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XC70 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 22:29
When I moved to Bolton in 1998, everywhere I went there seemed to be a sign to the "Last Drop Village". When I eventually went to check out what I thought would be a big and exciting tourist attraction I discovered it appeared to be nothing other than a big hotel.
There certainly used to be more than just a hotel - I visited Last Drop Village a couple of times in the 1990s as there was a decent secondhand bookshop there.
It closed in 1998, as the following local news report shows:
XC70 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 22:29
When I moved to Bolton in 1998, everywhere I went there seemed to be a sign to the "Last Drop Village". When I eventually went to check out what I thought would be a big and exciting tourist attraction I discovered it appeared to be nothing other than a big hotel.
I'd love to know how they wangled those signs, I too used to wonder what this amazing place was - I'd thought maybe some industrial heritage or something, and nope, it's a hotel and wedding venue. Political interference can be the only explanation for it.
Mind you, Wigan Pier being prominently signed off the M61 and M6 makes me laugh too - it's a small museum and a pub.
I drove up the M6 northbound the other day and the old manky Wigan Pier sign near Haydock has been replaced by a nice shiney new one. In fact a lot of the new signs look like they've just been replace like-for-like. Which is questionable.
XC70 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 22:29
When I moved to Bolton in 1998, everywhere I went there seemed to be a sign to the "Last Drop Village". When I eventually went to check out what I thought would be a big and exciting tourist attraction I discovered it appeared to be nothing other than a big hotel.
I'd love to know how they wangled those signs, I too used to wonder what this amazing place was - I'd thought maybe some industrial heritage or something, and nope, it's a hotel and wedding venue. Political interference can be the only explanation for it.
Mind you, Wigan Pier being prominently signed off the M61 and M6 makes me laugh too - it's a small museum and a pub.
I dunno, I think it's nice to let people know they are travelling on a book title!
rileyrob wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 09:03
They're too new to be on streetview, but this filling station near Oban now has Filling Station 200yds signs in either direction, proper green trunk road signage. Obviously, the Esso canopy is visible before the signs though.
There have been a few new services signs added on the trunk roads recently, such as at Strathbogie and Ashgrove on the A96 and updated signs at Skiach.
rileyrob wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 09:03
They're too new to be on streetview, but this filling station near Oban now has Filling Station 200yds signs in either direction, proper green trunk road signage. Obviously, the Esso canopy is visible before the signs though.
There have been a few new services signs added on the trunk roads recently, such as at Strathbogie and Ashgrove on the A96 and updated signs at Skiach.
And very useful to have when you're out in the wilderness of northern Scotland. It is a folly by highway planners to assume everyone drives around with sat navs telling them where facilities are.
Bryn Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already. She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
rileyrob wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 09:03
They're too new to be on streetview, but this filling station near Oban now has Filling Station 200yds signs in either direction, proper green trunk road signage. Obviously, the Esso canopy is visible before the signs though.
There have been a few new services signs added on the trunk roads recently, such as at Strathbogie and Ashgrove on the A96 and updated signs at Skiach.
And very useful to have when you're out in the wilderness of northern Scotland. It is a folly by highway planners to assume everyone drives around with sat navs telling them where facilities are.
I fully agree that signs advising that there are services / filling stations half a mile or more away are useful. However, my point with the ones near Oban is that you come round the corner in either direction, see the Esso canopy, and THEN see the signs advising that the filling station is a mere 200yds away. Even when it's dark, if the garage is open it is well illuminated and visible. There's nowhere else for traffic to go, except into or past the garage, so why the need for the signs?
Rob. My mission is to travel every road and visit every town, village and hamlet in the British Isles.
I don't like thinking about how badly I am doing.
Not the UK, but I do find it interesting how far out Mont St Michel is signed.
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Graham wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 15:26
There certainly used to be more than just a hotel - I visited Last Drop Village a couple of times in the 1990s as there was a decent secondhand bookshop there.
It came as a bit of a shock to me a couple of years back to find that Smithills Coaching House was now split into rather fancy private residences.
orudge wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 10:50
Yes, I believe Edinburgh/Perth should be used in place of "Forth Road Bridge", and Dundee instead of "Tay [Road] Bridge".
Going north is fine as the Tay Bridge leads inescapably to Dundee.
Going south, routes fan out to different areas of Fife once you are over the bridge. Could "Fife" be best thing going south ? Regional destinations ?
Good point - it looks like “Tay Bridge” is still used on the trunk roads around Dundee, and yes, I’m not sure what they’d replace it with. “Kirkcaldy, St Andrews” maybe?
orudge wrote: ↑Sun Feb 18, 2024 23:40
Good point - it looks like “Tay Bridge” is still used on the trunk roads around Dundee, and yes, I’m not sure what they’d replace it with. “Kirkcaldy, St Andrews” maybe?
I thought St Andrews was being removed as a trunk destination?
