Sign: Turn Left At The Baker's

Every time I visit Louth I'm on the look out for strange signs. Here's one I spotted recently in the market hall:

“... Turn left at the baker's then right at the curry house... actually, there are lots of curry houses... anyway, on the left they've knocked down a house to create an alley. Go down there ...”

The signs are created by the artist Rupert Clamp who pretended to be lost. He asked for directions and created signs from the directions he was given. So far I've manage to find 5:

• Market Hall: Turn Left At The Baker's
• Jackpot Pottery: You Can Cut Through Here
• Vickers Lane: Go Onto The Main Street
• Eastgate Car Park: Basically, Carry on Round Here
• Burnt Hill Lane: Actually It's Just Up There

Sign: You Can Cut Through Here

I spotted another strange sign in Louth. This one was by Jackpot Pottery:

“... You can cut through here onto a greenway. Go right onto the old side, carry on up to the main road, keep on up till the lights, then left ...”

The artist Rupert Clamp pretended to be lost and asked for directions. He created these signs from the directions he was given.

Ghost Sign: George Gregory

“George Gregory: Book Store, Lending Library. Well stocked with all the latest fiction”

The ghost sign on the corner of Grove Street in Bath is just above a Trompe-l'œil, a painting intended to look three dimensional. :-)

Sign: Down on the Other Side

Here's another strange sign I found in Louth, this one on Vickers Lane:

“... Go onto the main street. Right... go down, down, down on the other side of the road for a couple of minutes. You'll go past a couple of butchers' and a little tea shop, then turn right and it's just round the corner ...”

The sign is one of thirteen created by artist Rupert Clamp in 2007-2008. Rupert pretended to be lost and recorded the directions he was given.

Notice

“Notice: By vic.cap.20.s.75. any person not fastening this gate after having passed through is liable to a penalty of forty shillings.”

I spotted this old sign in Buckinghamshire. The shilling was a unit of pre-decimal currency discontinued in 1971.

Please Do Not Throw Stones...

“Please do not throw stones at the hens!”

I'm not sure why someone felt the need to create this sign. There are plenty of stones nearby, but no sign of the hens :-(

Whitton's Wrapped Bread

“We Sell Whitton's Wrapped Bread”

A ghost sign on Lincoln High Street is a reminder of a shop long since gone...

Basically, Carry on Round Here...

I spotted this strange sign on Eastgate in Louth:

“...Basically, carry on round here, it curves to the right (don't deviate), turn right down the side of the town hall (it's a typical Victorian looking town hall), then over the crossroads...”

It's one of thirteen signs created by artist Rupert Clamp for the Lost in Louth art project. Rupert pretended to be lost in Louth, asking for directions. He created the signs from the directions people gave him.

Seagulls are Aggressive

“Seagulls are agressive. Do not feed them.”

I spotted this sign by Bridlington harbour. Are seagulls really aggressive? Have you ever been attacked by one? :-)

Ghost Signs of Whitby

Ghost signs are old hand painted signs for businesses that are long gone. Arthur Sawdon was a seller of beds and carpets while Thomas Bryan was a wholesale jet merchant. Are there any ghost signs in your area?

Guy Fawkes

Hereabouts lived the parents of Guy Fawkes of Gunpowder Plot fame, who was baptised in St. Michael-le-Belfrey Church in 1570.

Fawkes was arrested in the early hours of 5^th November 1605 after being discovered keeping watch over 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars beneath the House of Lords.

Bile Beans

Nightly Bile Beans keep you healthy, bright-eyed and slim.

A sign painted on a wall in York for a business that has long since disappeared, also known as a ghost sign!

In the Event of a Nuclear Attack

From the Hack Green secret nuclear bunker:

In the event of a nuclear attack on the bunker, get under your canteen table for your safety and protection. Important notice: food is not permitted to be eaten whilst sheltering under your table

Secret Nuclear Bunker

Let's hope the enemy can't read English, otherwise they'll have no problem finding the Hack Green secret nuclear bunker. Hack Green was intended to be the government headquarters in the event of war. :-(

Luckily the bunker is no longer in use. Hack Green was abandoned at the end of the Cold War and reopened as a museum in 1998.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on the Isle of Anglesey has the longest place name in the U.K., 58 letters long! There's even a guide to pronunciation on the sign. The name is Welsh for Saint Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of Saint Tysilio of the red cave. :-)

Caving for the First Time

I still remember my first real adventure. It was October 1991. I'd found two caves on the Ordinance Survey map and decided to explore them, Victoria Cave and Jubilee Cave. Undeterred by the pouring rain I collected a box of candles from the hardware store. :-)

Heading up Constitution Hill and along a footpath I soon reached Clay Pits Plantation. A wild desolate landscape waited for me. Next along a track towards the caves. By the time I arrived darkness had fallen.

I explored the rightmost passage of Jubilee Cave. The candlelight didn't penetrate far, but I could see the cave was far from what I expected. Water trickled down the walls. It was muddy, wet and strewn with boulders. I'd been expecting somewhere warm and dry with a floor of fine sand!

Outside again I found my way through the darkness to Victoria Cave, a huge chasm in the face of the scar. I could only see one side of the cave and the roof was hidden in the shadows. I followed the wall. More water, more mud and two passages to explore - one very low, the other very narrow.

After leaving Victoria Cave I wandered completely lost in a marshy area before I stumbled upon some ruins where I decided to take shelter from the rain. :-)

Actually It's Just Up There...

I spotted this strange sign on Burnt Hill Lane in Louth: ...Actually it's just up there - head up there and it's on your left-hand side, past the doctor's, across the car park...

It's one of thirteen signs created by artist Rupert Clamp for the Lost in Louth art project. Rupert pretended to be lost in Louth, asking for directions. He created the signs from the directions people gave him.

Invisible Lines Beneath Our Feet

I noticed a curious message in the pavement when I visited Louth in Lincolnshire: - magnetism - the line that runs from pole to pole beneath out feet.

Sheep Don't Know the Green Cross Code

I've been sorting through photos as I move them to a new computer and I found this sign which is close to Enochdhu in Scotland. The Green Cross Code is a campaign to teach children how to safely cross the road. The sheep were wandering aimlessly in the road without a thought for the Green Cross Code!

Two Seasons, One Picture

This morning I walked a couple of miles along the River Witham and discovered this sign. The picture shows the same view just after harvest.