Last Exit To Tal Y Bont

[special_farces]

It's funny in this day of sat navs and mobile phones with god knows what apps on them, the thing I'm starting to really want is a compass.

Even then your never far from a bit of misdirection. A few years back I (fair bit of outdoor and mountain experience) my mate (climber, outdoor activities leader) and his brother (widely travelled hard core mountaineer) did the ridge walk north to south along Trotternish peninsula in Skye and still we cocked up in poor visibility and went tramping merrily into Corrie Fuar, then slightly grumpily back uphill.

Pleased you've a straightforward explanation of your Wales trip, though bit disappointed you didn't stumble across a alternate Wales of magnificent scenery oft' veiled by storm clou ... oh hangon, that's our version isn't it.

 

[oldrover]

Even then your never far from a bit of misdirection.

North or South is all I'm after really, and only then to know whether I'm heading toward where I'm going or heading straight back home. It took me seven hours to drive back to Swansea from Bristol once, when other people manage it in about one.

oh hangon, that's our version isn't it.

It certainly is

 

[henry]

... It took me seven hours to drive back to Swansea from Bristol once ...

didnt run into mysterious roadly vapour en route did you ?

 

[oldrover]

Only the strange vapour that swirls around in my head every time I see a junction.

 

[Schrodinger's Zebra]

Well even though there was an explanation in the end, I still enjoyed this story, and may I say what lovely remote countryside that is. Reminds me of some parts of the Scottish Highlands, that sort of don't see another car for miles sort of thing.

:joyf:

And anyway, just coz you found the road again, doesn't mean it still wasn't there that other time.

 

[oldrover]

And anyway, just coz you found the road again, doesn't mean it still wasn't there that other time.

Thank you. I agree, I could never have made such a stupidly basic mistake, it has to be a parallel dimension.

 

[Schrodinger's Zebra]

Thank you. I agree, I could never have made such a stupidly basic mistake, it has to be a parallel dimension.

Of course. Occam's razor, and all that.

 

[FJ0304061013]

I had a strange navigational anomaly myself, which to this day I cannot explain although I'm sure it was somehow a brain trick on my part. I was driving to my sister's in the middle of nowhere and made a right turn one too early (there are two right turns in quick succession). I drove along for only about twenty seconds before emerging at a t junction by a church I had never known was there. Eventually I found my way back to my sister's bit was somehow a good two miles from where I should have been. When I checked the map later the turning I accidentally took and the church I emerged by were clearly not linked to one another by a road and were in fact some three miles and several junctions apart.

 

[Schrodinger's Zebra]

I had a strange navigational anomaly myself, which to this day I cannot explain although I'm sure it was somehow a brain trick on my part. I was driving to my sister's in the middle of nowhere and made a right turn one too early (there are two right turns in quick succession). I drove along for only about twenty seconds before emerging at a t junction by a church I had never known was there. Eventually I found my way back to my sister's bit was somehow a good two miles from where I should have been. When I checked the map later the turning I accidentally took and the church I emerged by were clearly not linked to one another by a road and were in fact some three miles and several junctions apart.

How curious! So after you took the wrong turning and reached the church, what direction did you need to go to get back to your sister's house? Did the map you checked later, correlate with how you eventually got to your sister? (I.e. if you looked at the church and your sister's house on the map, would the route between them be the one you took (leaving only the initial anomalous road being the part that didn't 'fit') ?

Did you ever drive down the anomalous road again?

Oh and

 

[oldrover]

I had a strange navigational anomaly myself, which to this day I cannot explain although I'm sure it was somehow a brain trick on my part. I was driving to my sister's in the middle of nowhere and made a right turn one too early (there are two right turns in quick succession). I drove along for only about twenty seconds before emerging at a t junction by a church I had never known was there. Eventually I found my way back to my sister's bit was somehow a good two miles from where I should have been. When I checked the map later the turning I accidentally took and the church I emerged by were clearly not linked to one another by a road and were in fact some three miles and several junctions apart.

Be good if you could perhaps give us a screen shot o the satellite image, but of course without reference to your sister's place.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I had a strange navigational anomaly myself, which to this day I cannot explain although I'm sure it was somehow a brain trick on my part. I was driving to my sister's in the middle of nowhere and made a right turn one too early (there are two right turns in quick succession). I drove along for only about twenty seconds before emerging at a t junction by a church I had never known was there. Eventually I found my way back to my sister's bit was somehow a good two miles from where I should have been. When I checked the map later the turning I accidentally took and the church I emerged by were clearly not linked to one another by a road and were in fact some three miles and several junctions apart.

I'm thinking that you may have used a farm road by accident. Some of them even look like a proper road.

