The duo visited destinations like The Knob, Sandyballs, and Butthole Lane over the four-day trip

• James Gratton
• Published : 13:43, 1 May 2019
• Updated : 13:44, 1 May 2019

TWO Scottish brothers have completed an epic 'Rude Trip' of Britain, driving 2,000 miles to visit every place with an offensive name.

Andy and Magnus Tait spent six years planning their journey visiting streets, villages and towns with naughty titles.

Over the four day trip, the brothers stopped for a quick selfie at 34 different cheeky signs in 25 counties along the north, east, south and west coasts.

They dreamed up the idea after driving past a place called South Gash, in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in 2013.

Andy then started researching the locations of other hilarious named places.

Andy, from Aberdeen, said: "I've had the idea for six years now. I insisted we stopped at South Gash to take a photo but Magnus didn't fancy it.

"That led to an obsession for places with funny names and six years later Magnus decided to make it up to me.

"He saw the funny side of it eventually."

After packing up their car and taking off from Edinburgh, the brothers stopped for a photo in crude destinations like Cumwhinton, Sandyballs, Wetwang and Fanny Street.

Andy's route was so well mapped out that it only took the pair between 60 and 90 minutes to drive between each stop.

The most picturesque places for him were Poundbottom and Sandyballs in the New Forest.

But his favourite out of the lot, based on the hilarity of its name, was Wilsford Cum Lake.

Andy said: "It was a bit of a slog towards the end and it was dark when we got to some places. But never at any point did we get bored.

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"I'd say it's definitely an alternative way to see Britain. We just found it hilarious. We laughed our asses off at each place and that says a lot about us."

"We have got a childish and immature sense of humour.

"This is something we can tick off our bucket list."

Britain's rudest road trip destinations

The places the brothers visited, from north to south:

• Bellenden Gardens
• Cocklakes Cotehill
• Cockermouth
• Fanny Street
• Slack Bottom Road
• Butthole Lane
• Lower Swell
• Old Sodbury
• Shaftesbury
• Pound Bottom landfill
• Wilsford Cum Lake
• Fingringhoe
• Slutshole Lane
• Fanny Hands Lane

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This man will tour uk places with the rudest names, uk's rude place names: a man to tour them all.

Alexis Leventis and Paul Taylor share beers last year

Paul's route through the rudest places in Britain

Paul Taylor on his Tomos with Murray the dog

From Shitterton in Dorset to Twatt in the Orkney Islands, a petrolhead is embarking on a rude road trip in an affectionate tribute to a fun-loving friend who died of cancer last year.

Car and motorbike enthusiast Paul Taylor will be passing through places such as Titty-Ho, Willey and Slack Bottom Road.

And he’ll be doing the 1,800 miles on a 49cc classic moped with a dizzying top speed of 28mph as he thought it wouldn’t be quite the same challenge if he did it on a proper 250cc motorbike.

Paul, from Wantage , became friends with fellow classic car and bike fan Alexis Leventis 26 years ago when Paul sought Alexis’ help to fix up his 1971 VW Beetle.

They remained close friends ever since and during the final stages of Alexis’ life, Paul would take him down to the river in his wheelchair where they would share a beer.

Alexis was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 18. The cancer came back several times over the years, but last year, after it spread to his brain for a second time, he was told there was nothing more that could be done.

Paul said Alexis, who was 55 when he died, had always considered himself very lucky to have survived the cancer at 18, and so regarded any time after that as a bonus.

He generally remained very positive even after his terminal diagnosis and Paul was in awe of how brave Alexis was.

Paul said: “I was just 17 when I met Alexis, but it was immediately clear he was one of the kindest, most genuine, people you could meet, and we remained incredibly close right up until his death in 2020.

“Cancer is such an awful disease, and I knew I wanted to do something to help, but I don't really know where the idea for this fundraiser came from.

“I'd seen some silly place names on the internet, and started doing more research, and then the plan just gained momentum.”

Paul, who has worked for the NHS, chose the Institute for Cancer Research to fundraise for “because the work they do has such a direct, positive impact”.

He joked: "I told Alexis about my idea when he was alive, and he thought it was really funny, although a bit mad, but I don't think he actually thought I'd go through with it."

To donate, go to  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-taylor233

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Brothers go on epic road trip visiting UK's rudest place names - including one in Gloucestershire

Their adventure has gone wildly viral

• 15:11, 3 MAY 2019
• Updated 15:15, 3 MAY 2019

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Two brothers drove 2,000 miles on an epic ‘Rude Trip’ of Britain - visiting as many places with a rude name as possible.

Andy and Magnus Tait spent six years planning their journey visiting streets, villages and towns with naughty titles.

Their stopped off at Cumwhinton, Fanny Street, Upperthong, Butthole Lane, Willey, Titty Ho and Sandyballs.

