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The Thorn Tree
the travel forum with bite

Lonely Planet Community Highlights : history

What's in a name?

 

From Scratchy Bottom and Nether Wallop in the UK, to Noodle, Texas and Boring, Denmark, the globe is dotted with fun and fascinating placenames.

 

Seasoned adventurers and avid students of beaten paths understand these monikers arise from a mix of local lore, historical homage, cultural impetus, cartographic necessity and more.

 

But what about the more surprising origin stories - names shaped by unexpected forces and influences?

 

In our Thread of the Day spotlight we catch up with a cluster of Thorn Tree travellers chatting about how a host of locations acquired their title. From invasions to etymology, it's not where (or what) you might think! Read on here

 

A Message from Tony & Maureen Wheeler

Yes, it’s finally happened, after 34 years almost to the month, we’re moving on from Lonely Planet. We could say it’s so we have more time for travel, but the reality is we’ve known for some time that Lonely Planet has to make a big step into the future...

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Thorn Tree - The Story So Far

The Thorn Tree's origins stretch way back to early 1996 when Lonely Planet Online was still in its infancy and all this web stuff was still wet behind the ears.

 

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