Saturday 8 September 2012

Taking a Wrong Turning

The long and winding road... it was the first
time we had ever seen grass growing in the
middle of the road!
Today's Saturday Snapshot is a kind of follow-up on last week's, because on the way back from Bigbury Beach and Burgh Island we took a wrong turning, and instead of driving along the'A' road we wanted, we found ourselves on a single track country lane, with grass growing in the middle! Parts of it were so overgrown it was like being in an ancient hollow way.


The Man Of The House was driving, and Elder Daughter was navigating, with the aid of her SatNav, which is usually very reliable. However, it failed to differentiate between 'bear left' and 'turn left' so somewhere along the line the Man Of The House, who possesses a very good sense of direction (unlike me and Elder Daughter), failed to continue along the main road (which gently curved around to the left) and instead turned into what looked like the world's narrowest road, with burgeoning greenery on either side - and overhead - and grass where one would normally expect to find a central white line.
This one is a bit blurred (it's not easy taking pictures in a
moving car, even if you are travelling very slowly, but you
you can see how the land is built up at the side of the road
Having landed us in seemingly uncharted territory, Voice of the SatNav became uncharacteristically silent – there was not even the standard message about re-computing our route. At this point my imagination got the better of me, and I began to wonder if our route finder was really a Discworld-style machine powered by two bad-tempered imps taking turn and turn about on an oversized bicycle (rather than a state-of-the-art, hi-tech gadget using a satellite to tell us the way). Right now, I decided, the imps had both stopped pedaling, and were searching through a pile of maps and reference books, whilst quarreling furiously over who was to blame – one of the, both of them, or us!

Eventually, some decisiom having been reached, a disembodied voice urged us to Keep Right On To the End Of the Road (or words to that effect), which made me hope our satellite guide would burst into song but, sadly, no tune was forthcoming. However, it's an idea SatNav manufacturers would do well to consider. Just think how much more interesting a journey would be with carefully selected musical accompaniments (all suitable suggestions will be gratefully received). 
This shot is even more blurred, but it's kind of
arty, and I rather like it, because it gives a sense
of the tunnel effect of the vegetation.
Anyway, since the road was much too narrow to even think about turning round – let alone trying such a manoeuvre – we had no alternative but to follow instructions, and we crawled along very slowly, in a very low gear. Fortunately the few cars we encountered travelling in the opposte direction were equally cautious, and there were passing points, where the road was slightly wider on each side, and you could avoid hitting anyone by pulling into the hedge!

I took photos through the car window, as an experiment, to try and show what the road was like. When we got home I looked at a map, but I'm still not sure where we went! However, I do wonder of sections of the route could have been an old hollow way  - a sunken lane, with trees and bushes growing on earth banks on each side, and forming an arch overhead, which makes it feel as if you are driving through a tunnel. Hollow ways (which I think are also known as green ways or green lanes) are ancient roadways and, apparently,  there are a lot of them in Devon, so I like to think we were following a track established in the distant past.

For more Saturday Snapshots see  Alice's blog at http://athomewithbooks.net/ 
... And higher...
The sides got higher...


Back to normality!

44 comments:

  1. That was quite a fun adventure to follow along with! Thanks for sharing the story behind the photos! We have some old logging roads like that here in Oregon. They're quite fun for hiking along.

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    1. Alyce, this would have been fabulous for a hike - not so good for driving though!

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  2. I've heard several stories of people getting lost with navigation systems but I've also heard stories of people being saved because of them. It sounds like you had a fun adventure!

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    1. It was a bit of an adventure but it was a pretty route.

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  3. It looks very secluded but also serene. Thanks for sharing your journey!
    Rebecca @ The Key to the Gate

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    1. It was very peaceful, and incredibly green - all the rain we have had this year seems to have been good for trees, hedges and other wild plants.

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  4. Wrong turns can be fascinating...love your imaginings about the SatNav. Thanks for sharing....and for visiting my blog.

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  5. As long as you're not in a tearing hurry to get where you're going, these little adventures can be fun. You'll never forget this little trip...I'm sure it will become part of your family folklore!