They also visited Bellenden Gardens, Poundbottom, Cockermouth, Penistone, Butthole Bell End, The Knob, Old Sodbury, Butcombe and Shaftesbury.

Gloucestershire's Lower Swell, near Stow-on-the-Wold, also featured on their adventure.

The pair also took in Shitterton, Lickfold, Fingringhoe, Slutshole Lane, Feltwell, Fanny Hands Lane, Scunthorpe, Rimswell and Wetwang.

The lads spent four days on their road trip and took a selfie picture at 34 road, town or village signs.

Their remarkable blue tour of Britain saw them trek through at least 25 counties on each of the north, east, south and west coasts.

The trip took six years for 34-year-old Andy, from Aberdeen, to meticulously map out.

He dreamed up the idea after he drove past a place called South Gash, in Northern Scotland in 2013 with his brother Magnus, 32, from Edinburgh.

Andy says he couldn’t help but laugh at a South Gash signpost and ever since that day has researched the location of other hilariously named places.

He then went on to painstakingly map out a route, incorporating 34 stops in almost every corner of Britain.

“I always enjoy going out of my way to have fun and to take things too far”, said audio engineer Andy.

“It was a lot of fun and we actually saw a lot of interesting places.

“It was a bit of a slog towards the end and it was dark when we got to some places. But never at any point did we get bored.

“I’d say it’s definitely an alternative was to see Britain. We just found it hilarious. We laughed our asses off at each place and that says a lot about us.”

Andy and software developer Magnus set off on their journey from Bellenden Gardens, in Edinburgh, on Friday morning (April 27).

They arrived back in the same street at 1.30am on Tuesday morning (April 30).

He says it took him six years to convince his brother to join him on the trip after constant pestering ever since the pair passed South Gash together in 2013.

Andy chipped away at planning his route on a monthly basis over the six years, before finally packing up a few belongings, snacks for the road and wads of cash for fuel.

See the pictures from every place they visited:

He says the trip saw they visit some of the country’s prettiest places.

The most picturesque places for him were Poundbottom and Sandyballs in the New Forest.

But his favourite out of the whole lot based on the hilarity of its name was Wilsford Cum Lake.

Andy said: “I’ve had the idea for six years now. I insisted we stopped at South Gash to take a photo but Magnus didn’t fancy it.

“That led to an obsession for places with funny names and six years later Magnus decided to make it up to me.

“He saw the funny side of it eventually.”

Andy’s route is so well mapped out that it only took the pair between 60 and 90 minutes to drive between each stop.

He said: “We went right down the west coast, along the south coast and up the east coast of England.

“We have got a childish and immature sense of humour.

“This is something we can tick off our bucket list.”

The places the brothers visited:

From north to south starting in Bellenden Gardens, Cumwhinton, Cocklakes Cotehill, Cockermouth, Clithero, Fanny Street, Slack Bottom Road, Upperthong, Penistone, Butthole Lane, Willey, Titty Ho, Bell End, The Knob, Lower Swell, Old Sodbury, Butcombe, Shaftesbury, Shitterton, Sandyballs, Pound Bottom landfill, Cocking, Lickfold, S. Harting, Wilsford Cum Lake, Fingringhoe, Slutshole Lane, Feltwell, Fanny Hands Lane, Scunthorpe, Rimswell, Wetwang, Coxhoe and back to Bellenden Gardens.

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Mapped: these are the UK’s rudest and most obscene place names

A new report has revealed the country’s most vulgar villages, from Sandy Balls to Pisshill to Wetwang

Ever had a titter at a rude place name while travelling down the motorway? This list is for you. Matchmaking website My Dating Adviser  has created a map of the most obscene-sounding places in the UK , from Sandy Balls in the New Forest to Pisshill in Henley-on-Thames. If you’re looking for a very impolite day trip, these are the places to go. There doesn’t seem to be a particular part of the country that has more of them – rude places are everywhere. Take the North West, for example: there’s Nob End in Little Lever, Cumwhinton in Carlisle and Cockermouth in the Lake District . In Scotland , you can visit Twatt on Orkney, Brokenwind in Newmachar or  the painful-sounding Whiterashes near Aberdeen.

Favourites in the North East include Wideopen in Newcastle Upon Tyne , Honey Knob Hill in Chippenham and Coxhoe in Durham . Or why not visit Fannystown or Stranagalwilly in Northern  Ireland ?  Other frankly vulgar entries include  Wetwang, Lousybush, Lower Swell and Shitterton. Not good places to take your gran, really. Amy Pritchett, who compiled the list, said: ‘The English language never fails to amaze us, and neither do the delightful and funny names of these UK locations. We’re not sure how residents of Nasty and Crapstone convince people they are lovely places to live. If you’re interested in visiting one of these towns, I recommend taking a memorable photo with the town sign after a long lunch at the local pub.’ Now that sounds like banter.

• Sophie Dickinson Freelance contributor

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