Sat Nav Blues
4 August 2007
For the 80% of you out there who don’t live in the countryside. Let me explain. The Cych Valley where I live in west Wales is quiet, very quiet. We are 5 miles from the nearest town - Newcastle Emlyn (official population 1,000) and 3 miles from the nearest ‘A’ road - that’s one where the traffic can flow continuously both ways with no single track element. We’re 15 miles from the nearest Tesco (no loss there) and 75 miles from the nearest IKEA! (thank the Lord).
The Cych Valley is part of the Teifi Valley catchment and it flows into the River Teifi at Abercych. It is one of only 85 EU designated “Special Areas of Conservation” (Formerly SSSI) in Wales. All manner of scarce swimmy and hairy things live here because it’s wet and quiet.
We are not on the road to anywhere or from anywhere, So our part of the Cych Valley is not the kind of place that anyone would even try to drive a large lorry through, because you can’t.
In the pre hi-tech days of the 20th Century, lorry drivers would look at a road and say to themselves “This road I’m pointing at is only a tiny bit wider than my big, big lorry and the trees are hanging really low. There are no signs saying where it goes, so it might well be going nowhere. On the other hand there IS a big blue sign saying “This road unsuitable for heavy vehicles”, so maybe it’s going somewhere I might not want to go.”
On the basis of this thought process they would make a pragmatic decision to consult a passing resident out walking their dog, or open a map book.
Once all the information was evaluated, the route would be rejected and another road found.
Nowadays, armed with Sat Nav some drivers have abandoned the old fashioned thought-process method in favour of slavish adherence to technology.
Read on…
Report from www.newcastle-emlyn.com
Friday 20th July: A heavy goods lorry laden with timber on its way to Newcastle Emlyn from Bristol via Boncath in North Pembrokeshire was driven a mile down the Cych Valley a narrow, winding and precipitous valley road on the Carmarthenshire / Pembrokeshire border today.
Ignoring the sign saying “unsuitable for heavy vehicles” and guided only by satellite navigation (the drivers’ brain was not involved at any stage) the route was eventually blocked by a narrow bridge at the Village of Cwm Morgan.
The driver was forced to attempt a half mile reverse which failed after only 100 yards when his wheels slipped off the road outside the home of Tony and Helen Woodman. The vehicle was left precariously perched over a steep drop to the River Cych and threatens to land on Mr Woodman’s beehives in the apiary beneath.
Staff from the lorry owners, the Clarks Wood Company based in Bristol spent hours in the rain on Friday and Saturday offloading timber onto vans. An attempt will be made to jack the lorry back on to the road and tow it clear.
Anyone wishing to travel down the Cych Valley over the weekend is advised to consult their satnav for an alternative route and book B&B in Plymouth and Glasgow.
Saturday 21st July: After 30 hours stranded, a specialist recovery team from Krislyn Commercials, Swansea, pulled the lorry clear.
Click to see a movie of the moment the lorry was freed
Photos and movie by Antoine Woodman
The recovery team at work, and head of the Team from Krislyn Commercials.
St Nav Blooper Links
- Pensioners stranded for four hours after sat nav sends coach down narrow country lane
- Sat Nav disaster for cars
- £96,000 Merc written off as satnav leads woman astray
If you have any more links to funny stories, please contact me
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