We have lived in our house since 1984 so you would think I know my local routes when returning home.
Trouble is what was once a relatively small suberb of Derby has grown so much with all the extra housing and development of spare strips of land - I reckon the housing stock has roughly quadroupled or more in the last 39 years.
Some through roads are now dead ends, some dead ends are now through roads, some road junctions have changed priority not to mention lanes to roundabouts having markings altered every few decades.
I have taken a turn too soon and ended up in a cul-de-sac or missed my turn completely in the dark.
Old lamdmarks have changed as saplings have turned into huge trees plus they have errected mobile phones masts, landmark pubs have gone, once barren roundabouts are now small woods.
Even worse when I take a rare trip into the City Centre - my mental map was drawn up when I passed my test back in 1965- since then I moved away for a few years. One-Way systems have come and gone there are roads where if you stop to let out a passenger (e.g.Railway Station) you end up with a Fixed Penalty Ticket even at night when the roads are empty. Little wonder I ocasionally find myself on the wrong slip road heading in the wrong direction to find a small business that has become marooned by the developments in the City Centre. I know exactly where Clarke Street is. I could not give anyone directions but in a series of wrong routes I manage to eventually find it.
No wonder I ask myself if all my lifts still go upstairs.