... or jitty, ginnel, twitter, snicket,gunnel, loke... We have some fabulous dialect words for those little paths here in the UK. Sadly in some parts of the country they have become very neglected. In areas of dense housing, the paths running behind the rows of terraced houses are real eyesore. Too narrow for modern bin lorries, residents keep their wheelie bins in front of their properties. And the alleys are unused, unloved and ugly
So well done to the people who try to make a difference. Some of the residents in these Manchester houses have been collaborating to turn a eyesore into an eye-catching display. Rotting rubbish turned in a place of beauty. All the residents are asked to make a small contribution to the cost, and those with gardening skills put it all together. And because it is so lovely, it discourages littering and people take delight,in maintaining it. And George and Jacob can enjoy going home safely walking among the flowers to their back garden gate.
What is
your local word for
alley? Are there any "Community Garden Projects" near you?
What a lovely thing to do. We have a couple of little alleys in Truro but so far no one has thought about beautifying them!
ReplyDelete😊
DeleteProbably the word 'vennel' would be our local description. Just having a leisurely cuppa before I have to get up and go 'c.h.a.a.r.g.e' through another hectic weekend! I'd rather be taking a leisurely stroll up the nearest vennel!Good weekend to you both.
ReplyDeleteAnd to you too. We have friends visiting, so it will be busy but funl
DeleteIn Liverpool where I was brought up it would have been called the entry. Moved to Lancashire and it was a gunnel.
ReplyDeleteI love the different words
DeleteThey say alley, here, too. There are some community gardens that I know of in the city, but, not in the suburbs where I live. I watched a British gardening program where neighbors had joined to convert a rundown alley into a community garden, similar to the one shown above. I'm glad that George and Jacob have a plant lined alley to walk through to reach their back gate. :)
ReplyDeleteI am glad for G&J too
DeleteWe call them twittens in Sussex. However there are many variations some are like twisting lanes, some run along backs or sides of houses, some are like your photos. We have quite a lot of community garden/allotment projects here in our small seaside town which improve public spaces and make the environment more delightful for everyone. It also brings people together ❤ Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteSo many positives 🌸🌺💐🌷🌻🌹🪷🥀
DeleteWhat a beautiful difference a few pots of plants and some pride in the alleyway makes. In our part of Manchester we always called them 'entrys'. And as we lived in semi-detached houses they were there to link the roads together, usually about halfway down and always staggered from each other.
ReplyDeleteHere in our little town they are called 'weinds', each one has a name that links it to the town or old family residents or business owners. They usually have beautiful stone walls planted up along the bottom and are a pleasure to cut through to reach the High Street.
Weinds is a new one for me 🌹🌷🌻
DeleteA gunnel here where we live. Great community work making the place safe for the residents. Catriona
ReplyDeleteAttractive and safe
DeleteAttractive and safe
DeleteWhen it is between the back of rows of terraced houses we call it an alleyway, if it is a narrow passageway cutting from one street to another we call it a ginnel or occasionally a snicket.
ReplyDeleteThe alleyway behind one of the streets my friend's parents live on has been done up beautifully, I even think it's won awards.
I love it when people make previously neglected places beautiful.
😊🌷🌻🥀
Delete😊🌷🌻🥀
DeleteThey are alleys around here; but my grandmother had a jitty running past her house in a Northamptonshire village.
ReplyDeleteI think it from Norman French. Alley = allez (go) and jitty = jete (jump, narrow enough to jump from one side to the other)
DeleteI've always known them as Alley ways......but when we lived further north it was Ginnel or Gunnel.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
😊👍🌻
DeleteWhat a terrific idea and a real case of making lemonade from lemons! Well done to these good people who are making delightful paths from ugly alleyways. JanF
ReplyDeleteGood people indeed
DeleteGood people indeed
DeleteHad to reply to this Angela - I was brought up in a house with the rear like this. People originally put up washing lines across and dried their sheets. We just called them “the backs” but obviously there were lots of other names. George and Jacob have a lovely walk home amongst the flowers.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine, flowers 🌸🌻🌷are nicer than wet washing!
DeleteWhen I lived in and visited as a child, my aunt's house in the north, there was an alleyway at the back just like the one in the first photo, except that the walls were not as tall. We called such alleyways "the backs". Local lads played "kick can" there. We used the word "ginnel" for any narrow alleyway between houses.
ReplyDeleteI haven't discovered the origin of ginnel yet
DeleteAlley here. They are all over the town I live in, most garages face the alley as does mine. So they are wide enough for cars and the garbage truck. Most gardens back onto the alley. We do try to keep them clean and tidy. I briefly had a neighbor behind me who made a mess, throwing rubbish into the alley. He was a renter, when the property owner saw that he was evicted. It's tidied up again.
ReplyDeleteIt is frustrating when other people persistently leave litter
DeleteIt is frustrating when other people persistently leave litter
DeleteIn Lyon they are slightly different and are called "treboules" - they have an interesting history
ReplyDeletehttps://thisislyon.fr/things-to-do/historical-monuments/the-traboules/ Love FD xx
Fascinating!
DeleteIn Kent we call them midden paths: access to the bins.
ReplyDeleteMidden is the old English word for dunghill or refuse heap
Delete