by SEO Consultant
J. Cave
J. Cave
Argleton, a rural town in Lancashire has become a popular hit on Twitter and across various news streams for quite a peculiar reason. It doesn't exist. Located somewhere off the M58 south of Ormskirk, the virtual town's existence is baffling everyone, even Google. Google and Tele Atlas - the company who provide the mapping solution to Google - are unable to explain the presence of this new Lancashire town. Speaking about the fictitious town a spokesperson for Tele Atlas said: "Mistakes like this are not common, and I really can't explain why these anomalies get into our database."
Even though nobody has ever been to Argleton, there's still quite a lot we know about the Lancashire town. Like most of the UK, it doesn't enjoy great weather (ten degrees on Monday) and there aren't many properties for sale in the area. Adverts for 'dating in Argleton' or 'chiropractors in Argleton' would suggest that it's real, but sadly this is just a case of a lot of companies not doing their research first.
One popular theory is that Argleton is a trap designed to catch our those who try to break copyright laws by copying Google's Maps. Of course, by its name a trap street is usually a street rather than a fictitious town, however this doesn't rule the theory out.
If the theory is wrong, the other alternative is that someone in Google - or Tele Atlas - made a mistake.
Naturally, this isn't the first time errors have cropped up in Google Maps. For example, in Toronto Google accidently placed two CN Towers next to each other on street view.
Those interested in visiting the popular new town should head to Ormskirk and head south east toward Aughton. Further directions can be found at Google Maps
