To celebrate bringing the North of the UK together, TransPennine Express has launched a series of brand-new unique illustrations which highligh how cities and towns on their network were named.
The North in Medieval times was a savage place encased in battles. The Celts, the Romans and the Anglo Saxons were battling to take country and land for themselves.
The illustrations depict the story of how each town and city achieved their name.
In 600 AD, Edinburgh was referred to as Din Eidyn. This is said to mean ‘fort of Eidyn’ which is a specific kind of Celtic Hill fort. Despite many people believing that the name Edinburgh translates to ‘Castle Rock’, although the term fits well with the city having Edinburgh castle, this is not the case.
What was once up for a little deliberation was whether Eidyn was in fact a reference to Edwin and directly related to the 7th Century King Edwin of Northumbria. This has now been disproved by local historians with it questionable as to whether Edwin ever made it this far north to give him his name to Edinburgh.
You can see the full series of literal name translations here:
https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/explore-
the-north-and-scotland/blog/2019/june/how-northern-cities-got-their-names
TransPennine Express felt it was important to share the origins of how areas on their network were named because the legacy of the Medieval times lives on through these places today.
Other towns and cities featured are Scarborough, Liverpool, Manchester, Penrith, Sheffield, Leeds, Stockport, York and Glasgow.
You can see all of the Northern city and town illustrations here:
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