‘We walked into a cult’: Friends stumble into weird UK town where everything is named ‘Roy’

The U.K. is a strange place indeed. A couple of friends on TikTok found themselves in one of the more quirky and interesting parts of the country after stumbling into a town where everything, and I mean, everything is named after a person (or persons) named “Roy.”

Gareth Clarke and his friend somehow ended up in the strange town in Norfolk seemingly by accident. The pair quickly notice that something is very off as Gareth can be heard asking “where the f— are we Mel?” It seems as if the pair have ended up in the middle of a cult. For whatever reason, one name seems to be prominently displayed everywhere, “all of the shops are named after Roy, we’re very confused.”

Sure enough the name is plastered over every building, there’s a Roys bakery, Roys garden center, Roys toys store, even a Roys McDonalds. “Who is Roy?” A confounded Gareth asks. But it gets better (or weirder), in one store there’s Roys merch including Roy-themed mugs, stuffed animals, and puzzles. 

Apparently this Roy fella is a big deal, big enough for people to want to buy merch, but strangely, not big enough to be known anywhere outside of this town. Maybe it really is a cult. “If we were to stay longer we too would become Roy,” Gareth jokes in the caption.

So who is Roy?

After a while of soaking up the sights of Roy-town, Gareth plucks up the courage to ask one of the residents what is up with the name. The truth is not quite as insane as the cult theory but it’s interesting nonetheless. The kind resident explained that Roy is a family name, “it’s not a gent called Roy,” to which Gareth responds, “it’s multiple Roys.”

If you want to know exactly where Gareth and his friend were, it’s a place known as Roys of Wroxham and it’s not actually a town at all. As a matter of fact, it’s a huge department store set up all the way back in 1895 in the town of Wroxham. There’s an official website that lists all of the stores within Roys which is celebrating it’s 130th anniversary this year.

While that may not be as interesting as a cult, it’s still a pretty cool place and it turns out lot’s of people in the East of England love it. “Omg I love Roy’s of wroxham, even though it’s hovering,” wrote one person on TikTok. “We love Roy’s in Wroxham! had everything!” Added another.

It seems Roys is the place to go if you’re in the U.K., who could say no to a day out at a massive shopping center with Roy-themed merch? Now, if you’ll excuse me, it looks like I need to plan a road trip to Norfolk.