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  6. I love these shots! I often wish I had my camera with me when I'm driving with my husband through roads beautifully strewn with trees. You've done a wonderful job of capturing it! It's lovely! Thanks for sharing. :D

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    1. Zara, that's kind of you to say so. I was quite pleased with the results, but it's a bit unpredictable, especially when you go over bumps!

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  7. Wrong turns aren't bad if you don't need to be somewhere at a certain time (and you can figure out how to get where you need to be anyway). I love the tunnel-like picture!

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Very interesting photos and story, kind of like a little adventure!

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    1. It certainly gave an added dimension to our day.

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  9. Interesting pics. The first one reminds me of some of the farm roads near where I grew up in Scotland. Thanks for dropping by my post earlier.

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    1. William, that's interesting you should say that, because to start with we did wonder if it was a farm track... The Man Of The House had visions of us ending up in a yard full of cows or something!

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  10. Fabulous trip and great pictures.

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    1. Thank you Irene. I'm still trying to discover where we went. I think we need an OS map of the area.

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  11. Wow! What an adventure! What a beautiful road, even though it was crazy! .I love your artsy photo, it really is very cool. :)

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    1. I like the artsy one but it was pure luck it turned out so well. I think it gives an impression of movement, and being in a green tunnel, lost in the trees.

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  12. I seldom take photos from inside a car. Even if I do, I'd usually roll down the window. But what you have here seem to work fine, even creating some artsy work. Thanks for letting us ride in your car as you zoom down the country road.

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    1. Arti, I just pointed the camera straight ahead and took shots through the windscreen (it's a good job it was clean!). I tried it once through a train window, and the dirt on the glass came out looking like raindrops!

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  13. Hi Christine. Thanks for stopping by earlier :D Lovely Shots, I'll have to try taking photos from a car one day x

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  14. I always say that if I have enough gas in the tank to 'get lost and then found' I'll enjoy the ride and the novel views! I love the 'arty' shot ... spooky and very 'time travel-ish' ...

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    1. Susan, that's a very wise saying, and very true - I shall remember that. I'm glad you like the arty shot. A couple of years back I did an online art course with www.ameliacritchlow.co.uk and part of that included playing around with a camera, but I didn't really get into that bit - now it makes more sense, and I'd like to play around with the camera and movement.

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  15. I agree. I like the blurred picture. Here in the U.S., country roads often turn into lanes with grass growing in the middle. Here's Mine

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    1. Paulita, there are probably loads of roads like this in England - I guess were surprised because it was not what we expected! It was a lovely route though, and nice to see 'nature' rather than miles of Tarmac and concrete.

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  16. You had quite an adventure. I guess it is still good to combine the GPS system and looking at a local map.

    The grass looks so high and scary.

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    1. Edgar, The Man Of The House is a firm believer in maps, and is unlikely to abandon this tried and tested method of navigation!

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  17. Oh, the road less traveled by....You had a nice little adventure♫♪
    And thanks for visiting my blog about Hoover....All the presidents are represented....Obama's statue is still a WIP (work in progress)

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    1. What a nice to commemorate the presidents, by having statues for all of them, in the same place. It makes people think about your country's history, and what those men id.

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  18. Great pictures! I really want to take my own pictures of trees over a road...

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  19. I really do feel like I was along for the ride with you. I was Elder Family Friend peering out from the back seat and I really had a glorious ride. All that green! Delish. Glorious pictures. Looking forward to our next adventure.

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    1. Sim, what a lovely comment - there is always room for an EFF on the back seat, so you are welcome to join us again!

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  20. I like the artsy blurred shot the best. That road does look quite precarious.

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    1. That's the one everyone seems to like, yet I almost didn't post it because I thought people would think it was silly!

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  21. I love the trippy-looking photograph!

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  22. If I lived over there, these are the roads I would always, always travel. They are out of time, out of a story. The road up to our house has grass growing in the middle.

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  23. I love those pictures, it looks like you had a great time on your adventure. I like the blurry picture the best I think because it does look artsy.

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