Whilst walking the dug along the road over the last few weeks, I have been stopped several times by tourists looking to find "the waterfall". In most cases lack of a common language has meant that I was unable to help, we do have some nice falls around here but nothing spectacular. This afternoon a neighbour had a knock on her door from a lady looking for "the waterfall". This time the tourist spoke English and knew the name of the waterfall she was looking for. Neighbour posted this on facebook and another neighbour at the fish farm commented that she has had "dozens" of tourists at her door looking for "the waterfall". Problem solved. It is the Plodda Falls that they are looking for -the better part of 60 miles away in near Tomich. If you Google the name the first result is the "walk highlands" website but with our postcode, these folks are banging that into their SatNav and ending up here. I have reported this to walk highlands. EDIT response from walkhighlands-
Hi Ken
Many thanks for your email. That bit of information under the search results comes from Google not Walkhighlands - it is not something that Walkhighlands can influence and is not as a result of any misinformation on the Walkhighlands site. If you press on the red location indicator under the first result you will see that this relates to the Google map of Plodda Falls (Google actually have the correct location for the Falls but have put a postcode which is leading people to the wrong place) - this is nothing to do with any of the information on the Walkhighlands site which if people click on the Walkhighlands search result they will find correct directions.
You would need to contact Google about this, sorry not to be able to be more helpful.
This confirms the first rule of computer programming
shite in = shite out :lol:
The post code for the road leading to the falls on the Forestry website is IV4 7LY.
I have sent a report to Google Maps :)
I've done this before but it can take months for them to fix it :roll:
Me too Sandy.
If you use PH35 4HR (as given by Google for the falls) as your destination on a SatNav it will tell you that you have arrived when you reach the Loch Garry fish farm. I share the same postcode but you have a mile to go to get to me.
I spoke to the lady at the fish farm, she reckons to have had over 50 at her door looking for the waterfall, they were in excess of an hour's drive from where they should be.
I wonder how much else is as badly wrong.
People don't realise that to use the post code properly they also need the property number or name to reach the proper destination. As you have pointed out the post code covers an area, a few streets in a town, or a few houses covering ten square miles. A bit like getting to a map grid ref: without the grid square letters :)
Quote from: Roobarb on July 04, 2015, 12:40:47 PM
According to Google in the short time we have been on Uist our house has been a Loch Duart Smokehouse, one inn, one B&B and a self catering let :roll: I haven't bothered about it because it is obviously a bungalow and nobody has ever knocked on the door looking for smoked salmon or a bed for the night. So I guess there are millions of such errors.
What is more depressing is that so many folk don't look into these "facts" a bit more before setting off, they seem incapable to directing themselves or reading maps. Far too much reliance of sat navs and the like. I had to go to Heathrow back over the winter, never been anywhere near the place before. Found it all by myself by looking at the map before I went and following the signs! My nephew (who I was picking up) asked how I ever found the place without a sat nav. Shock, Heathrow one of the busiest airports in the world has roadsigns pointing to it :roll:
The sooner the bulk of the population is plugged into the matrix to live their lives the better, leave those of us who can interact with the real world in peace :D
Andy
It's almost sounds like your next suggestion is to start a WFF cult and we will all go into the woods to live. :lol: (to be honest I wouldn't mind)
I shared your views about a GPS Liam, until I moved to Houston that is.
A Sat Nav for all it's faults is a useful tool for those that find there selves in unfamiliar surroundings towns in particular. They are not so good with outlying districts & countryside address's But that is all it is a tool.
Best thing I had when I did travel was an A-Z of the town I was visiting & even they were only as accurate the day they were printed. The good lord gave us a tongue but to many people are afraid to use it as in asking for directions.
Having said that try asking for directions in Edinburgh or London & it will probably take some time to
a. find someone that speaks English
b. Someone that actually lives near where you are trying to find.
Use you eyes, look for information signs, get to read a map but do not rely on Sat Nav. entirely.
Tight Lines