Trivia: Easily confused station names

[AlbertBeale]

Euston and Euston Square. Edgware Road, Edgware Road, and Edgware. When we lived by the Wimbledon branch of the District Line, a visiting friend was confused by the instruction, go from Euston Square and change at Edgware Road. Instead she went from Euston and attempted to change at Edgware. (This was before mobile phones!)

That sort of confusion is common with tourists - especially from the US, where they seem to omit "road", "street", etc, frequently. Living and working in central London I've often been stopped by tourists and asked for directions, on the street or at a tube station. "How do I get to Oxford?" is common - and when I tell them how to get to Paddington to catch a train they're puzzled, since they turn out to mean Oxford Street. And I've also had the "Edgware" one - trying to help someone find the appropriate branch of the Northern Line, when it eventually turns out they wanted Edgware Road after all.

 

[Mikey C]

That sort of confusion is common with tourists - especially from the US, where they seem to omit "road", "street", etc, frequently. Living and working in central London I've often been stopped by tourists and asked for directions, on the street or at a tube station. "How do I get to Oxford?" is common - and when I tell them how to get to Paddington to catch a train they're puzzled, since they turn out to mean Oxford Street. And I've also had the "Edgware" one - trying to help someone find the appropriate branch of the Northern Line, when it eventually turns out they wanted Edgware Road after all.

I imagine Tottenham Court Road and Tottenham Hale will fall in the same category!

 

[D6130]

.....not to mention Kennington and Kensington - although I can't imagine many American tourists looking for the former!

 

[BrianW]

.....not to mention Kennington and Kensington - although I can't imagine many American tourists looking for the former!

Surely many an American tourist will be seeking the Oval, that base for a wonderful 4 or 5 days of gripping sport with all its ins and outs

 

[vic-rijrode]

Surely many an American tourist will be seeking the Oval, that base for a wonderful 4 or 5 days of gripping sport with all its ins and outs

... and then not understanding when the match finishes in a draw ...

 

[Mojo]

I asked for a ticket to Witham from the ticket office at Surrey Quays Overground station a few years ago and the guy tried to sell me a ticket to Witton (West Midlands). Was more interested that he picked that one over the identical sounding Whitton in South West London.

 

[317 forever]

Conwy and Conway Park spring to mind. As do Nottingham, Mottingham and Cottingham!

I wonder whether anyone for example at Derby wanting to travel to Knottingley in West Yorkshire has ever been sold a ticket to Nottingham in error through being misheard my the ticket clerk?

Wye and Rye spring to mind. But recently I worked a service up the Chatham Main Line and was asked clearly for a ticket to ‘Farringdon’, so I sold one. As the train approached Bromley South, the passenger approached me with a slip of paper with an address on it. It turned out she wanted Farningham Road. Doh!

Talking of which, there could be confusion if Faringdon in Oxfordshire had its own rail station.

 

[snowball]

I wonder whether anyone for example at Derby wanting to travel to Knottingley in West Yorkshire has ever been sold a ticket to Nottingham in error through being misheard my the ticket clerk?


Talking of which, there could be confusion if Faringdon in Oxfordshire had its own rail station.

Or Farington near Preston.

 

[317 forever]

I understand that many foreign tourists visiting London and wanting to visit Stratford-upon- Avon have arrived at Stratford in East London..
Another one in East London which catches tourists is "Abbey Road" on the Docklands Light Railway however the famous recording studios is in North West London. I understand that signs have been erected at Abbey Road DLR station stating that they are at the wrong station..!
Many years ago when I was at a London Underground tube station ticket office and overheard a tourist say she wanted to go to Borough Green and was directed to Borough station on the Northern Line. I believe she wanted Borough Green in Kent but because I was in a queue behind several other passengers I did not interfere.

I passed Abbey Wood DLR in May and saw the poster advertising this was not the Abbey Road made famous by the Beatles. It did mention that the nearest station would be St John's Wood. I wonder what the most suitable alternative name for the DLR station could be?

 

[ServerHoster]

Northallerton and West Allerton
Mossley Hill and Mossley (Manchester)

 

[D6130]

Talking of which, there could be confusion if Faringdon in Oxfordshire had its own rail station

Once upon a time it did....and so did Farringdon in Hampshire.

 

[317 forever]

I've read somewhere that Aldersgate was renamed Barbican because people confused it with Aldgate.

Not quite fitting the topic of this thread, but perhaps of interest, a pal who was walking near Charing Cross station was asked by a man where Charing Cross Hospital was, and the latter was more confused when my pal told him he'd have to catch an Underground train to Hammersmith, the nearest station to it. Just to add to the fun, the nearest station to Hammersmith Hospital is East Acton, which has no direct route to Hammersmith.

Admittedly at that stage the Barbican was being built up and becoming better known in its own right.

I wonder whether for example at Watford Junction someone has asked for a ticket to "Stoke" meaning Stoke Newington also on London Overground but sold a ticket to Stoke-on-Trent on Avanti?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Northallerton and West Allerton
Mossley Hill and Mossley (Manchester)

The Liverpool one is pronounced "Mozzley", which helps a little.