Maybe we should just stick with "Tay Bridge" then.
I seem to recall that "Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes" is the usual southern destination along the A92 from the Tay Bridge, perhaps with "Edinburgh (M90)" in places too.
orudge wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 15:08
Maybe we should just stick with "Tay Bridge" then.
I can see the objections to using bridges as destinations, but as we've seen, the alternatives are pretty undesirable too. For every person who has no idea which bridge they want to use, there's probably several for whom the bridge is the only waypoint they're actually aware of. The other critical thing is that bridges sometimes close or become restricted. If I'm heading south from Dundee to Kirkcaldy and am told the Tay Bridge is shut and I must go via Perth, how long to do I need to wait (and ignore my stupid satnav that thinks the bridge is still open) before I can start trusting the signs to Kirkcaldy again? I suppose this was even more critical when the bridges were tolled.
Conversely about 20 years ago when the M8-M9 offslip was closed for works, the diversion wasn't well signed (turn left onto the city bypass would've got me on my way). I just needed directions to the Forth Road Bridge to get back to Fife. (These were the days before smartphones, when Sat Navs were available but an accessory worth a few hundred quid). FRB isn't well signed from Edinburgh
orudge wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 15:08
Maybe we should just stick with "Tay Bridge" then.
I seem to recall that "Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes" is the usual southern destination along the A92 from the Tay Bridge, perhaps with "Edinburgh (M90)" in places too.
There are of course several bridges over the Tay - to be specific there are road bridges at Dunkeld, Friarton, Perth Bridge, Queens Bridge Perth, The Tay and Railway over the estuary and of course the grand daddy of them all Wades Bridge at Aberfeldy. https://www.google.com/maps/@56.6212882 ... &entry=ttu
wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 16:07
Conversely about 20 years ago when the M8-M9 offslip was closed for works, the diversion wasn't well signed (turn left onto the city bypass would've got me on my way). I just needed directions to the Forth Road Bridge to get back to Fife. (These were the days before smartphones, when Sat Navs were available but an accessory worth a few hundred quid). FRB isn't well signed from Edinburgh
The Forth Road Bridge might not be, but surely "M90" or "Perth" will be?
wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 16:07
Conversely about 20 years ago when the M8-M9 offslip was closed for works, the diversion wasn't well signed (turn left onto the city bypass would've got me on my way). I just needed directions to the Forth Road Bridge to get back to Fife. (These were the days before smartphones, when Sat Navs were available but an accessory worth a few hundred quid). FRB isn't well signed from Edinburgh
The Forth Road Bridge might not be, but surely "M90" or "Perth" will be?
From the M8 signing the City Bypass seems to take presedence
and venturing further towards the city centre you're driving away from FRB/M90 etc.
I was a young driver in a city I didn't know and pre-satnav, that's my excuse I suppose I could've logically thought the city bypass would take me places, but for some reason I didn't, I think I remembered the city bypass didn't actually connect to the FRB/A90.
(For closure, in the end I admitted defeat and pulled into a petrol station for directions, I think they sent me back where I came from towards the bypass and onto the A8)
I suppose the FRB isn't signed on approach to Edinburgh because by that point you're probably coming from it (assuming no major closures...)
If you'd completely ignored the technically correct but unhelpful instinct that you wanted to go away from the city centre and taken that off-slip, you'd have been greeted by this sign at Gogar: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JJ151P1Hi1FoHDdz5
jnty wrote: ↑Tue Feb 20, 2024 10:04
I suppose the FRB isn't signed on approach to Edinburgh because by that point you're probably coming from it (assuming no major closures...)
If you'd completely ignored the technically correct but unhelpful instinct that you wanted to go away from the city centre and taken that off-slip, you'd have been greeted by this sign at Gogar: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JJ151P1Hi1FoHDdz5
All it would've needed was a single "Diverted traffic" sign pointing left onto the bypass
jnty wrote: ↑Tue Feb 20, 2024 10:04
I suppose the FRB isn't signed on approach to Edinburgh because by that point you're probably coming from it (assuming no major closures...)
If you'd completely ignored the technically correct but unhelpful instinct that you wanted to go away from the city centre and taken that off-slip, you'd have been greeted by this sign at Gogar: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JJ151P1Hi1FoHDdz5
All it would've needed was a single "Diverted traffic" sign pointing left onto the bypass
Yep! I had a similar problem a couple of years ago when diverted off the M9 for a closure before the then under construction Winchburgh junction. It was dark and I hadn't clocked exactly where I was. Fortunately I regained my bearings at the end of the slip road and figured out to take the coast road to Queensferry Jn, but there was zero diversion signage whatsoever. Even a single yellow directional sign with suddenly-useful regional destinations like, er, Edinburgh would have been handy to kick you off in the right direction.
I suppose I could've logically thought the city bypass would take me places, but for some reason I didn't, I think I remembered the city bypass didn't actually connect to the FRB/A90.