Trivia: Place names that you're not sure how to pronounce

[Thebaz]

Anerley.

Anna-Lee

 

[TimboM]

Milton Keynes rhymes with 'beans', and not with 'canes' like 'John Maynard Keynes' or 'Horsted Keynes' as I often hear it pronounced.

Agree the pronunciation is "keens", but interestingly the origin of the name a few hundred years back was Kaynes / Caynes - so likely it was originally pronounced "Kaynes".

I've used the LM Crewe service for nearly a decade and still have no idea how to say Alsager. Is it 'all-sage-r' or THIS ONE 'al-sage-r' or 'al-sarg-er' or 'al-sa-ger' or what? I've heard everything.

 

[urbophile]

I was born in Thornton Heath and when resident there we used to pronounce it as "Fort Neath".

That's the posh version. In my experience Londoners can't say 'fort' and pronounce th as f.

 

[johnnychips]

Go on, let's throw in Westhoughton. Anybody who lives there or nearby like to tell us how it's pronounced?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

West-horton

 

[Busaholic]

Almondsbury anybody?

 

[weastebusdepot]

West-horton

Indeed, but I've had some customers wanting to go to "West-how-ton". Also occasional people wanting to go to "Whore witch parkway" (Horwich)

Hall i' th' Wood seems simple, but it's surprising how many people want to go there but don't actually know how to say it themselves, then when you announce it they say "Oh so that's how you say it". It's not helped that our paperwork calls it "Hall In The Wood".

 

[maire23]

Merseyside has a few. Aigburth is more like Egg-b'th. Maghull is M'gull. I didn't realise the Southport Meols was different from the Wirral one (Meals and Mells). Kirkby of course has a silent second K. Off the rails, Gateacre is Gaticker. Chilled-wall not child-wall.

Newcastle is mostly mispronounced by non-Geordies. Even if they don't say 'cahstle' à la Boris Johnson, they usually put the stress on the first rather than second syllable.
Is the Zouch in Ashby de la Zouch pronounced in the French way, i.e. Zoosh, or to rhyme with Grouch?

I got caught out with the Gateacre one- my ex fiancé lived in Gateacre and he forgot to tell me when I moved to Liverpool that when I got on the bus from my halls of residence in Aigburth (he didn't tell me that either!) that I needed to ask for Gatticker and not Gate-Acre! Luckily the driver was sympathetic and knew what I meant
I live near Ashby and everyone just calls it Ashby although i personally pronounce it 'Zoosh'
After my degree in Liverpool I moved to Nottingham to do my nursing training- when I used to ask for a ticket home to Newcastle it always used to confuse the ticket office clerks as every time they would interpret it as me asking for a ticket to Newark Castle and so refuse to sell me a return. I always had to reaffirm that I was not going to Newark Castle, but to Newcastle upon Tyne and only then would I get the ticket I needed!

 

[IanXC]

Bonus points for anyone who can get Camelon right on the first try!

I'm going to stick my neck out... "Came-lun"?

 

[rg177]

Milngavie has caught me out before. Pronounced Muln-guy if the announcer at Glasgow Queen Street is correct.

 

[A Challenge]

I got caught out with the Gateacre one- my ex fiancé lived in Gateacre and he forgot to tell me when I moved to Liverpool that when I got on the bus from my halls of residence in Aigburth (he didn't tell me that either!) that I needed to ask for Gatticker and not Gate-Acre! Luckily the driver was sympathetic and knew what I meant
I live near Ashby and everyone just calls it Ashby although i personally pronounce it 'Zoosh'
After my degree in Liverpool I moved to Nottingham to do my nursing training- when I used to ask for a ticket home to Newcastle it always used to confuse the ticket office clerks as every time they would interpret it as me asking for a ticket to Newark Castle and so refuse to sell me a return. I always had to reaffirm that I was not going to Newark Castle, but to Newcastle upon Tyne and only then would I get the ticket I needed!

Why did they refuse to sell you a ticket to Newark?

 

[EM2]

On the A25 in Surrey lies the picturesque village of Abinger Hammer.
I've always pronounced Abbinjer, but have absolutely no idea if that's right...

 

[83G/84D]

Coswinsawswen in Cornwall pronounced Cosawswen.
Liskeard pronounced Lis - card.

 

[northwichcat]

Also occasional people wanting to go to "Whore witch parkway" (Horwich)

No whore witch is the red light district in Nelson.

