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18 places with silly names
  • In ancient times the chalk downs which form the central spine of the Isle of Wight were thought to resemble a dragon, with its tail being The Needles and its head at Bembridge Foreland. Below Culver Cliff, a small cove called The Nostrils supposedly forms part of the creature’s head...

  • Visiting Piedmont city is an uplifting experience! Famous for founding the Slow Food Movement, it also hosts the biennial Slow Food cheese festival to which more than 150,000 visitors and cheese makers flock in September. You'd be crackers not to visit narrow streets, historic town centre and 17th and 18th century churches and palaces while you are there. Visit
    italiantouristboard.co.uk

  • The residents of Shitterton in Dorset wanted to change the name of their village. They chose the less embarrassing Sitterton but to this day there's been no change. To make matters worse, the pretty hamlet town's sign was repeatedly stolen so they had to place a heavy stone signpost in its place to deter burglars!

  • You'd be crackers not to love the festive names of these villages, whatever the time of year. The Surrey hamlet of Christmas Pie is believed to have been associated with the Christmas family since the 16th century. It could be suitably twinned with Cranberry in Staffordshire, Sproutes in Sussex and Brandy in Cornwall. For more info, visit normandyhistorians.co.uk

  • Great for early birds, this Rhineland town has several claims to fame despite its silly names. One of oldest cities in Germany, its is famous for producing the semi-sweet Liebfraumilch wine and hosting Germany's oldest wine festival. A play representing the pre-Christian period is recreated in front of Worms cathedral each year. For more info, visit

    germany-tourism.co.uk

  • We challenge you to spell it! Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales is one of the longest official place names in the English-speaking world and locals claim that when translated from Welsh it means 'St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave'. Fortunately it is shortened to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll.

  • This far-flung village off Scotland's north coast once featured in the list of most vulgar sounding names in the book Rude Britain. Twatt is also the name of a settlement in Scotland's Shetland Islands.

  • There's not even a pub let alone a greasy spoon café in this North Yorkshire hamlet. You can however join the locals in a quiet game of quoits on the village green. Divided into Great Fryup and Little Fryup dales, the name comes from the old Norse ladies name of Fria and Up, meaning small valley. For more information, visit yorkshire.com

  • Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney doesn't just have a silly name. It's best known as a place of pilgrimage for people coming to find out if winter is over at its Groundhog Day celebrations.

  • The origins of the name are a little mysterious, but may have been coined from the steep steps which on ascending would result in the person in front you having their posterior close to your face...

  • Legend has it that the 1,268 conical hills, uniformly displayed like a box of chocolates, were formed from a giant's tears. Measuring 30 to 50 metres tall, they are covered in grass which turns a chocolate brown in the dry season, hence the name. For a view closer to chocolate heaven, climb the 214 stairs to the observation deck on one of the hills.

  • Feeling queezy? Altitude sickness is the closest you'll come to puking here. Situated in the glorious mountains in the north of Albania, this town boasts beautiful scenery, fresh mountain air, friendly people and an Alpine hotel surrounded by glorious pine trees. Pictured: the Hotel Puke. Visit albaniantourism.com/

  • Stop monkeying around! With Ballard County shaped like a monkey's head on the map, this town is situated at the very spot where the eyebrow should have been, hence the name. Needless to say, there are two Monkey's Eyebrows, commonly known as Old Monkey and New Monkey. monkeyseyebrow.org

  • This once-sleepy village in Donegal may conjure up all kinds of hairy images but Muff is actually a seaside spot popular with scuba divers. We're not sure if its name had anything to do with this!

  • The villagers of Fucking in Austria were so sick of the world laughing at them that they voted to have the name changed to Fugging. Unfortunately Fugging was already taken by another village in the country so they're still stuck with Fucking!

  • You wouldn't think the village of Crackpot in North Yorkshire could be this beautiful but it seems not all is in a name. Crackpot actually derives from the Old English word crow (kraka) and the Viking word pot meaning a cavity or deep hole in a river bed.

  • You must be yoking!! Located among the trees and lakes of Jackson County, the town's name is a reminder of the difficult days of the Great Depression when residents traded farm goods such as eggs for goods at from the local store. The childhood home of Academy Award winning actress Faye Dunaway, it issuitably situated near the town of Spuds – egg and chips anyone?
    twoeggfla.com

  • The village of Dull in Perthshire is twinned with the town of Boring in Oregon. Where would you prefer to go?

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