Pictured: The Google Earth alphabet found in Britain's hedgerows, roads and buildings




At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking that those aliens who are supposedly responsible for crop circles have now learned to spell.

However, far from being the work of little green men, this alphabet of Britain has been collected by 25-year- old Rachel Young after selecting the images from a Google map of aerial photographs of the country.

So, a giant A is part of a forest in Leigh in Kent, a massive B makes an appearance in Weston-on-the-Green in Oxfordshire and the C suddenly surfaces in Normanton on the Wolds, Nottinghamshire.



Alphabet Britain: Each letter represents somewhere in the nation, from Leigh, Kent (letter A) to sleepy Staffs (letter Z)

Rachel came up with the idea as a way of passing the time during her convalescence after being badly injured in a car accident in February.



Incapacitated and laid up in her home in Ossett, West Yorkshire, she decided to hunt down perfect images representing all 26 letters of the alphabet.

'I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate our country,' she says.

Over three days, Rachel scoured the maps, looking at odd shapes, winding rivers, forests, fields, roads and buildings - anything that might throw up a shape that resembled the letters of the alphabet.

'I did a lot of scrolling around on Google, flipping images around just waiting to find the right shapes,' she says. 'I tried to focus on areas where there would be good, strong shapes.

'Being from Yorkshire, I knew that would be a good place for fields and hedgerows. I thought that cities such as London, Manchester and Liverpool would be a safe bet for odd-shaped buildings.

'Although I could find about 100 Bs, I had real trouble finding K, N and particularly Q. After a long search, I found Q in one of the buildings at Gatwick Airport. It was a great way to while away a few hours, but the whole exercise has left me a bit cross-eyed.'

So after 26 get-well letters, and a spell of convalescence, Rachel's shown a commendable mastery of geography, as well as minding her Ps and Qs.



Where the alphabet letters appear in Britain

It's an A for effort: Leigh, Kent

B road: Weston-on-the-Green, Oxon

C for miles: Normanton on the Wolds, Notts

Drive in the D end at White City, London

E street development: Berwick-upon-Tweed

F for field shapes in Sywell, Northants

G whizz street at Kingston, West Sussex

Is H the Monopoly winner? St Bees, Cumbria

I for industry in Invergordon, Scotland

Home to the J ays? A wood in Northants

Special K road layout in Littleover, Derby

L of a forest on North York Moors

Dial M for meander: Cynwyd Clywyd

Chalking up a N track: Huncote, Leics

O isn't it busy! Roads at Longbridge, West Midlands

Don't stop for a P ! Outlane, West Yorks

So often Q s at airports: Gatwick

Ooo R country: Swithland, Leics

S for spa: Houses in Harrogate, North Yorks

Ploughed to a T : Fields at Pilsley, Derbys

It could be U : River in Hilldale, Lancs

V for la difference: Northumberland

W , W, W: It's a long road to Ramsey, IoM

X factor: Talent for forestry in East Lothian

Y not stop at Old Stratford, Northants?

They are pushing up Z s in sleepy Staffs









