Do you know English geography?

I was lucky enough to go to a very good grammar school so my geography is not bad. It amazes me today how young people don't seem to know where anwhere is. Is it still actually taught?

Contestants on The Chase the other day thought Tasmania was off the coast of Western Australia, when asked which state was nearest.
They were told it was Australia otherwise perhaps they might have thought it was off the coast of Africa!

As a child one of my favourite occupations was studying my atlas, the other was reading a dictionary. I could tell you which county any town was in, but then they started moving counties around, renaming them and even removing them completely. Same goes for world geography, at the age of 10 I could draw a passable map of Africa including all the different countries and their capitals. Nowadays I sometimes don't recognise the names of countries!!!

I’ve been in Hampshire for four years now and I am amazed that people around here think I’m from the north when I originated in Leicestershire. I suppose everywhere is north of here though!

It isn't only the British who get their own geography wrong!

Geography as it is taught in many countries today deals with phenomena such as earthquakes, storms etc. Political geography is not taught and many school-children asked by me or other teachers to describe their summer holiday trips have had no idea where Austria, Italy, Spain etc are or what the capital cities are called.

The myth from our childhood that Germany has two cities called Frankfurt has been replaced by there only being one. Children have looked at me in disbelief when I pointed out that there are Frankfurt am Main, (the one they call Frankfurt as do journalists) Frankfurt am Rhein and Frankfurt an der Oder.

Even in our schooldays, our main knowledge of what countries and cities are where derived from history lessons rather than geography.

they were in Birmingham the other day on the news reporting on people breaking lockdown regulations and I said to my husband, where are they in Birmingham? and he said 'Walsall apparently' and we both laughed! Walsal is NOT in Birmingham ffs

I love maps and remember fondly having to draw a map of a country with the major cities. The geography I hated was learning about the Polish coalfields and suchlike.
Still got my ancient Times Atlas of the World where a third if the world was pink. Fascinating.

Is it Maidstone, Callistemon ?

Tell you a true tale. One of my daughters met a man online from Croydon, UK. She thought it was Croydon, Australia and that he was a local. They arranged to meet and it was only then they realised they were quite a few kms between them ! Anyway, they eventually married so all’s well that ends well.

Wow, nanna8.
They must have been determined. - quite right not to let pesky geography get the better of them.

Eny fule no thatt the North starts at Watford Gap and ends at Yorkshire.

What more geography does anyone need?

I read The Week and test myself on the maps that are linked to news items that are in there. It’s also a good test of my memory ?

I love geography & try to make sure I've a good grasp of where the main British towns, counties, rivers etc are. I'm always shocked when there's a round on British geography on University Challenge & very often, these supposedly well educated, highly intelligent people have no idea where places are. We live in Shropshire & I'm constantly amazed at where people think this might be - someone once told me he's been to Wiltshire once, was it anywhere near there?!! I despair!

I came from Stoke on Trent and while as a student in London I was classified as a Northerner (I stuck To bAth) when I moved up North to get a real job I landed in Leeds. It felt like the ends of the earth. THEN I went on holidays to Northumberland, blissful. Then came trips to Edinburgh (which I prefer to London anytime) and the final frontier, the Scottish Highlands! Oh you Southerners really don't know what you are missing. But as we often say here in Yorkshire "don't tell anyone, we don't want them all up here". So maybe it is a good job that people don't know their Geography!

MaizieD

Eny fule no thatt the North starts at Watford Gap and ends at Yorkshire.

What more geography does anyone need?

SO glad you referenced Nigel Molesworth. Am missing our trips to Grabbers during lockdown! Might give him another read, plenty of time these days!

Going back to the mistake made by the BBC geography or graphics department. Sadly there are so many mistakes made on TV these days and it is probably becuase younger and less experienced people are being hired in place of the older , more costly experienced staff. I worked in TV and so often of an error was pointed out a Producer, Director or Editor would say "oh it doesn't matter. it'll be fine". It is not fine. All channels need to pay for people to train properly, pay for experienced staff and uphold standards or else we shall be dumbed own to such an extent that every programme will be headed by an ex-Blue Peter presenter (talking to us as if we are 8 years old) or minor C-list celeb who knows nothing. Sorry, bit of a rant, personal pet peeve!

I still have my Victory jigsaw puzzle of Industrial Life in England and Wales. My 4 year old GS loves jigsaws and really enjoys playing with it, with me to help, of course. The box is pretty bashed, but no pieces are missing - not even Rutland! I grew up in Hertfordshire but my parents came from Teesside and I loved the fact that we would go all the way up to Yorkshire North Riding to see our GP's. Such a long way, sitting on a cot mattress in the back of a Morris Minor!

I learnt a lot of geography from listening to requests on the radio as a teenager eg 'this request comes from Mandy in Sevenoaks, Kent' etc.

One of my children has a geography degree but cannot read a map and can get lost a few miles up the road!

Tabbycat

Is it Maidstone, Callistemon ?

? Tabbycat

I did remember this morning but last night I was going through all the towns and cities in Kent that I could remember, even Tenterden (trains and sparkling wine) except for Maidstone.

MaizieD

Eny fule no thatt the North starts at Watford Gap and ends at Yorkshire.

What more geography does anyone need?

Anything north of a line from the Bristol Channel to The Wash is North and all the houses are joined together in little terraces.
So I was told when I moved to the south-west.

I lived in England for 9 years and was constantly asked where I was from in Scotland, America, Australia!!!!!!! I'm Northern Irish lol

Thank goodness my geography isn't that bad. I live in The north east of Scotland but know where most of the major cities are.

Tabbycat yes, Maidstone our county town.
We have the Isle of Sheppey in our county. It frustrates me that even on large scale maps it is very often shown as part of the mainland, no, it is only accessible via one of two bridges.
On more than one occasion when chatting to strangers they ask off which coast of Scotland is Isle of Sheppey.
BTW Kent born and bred I pronounce it Baath with a long 'a' not Barth with an 'r' sound

henetha
My 30 something children tell me that they learnt about oil deposits and geology not map locations. Their ignorance amazes me.

If anyone has grandchildren between 4-11, a company called Janod have some really good magnetic jigsaws. We have 2 of them, one is the UK and the other, the world. It helps teach children where places are and is a fun way to learn geography. They are not the cheapest but are on sale occasionally.