 

[Class800]

I passed Abbey Wood DLR in May and saw the poster advertising this was not the Abbey Road made famous by the Beatles. It did mention that the nearest station would be St John's Wood. I wonder what the most suitable alternative name for the DLR station could be?

Think you're talking about Abbey Road DLR. It is at the junction of Abbey Road and Bridge Road

 

[py_megapixel]

I passed Abbey Wood DLR in May

Think you're talking about Abbey Road DLR.

Yes, they said so in their post.

 

[morrisobrien]

NEWPORT & NEWCOURT.

 

[DelayRepay]

A colleague of mine from the West Midlands was in Milton Keynes a few weeks back, he approached the booking hall and asked for "a single to Wolves please"

He wanted Wolverhampton, not Wolverton...

I live near Wolverton. A friend visiting me arrived in Wolverhampton. He had got confused when changing at Birmingham New Street. It took several minutes to work out what had happened.

The same friend also managed to end up in Bury St Edmonds instead of St Albans. He doesn't have much luck.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Mossley Hill and Mossley (Manchester)

The Liverpool one is pronounced "Mozzley", which helps a little.

Think the one in Greater Manchester on the edge of the Pennines is also similarly pronounced "Mozz-lee".

 

[D6130]

Think the one in Greater Manchester on the edge of the Pennines is also similarly pronounced "Mozz-lee".

Not to be confused with Moseley then!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Think the one in Greater Manchester on the edge of the Pennines is also similarly pronounced "Mozz-lee".

The auto announcements on every operator that's ever served there has pronounced it as it's written (unvoiced 's' sound), so I can only assume that the locals don't have quite the lobbying power that the residents of Slaithwaite over the hills have!

 

[urbophile]

The Liverpool one is pronounced "Mozzley", which helps a little.

By whom? I've never heard that.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

By whom? I've never heard that.

By everyone I've ever met from Liverpool. Perhaps it isn't quite as universal as I was led to believe, but I've heard enough people be "corrected" by scousers for saying it "wrong".

 

[urbophile]

By everyone I've ever met from Liverpool. Perhaps it isn't quite as universal as I was led to believe, but I've heard enough people be "corrected" by scousers for saying it "wrong".

Maybe my hearing is at fault. Or I've always assumed it was spelt as written and so unconsciously heard it like that however it was pronounced. I only live a short walk away so that's strange.

 

[Scouseinmanc]

As a scouser, who’s parents just live down the road from Mossley Hill. I can safely say it’s pronounced Mossley & not mozzley!

 

[xotGD]

wonder whether anyone for example at Derby wanting to travel to Knottingley in West Yorkshire has ever been sold a ticket to Nottingham in error through being misheard my the ticket clerk?

Never mind Derby, it has nearly happened to me twice travelling within Yorkshire!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

As a scouser, who’s parents just live down the road from Mossley Hill. I can safely say it’s pronounced Mossley & not mozzley!

Maybe it's a more localised example of the "Shrewsbury/Shrowsbury" thing?

 

[prod_pep]

I grew up in Mossley Hill and it is absolutely 'Mossley' and not 'Mozzley', whereas Mossley in Greater Manchester is 'Mozzley'.

 

[Julia]

Got stopped by a US tourist near the tube at Kings Cross asking how to get to Leicester. Seems a no-brainer, cross the road and get on an EMR fast northwards, until I somewhat later remembered the American habit of completely ignoring suffixes like "Street", "Road"... and "Square"

 

[Mikey C]

Got stopped by a US tourist near the tube at Kings Cross asking how to get to Leicester. Seems a no-brainer, cross the road and get on an EMR fast northwards, until I somewhat later remembered the American habit of completely ignoring suffixes like "Street", "Road"... and "Square"

The neighbouring tube stations would have been confusing too, Charing and Tottenham, ditto if the tourist wanted to go to Liverpool (St)

 

[gimmea50anyday]

National Rail Enquiries misheard my request for train times from Oxford to Radley and gave me times from Oxford to Radlett.

First time I went to Download Festival which was (and still is) held at Donnington Park (near East Midlands Airport I asked for information from National Rail Enquiries how to get there from Reading. They should have told me to go to Derby for the dedicated bus shuttle but instead gave me an itenary to Donington, which is near Telford!

Berwick, its namesake on the Tweed and North Berwick

Berwick is also in Sussex

Back in my national express days I was working the 065 route from Victoria Coach Station to Portsmouth via Horsham, Worthing and Chichester (there is a Chichester on T+W metro, ironically one metro stop away from South Shields which was the coach and crew starting point as service 526 to VCS) an old dear approached me and asked for Ashington, just off the A23 north of Brighton. a quick check of her ticket confirmed she was booked on this coach. She boarded and off we went. 2-3 hours later and we arrived in Ashington. The old dear looked confused and said she didn't recognise the place, she wanted to be in Ashington, Northumberland. Cue a call to control and a very hasty and expensive taxi from Worthing was arranged for her!

To add to the confusion the coach passes through another Sussex village, Washington before reaching Ashington. The 525 from VCS passed through Washington Tyne + Wear before reaching Newcastle then on to the final destination Ashington