It wouldn't be so bad if there were occasional road signs. My dad has an almost savant-level map of the UK in his head (and much of Europe) and aside from that little "driving out of Luxemburg the wrong way" incident (which he then realised and corrected through intuition), has pretty impeccable navigational skills.
But Leeds? Leeds stumps him every time. Even just trying to get from Ikea onto the Eastbound M62 throws him. (For people who don't know Leeds, Ikea is next to the M62. As in, it shares a fence.) When I moved to Leeds for 10 minutes (long story...) we came in from the north and got so hideously lost amongst the concrete labyrinth. It was almost as samey as Milton Keynes - but at least in MK there's a grid and a pattern and it all obeys physics and maths.
And lest you think my dad just happens to be unfamiliar with the area, he went to university in Bradford. Though we also spent a long time trying to fathom Bradford's one way system earlier this year. We could see where we wanted to get to, we knew how we could get there on foot, but we could not find one single road which didn't lead back to where we already were. It was like when you have a nightmare and no matter what you do you can't get to your destination.
I'm off to Leeds this weekend to meet up with my mum and have a mooch around the shops. She's never been before. My train times mean I will either get there an hour before, or an hour after. Needless to say, I'm not going to inflict Leeds on her without me as a guide!
Leeds is just... yeah. It's like someone took Escher a bit too literally.
no subject
But Leeds? Leeds stumps him every time. Even just trying to get from Ikea onto the Eastbound M62 throws him. (For people who don't know Leeds, Ikea is next to the M62. As in, it shares a fence.) When I moved to Leeds for 10 minutes (long story...) we came in from the north and got so hideously lost amongst the concrete labyrinth. It was almost as samey as Milton Keynes - but at least in MK there's a grid and a pattern and it all obeys physics and maths.
And lest you think my dad just happens to be unfamiliar with the area, he went to university in Bradford. Though we also spent a long time trying to fathom Bradford's one way system earlier this year. We could see where we wanted to get to, we knew how we could get there on foot, but we could not find one single road which didn't lead back to where we already were. It was like when you have a nightmare and no matter what you do you can't get to your destination.
I'm off to Leeds this weekend to meet up with my mum and have a mooch around the shops. She's never been before. My train times mean I will either get there an hour before, or an hour after. Needless to say, I'm not going to inflict Leeds on her without me as a guide!
Leeds is just... yeah. It's like someone took Escher a bit too literally.