 

[FJ0304061013]

How curious! So after you took the wrong turning and reached the church, what direction did you need to go to get back to your sister's house? Did the map you checked later, correlate with how you eventually got to your sister? (I.e. if you looked at the church and your sister's house on the map, would the route between them be the one you took (leaving only the initial anomalous road being the part that didn't 'fit') ?

Did you ever drive down the anomalous road again?

Oh and

Thanks! So, after emerging at the church t junction I took a left and blindly drove along until I recognised something. That something being a small shop a little further along the road I originally left too early, which I came upon in the opposite direction to my original travel. This can be explained by a very round-the-houses loop around the edge of the village that circles back round from the church to the shop. But it doesn't explain how I ended.up at the church in the first place. I believe I entered some kind of autopilot state for whatever reason, and somehow had no recall of the numerous turns and whatnot that should have been required to lead me to the church. But with no related medical conditions or intoxication on my part it never quite added up!

 

[Coal]

I believe I entered some kind of autopilot state for whatever reason, and somehow had no recall of the numerous turns and whatnot that should have been required to lead me to the church.

Tom Graves had an idea that certain routes or driving condition induced a kind of light trance which was akin to hypnosis.

Iirc he also argued that some accident black spots might caused by a combination of this and a 'dowser's twitch'.

I've certainly driven home a few times with no recollection of the journey, and a couple of years back drove from a fishing lake to Salisbury, normally 30 minutes. I put on the Snow Fairies' 'Wild Winter', and I got to the outskirts of Salisbury with the album finished, white noise on the media player and no recollection of the drive at all.

 

[FJ0304061013]

Ok sorry to hijack op but here's the requested map with my intended route in green and my accidental route in orange (relaised I'd made wrong turn at point A, emerged seemingly in very little time roughly at point B. I confess my original 3 mile recall was somewhat hyperbolic in hindsight, but it's the other side of the village nonetheless

 

[Peripart]

Ok sorry to hijack op but here's the requested map with my intended route in green and my accidental route in orange (realised I'd made wrong turn at point A, emerged seemingly in very little time roughly at point B. I confess my original 3 mile recall was somewhat hyperbolic in hindsight, but it's the other side of the village nonetheless

It's not possible, I suppose, that you'd kept to the left, and didn't turn right at all on to the road at the start of the orange arrow? That way, continuing along the road (past where it's marked "Upper Beeding"), you then turned right, thinking it was your turning, towards the primary school, and finding yourself at "B".

All of this does require a certain amount of driving on auto-pilot, but we've all done that, particularly on roads which should be perfectly familiar!

 

[Dick Turpin]

Tom Graves had an idea that certain routes or driving condition induced a kind of light trance which was akin to hypnosis.

Iirc he also argued that some accident black spots might caused by a combination of this and a 'dowser's twitch'.

I've certainly driven home a few times with no recollection of the journey, and a couple of years back drove from a fishing lake to Salisbury, normally 30 minutes. I put on the Snow Fairies' 'Wild Winter', and I got to the outskirts of Salisbury with the album finished, white noise on the media player and no recollection of the drive at all.

That’s interesting coal, my wife has recently been complaining about this happening to her, but only when she’s in the car alone.
She’ll be driving home from work (or wherever) and become aware, she is driving in a place she doesn’t recognise, she either turns the car around and goes back, or keeps on going until she sees a signpost / comes to a place she does recognise.
She told me just the other day it’s been worrying her a little bit, as it’s been happening more frequently..

Stress perhaps ?, she leads quite a busy life what with the kids and a full time job etc.

 

[PeteS]

Tom Graves had an idea that certain routes or driving condition induced a kind of light trance which was akin to hypnosis.

Iirc he also argued that some accident black spots might caused by a combination of this and a 'dowser's twitch'.

I've certainly driven home a few times with no recollection of the journey, and a couple of years back drove from a fishing lake to Salisbury, normally 30 minutes. I put on the Snow Fairies' 'Wild Winter', and I got to the outskirts of Salisbury with the album finished, white noise on the media player and no recollection of the drive at all.

Back in the day when there was less traffic on the road, no cameras, no loonies trying to kill you and no road works, I would sometimes do a long uninterrupted journey (particularly on a familiar motorway) without remembering a thing about it. Nowadays I find I have to concentrate fully to get anywhere in one piece.

 

[Coal]

She told me just the other day it’s been worrying her a little bit, as it’s been happening more frequently..

Stress perhaps ?, she leads quite a busy life what with the kids and a full time job etc.

Does sound like stress, 'stuff in ones head' interfering with the process of driving a route. I've done it, but it's usually that I take a route I know, but not the route I was planning on. Your mission is to reduce the stress in your wife's life!

I've got an almost supernatural facility to recognise places and navigate, but once or twice lately I've got turned around. Perhaps it's just 'regular' getting on thing. Last week I had two goes at finding the last turning to a lake in the New Forest that I'd only visited once before. I usually don't need two.