 

[nottinghamcity]

Coleshill anyone? The guard on the train I was on last week pronounced it Cose-ill which I think is right. The automated announcement at New Street pronounces it Coals-hill

 

[nottinghamcity]

On the A25 in Surrey lies the picturesque village of Abinger Hammer.
I've always pronounced Abbinjer, but have absolutely no idea if that's right...

I'm really tempted to pronounce Abbinjer in a Spanish way, and I'm sure *that* wouldn't be anywhere close

 

[northwichcat]

The automated announcement at New Street pronounces it Coals-hill

Given the same woman was used for the announcements at major stations in the North, Midlands and South is it any wonder that some stations are mis-pronounced?

 

[2392]

Here's another [which I'm surprised hasn't come up yet] Grosmont. Pronounced Grow Mont usually. Or by some Gross Mont.......

 

[EM2]

I'm really tempted to pronounce Abbinjer in a Spanish way, and I'm sure *that* wouldn't be anywhere close

Abinhair?

 

[ValleyLines142]

Another one is Keynsham, smack in between Bristol and Bath. Correct pronunciation is 'Kayn-sham' but Portsmouth Harbour announcements at Cardiff and Newport say 'Keen-sham'.

 

[Busaholic]

Another one is Keynsham, smack in between Bristol and Bath. Correct pronunciation is 'Kayn-sham' but Portsmouth Harbour announcements at Cardiff and Newport say 'Keen-sham'.

Horace Batchelor spent a small fortune advertising his football pools wares on Radio Luxembourg in the 1960s. He was based in Keynsham and spelt the address out letter by letter as well as repeating the pronunciation Kayn-sham so no-one was in doubt. Must have been good advertising, I can still remember it was called the Infra-Draw System.

 

[185143]

Breich-it looks so simple!

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Breich-it looks so simple!

It rhymes with "dreich", "keich" and "wheech"

 

[PaulLothian]

it rhymes with "dreich", "keich" and "wheech"

Don't know why I now cannot use smilies, but you'll have to imagine them!

 

[Skipness]

Another one is Keynsham, smack in between Bristol and Bath. Correct pronunciation is 'Kayn-sham' but Portsmouth Harbour announcements at Cardiff and Newport say 'Keen-sham'.

I too remember Horace Bachelor and "Keynsham, spelt k e y n s h a m, Keynsham, Bristol" (Apologies to forum members too young to remember Radio Luxemburg on 101m medium wave.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Go on, let's throw in Westhoughton. Anybody who lives there or nearby like to tell us how it's pronounced?

best to ask the Houghton Weavers

 

[Mutant Lemming]

For some reason "Arlesey" confuses people. It's pronounced fairly simply, just "arl-zee". However, you hear lots of "ar-less-zee", particularly on the old 317s, or the slightly dyslexic "arse-lee" from people outside the area.

Just to confuse matters more when the station re-opened some of the network South East maps and literature put an extra 'L' in it making it Arlesley.

 

[Smudger105e]

People (especially the posh, the affected or the southern) have no idea how to pronounce Bath. There is no R in Bath. They also have no idea how to pronounce Newcastle. It isnt NUCARSTLE

So if the is no R in Bath, how is Bath Spa pronounced?

Cosham and Bosham are pronounced Cosh-em and Bozz-am

Crich is pronounced Cry-ch

Burtisland is Burnt Island not Burnt-iss-land

And close to home the Erewash Valley line is not Ear-wash, its Erra-wash.

Oh, Fowey is pronounced Foy by the locals...

 

[maire23]

Why did they refuse to sell you a ticket to Newark?

I used to ask for a return to Newcastle but before I made this clear they used to tell me there was no return ticket to Newark Castle so they couldn't sell me a return. This caught me out the first time and it was only when I questioned why the ticket was so cheap that they corrected it. It was infuriating as it happened every time- this was twelve years ago and in those days I didn't have a debit or credit card so I had no option but to buy from the station. I was extremely relieved when I managed to get myself a credit card and could then buy online!

 

[Skipness]

Luxulyan on the Par to Newquay branch is pronounced as though spelt with an i instead of a second u. Incidentally there are some interesting walks in the area for anybody with an interest in industrial archaeology of transport.
Fowey and Liskeard have been mentioned earlier in this thread.