The UK spots going viral for the weirdest reasons including a phone box ‘museum' and mannequin graveyard

The Sun

2 days ago

DESTINATIONS often go viral across the UK - but some are weirder than others.
Here is a round-up of some of the oddest destinations to go viral.
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James Blunt Museum
The James Blunt Museum hit the news at the beginning of last year after a member of the public strolled by, captured some pics and uploaded them to social media platform X.
The small 'museum' is actually a red telephone box, nestled in the hedge on the side of a road in rural Herefordshire.
Inside, there are images of the 'You're Beautiful' singer and a number of facts about him.
James Blunt even replied to the post about the location, commenting: "Completely forgot to announce the opening of this fantastic cultural experience in glorious Herefordshire.
"Free entry for both my fans."
Then in May, Blunt posted again about the unlikely tourist spot.
He said on X: "I'm excited to announce that the James Blunt Museum in Herefordshire has recently been refurbished, and is now back open and accepting visitors.
"It really is a glorious place to take the family this summer. Please come early to avoid the queues."
Alongside the jokey post, he included a link to a Tripadvisor page for the telephone box and a photo of people queuing outside it.
The phone box is free to visit.
Seven Noses of Soho, London
Soho, in central London, is famous in its own right yet not many people look up and notice that across Soho, there are seven noses.
Many people have taken to TikTok to share the wonder, including Visit London - who garnered over 50,000 views on their post about the noses.
The noses are made from plaster and are attached to buildings in the district.
They were created by Rick Buckley back 1997 as a protest against the rise of CCTV cameras in the area.
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Originally, there were around 35 noses in Soho but only seven remain today.
Rumour has it, if you find all seven of the noses you will get good luck or wealth.
The noses are located at Admiralty Arch, Bateman Street, Dean Street, Meard Street, Endell Street, Great Windmill Street and D'Arblay Street.
The noses are often mentioned on tours, but can also be hunted for, for free.
Mannakin, Lincolnshire
Perhaps on the creepier side, the so-called mannequin mountain in Lincolnshire went viral over the pandemic.
The bizarre heap of over 15,000 mannequins was set up by Roz Edwards, after people began remarking how her business of buying and restoring dummies to sell in shops and hire out to film crews, was unnerving.
The 50-year-old set up Mannakin like a cemetery and is now a immersive experience that visitors pay £15 to walk around.
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You can even stay overnight at the site for £25.
A video posted on Facebook of the site gained over 600,000 views, with users comparing the site to an episode of Doctor Who or like something out of Umbrella Academy.
One recent visitor said: "I have just experienced the most bonkers enjoyable stay with all the mannequins!
"Lovely friendly welcoming hosts. Who knew how much deliberation is needed when choosing a body part to decorate!"
The Forbidden Corner, Yorkshire
Set in the Yorkshire Dales, The Forbidden Corner has gained a lot of attention on social media.
The attraction is essentially full of tunnels, mazes and unusual statures to explore.
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All it takes is a quick search on TikTok of 'Forbidden Corner' to find this attraction and see the sheer amount of people who are now flocking to the weird destination.
One TikTok video claiming it to be "the strangest place in the world" has over 5.1 million views.
Posted by @Yorkshirefi, the user comments how it took them over two hours to explore and includes singing rats, passages you have to crawl through and even rooms that are set up like satanic rituals.
Tickets to the attraction cost £18 for adults or £16 for children.
Novelty Automation, London
Novelty Automation is one of the weirdest places I am yet to stumble across in the capital.
Essentially an arcade with a twist, the destination is home to some weird games and machines that are bound to give you a laugh.
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Dubbed as a museum, visitors can explore and play on a number of satirical machines like operating a nuclear reactor, meeting an alien's mum and getting frisked.
I won't ruin anything - but let's just say some will make you jump out of your skin.
A video of one of the machines on TikTok has even racked up over 41million views.
Tokens cost £1 each.
BP petrol station and Spar, Sheffield
Getting petrol never seems like a 'trendy' thing to do.
But one petrol station in Sheffield appears to have garnered attention and become the place to go, if you need fuel in Sheffield.
Or - in the case of many TikTok videos - run out of ideas of day trips to go on.
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One TikTok posted by @morgan.bold garnered over 1.7million views and showcased the items you can purchase from the petrol station including frozen Fanta drinks for £4.25, free-dried sweets and unique flavours of Dr Pepper like strawberries and cream.
The petrol station is free to visit, providing you don't have fuel to pay for or buy any of the goodies inside.
'Wisteria-hysteria' and cherry blossom
Even though this one is not a specific location, each year it goes viral and therefore needs to be included.
We all love pretty flowers and in the summer months, stately gardens are great places to visit to see a variety of fauna and flora.
But two floral trends recirculate each year - 'Wisteria Hysteria' and cherry blossom hunting.
Whilst Japanese blossom tends to happen early spring, wisteria occurs through late April to early May.
Head onto TikTok during the relevant season and your feed will soon fill with videos of wisteria spots or blossom finds close to you.
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Many of the videos quickly gain hundreds-of-thousands of views and people have been known to travel to spots recommended to see the flowers.
I remember back in the spring I head to Battersea Park - which is confidentially near me.
When I reached the line of blossom trees that I had seen plastered over Instagram, I could barely used the path as hoards of people crowded around around the trees to snap pics.
The different flowers are completely free to explore and can often be found close to your home.
The Black Dog, London
Whilst not completely unheard of for a pub to go viral, The Black Dog in London received massive attention - and consequently huge visitor numbers - all due to a Taylor Swift song.
Located in Vauxhall, the pub went viral after Taylor Swift mentioned it in her song 'The Black Dog' on her album 'The Tortured Poets Department'.
The song includes a lyric about spotting an ex going into the pub in the first verse: "I am someone who until recent events / You shared your secrets with / And your location, you forgot to turn it off / And so I watch as you walk / Into some bar called The Black Dog".
The pub quickly cottoned on to their new-found attention and launched Swift-themed food and drinks.
The pub even created it's own TikTok account which quickly gained thousands of followers.
The account's first post of some pictures of the pub and the caption "your cozy little pub gets name-dropped in the new Taylor Swift ablum??!" captured 1.1million views.
The pub is free to visit, unless you want a pint.
Shell Grotto, Margate
Shell Grotto in Margate is essentially what the name states.
The obscure grotto was discovered in 1835 by accident when someone stepped through their garden and nearly fell into it.
The grotto boasts walls made up of over 4.5million shells and videos of the destination on TikTok have gained hundreds-of-thousands of views.
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One TikTok even reached 1.7million views, with users perplexed at how it was built and who managed to count the number of shells used in the grotto.
Shell Grotto tickets cost £4.50 per adult and £2 per child.
Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh
As a huge Harry Potter fan, I beelined for this spot as soon as I was in Edinburgh on a holiday last year.
The graveyard gained attention after people noticed that many of the gravestones have names on that are the same as some of the main characters in the Harry Potter series.
JK Rowling rote inside the nearby Elephant House Cafe and she has openly explained how graveyards used to give her inspiration for the characters in her books.
The graveyard is located in the Old Town and fans can find names including Thomas Riddell.
Many of the videos posted on social media have gained thousands of views and likes, with many users noting other destinations in the city that are related to Harry Potter.
The graveyard is free to visit but donations are welcome.
The Sun's Alice Penwill recently headed to America to try the viral Crumbl cookies – they beat the UK but there was a downside.
And The Sun's Sophie Swietochowski tried the new viral Dubai chocolate ice cream served at a top London attraction – but it was a huge disappointment.
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