People who've never been to London

[telstarbox]

I would estimate that over 75% of UK residents have been inside Greater London at least once, because:

Lots of sectors are still centralised in the capital
It's a significant tourist draw
Most UK residents have a car and/or a railway station nearby
Half the UK population can reach London in half a day
The population beyond a full day's travel from London is low - mostly beyond Inverness and on some of the Scottish islands.

What do you think?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I would estimate that over 75% of UK residents have been inside Greater London at least once, because:

Lots of sectors are still centralised in the capital
It's a significant tourist draw
Most UK residents have a car and/or a railway station nearby
Half the UK population can reach London in half a day
The population beyond a full day's travel from London is low - mostly beyond Inverness and on some of the Scottish islands.

What do you think?

A lot of people I've talked to while growing up have surprised me by having never been to London, although all of them are younger people, who may well have not had a need to go to or through London.

 

[Gloster]

Going up to London to see places like Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, The Palace of Westminster and other landmarks of our ’glorious‘ past was all part of a normal childhood in the 1960s. Nowadays people are a bit more cynical and less interested in all that and less likely to spend all that money when they can get to Croatia or Florida for half the price. (And there is the falling away of school trips.)

There is also less need to do a Miss Marple and go up to London to go around the department stores looking for those things that you can’t get anywhere locally. Nowadays (and for the last few decades) your local department stores can get the same stuff, while you won’t find many department stores in London.

 

[deltic]

Depends what your socioeconomic status is. There will be lots of lower income groups outside the South East who will never have visited. My parents first visited in their 50s

 

[gordonthemoron]

My mother first went in 1959, and hasn’t been since

 

[WelshBluebird]

I think your vastly overestimating the numbers. There's lots of people who have no interest at all, or can't travel due to other reasons (money, disability, etc etc).

Remember there's people in Bristol who have never been to the Suspension Bridge, people in the South Wales valleys who have never been to Cardiff and people in the London area itself who have never been to central London.

 

[urbophile]

Depends what your socioeconomic status is. There will be lots of lower income groups outside the South East who will never have visited. My parents first visited in their 50s

There are many children and older people who live in London who have never visited the city centre or any of the 'tourist bits'.

 

[ComUtoR]

I would estimate that over 75% of UK residents have been inside Greater London at least once
(...)

What do you think?

Probably less than half that figure

 

[75A]

There are many children and older people who live in London who have never visited the city centre or any of the 'tourist bits'.

I'd say there's more than 50% of the population of Northern Ireland that have never been to England let alone London.

 

[telstarbox]

Even if nobody ever left NI that's a maximum of 3%, and London has a huge Irish-linked population.

There are many children and older people who live in London who have never visited the city centre or any of the 'tourist bits'.

I find that hard to believe (if you said the seaside that is definitely a phenomenon) but they would fit in my definition of Greater London in any case.

 

[deltic]

There are many children and older people who live in London who have never visited the city centre or any of the 'tourist bits'.

Schools are a great introduction to the "tourist bits". There can't be many school children in London who haven't been taken to a museum etc and quite a few of those children will then persuade parents/carers to take them along subsequently.

 

[ChrisC]

A similar question could be asked? What percentage of people who live London have never been outside of London to visit other parts of the UK?

 

[dangie]

I look forward to my yearly visit to London. I usually enjoy it but it makes me realise living where I do is far better.

 

[cb a1]

A 2014 poll reported in the Telegraph:

"Paris was the most visited capital city, with 52 per cent of those queried having been, while eight per cent of people questioned had never visited any capital city at all, including London."

Average Briton 'has visited seven countries'

Paris is the most visited overseas city, a survey suggests, with eight per cent of Britons never having visited a capital city (including London)

www.telegraph.co.uk

That gives us a 'maximum' possible of 92%.
This is adults only, so I would speculate children are less likely to have visited, bringing that figure down.
I must admit I was surprised at 52% having visited Paris. That is much higher than I would have expected. I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption that more people would have visited London compared to Paris.
Going back to the OP estimate of >75% of UK residents; that doesn't look unreasonable, subject to the poll reported above being statistically robust.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The 2014 poll referenced above was asked on behalf of London City Airport; so if they only enquired of a couple of thousand folk using the Airport, it might, to an extent, have been biased / self-selecting.

 

[Lost property]

A similar question could be asked? What percentage of people who live London have never been outside of London to visit other parts of the UK?

And the answer to that, would probably be " quite a lot " given for many, the over priced cesspit dump (this may offer a clue as to my sentiments towards London..best viewed either flying over, or, watching the platform recede at Euston) because for many, all they want and need, and expect, is available.

I have seen more than enough, boroughs and central, over the years due to work and visiting friends to detest the place.

However, as for people venturing further afield, in the 70's, a survey was carried out on the population of Angelsey as to how far they had travelled. I recall about 30% at the time had never left the island, which, if you'd ventured into the deep heart of the island, and met the population, you would understand why. Even Bangor was rarely visited.

This has changed, significantly, now.

 

[Gloster]

About fifteen years ago I listened to a conversation on the bus between a chap who was probably in his late fifties and a woman. She mentioned about holidays and asked if he was going anywhere: he said that he was going to stay with his brother in Ventnor; the chap presumably lived somewhere in the Bembridge area as he was grumbling about how difficult it was to get to the hospital in Newport. She vaguely mentioned about going abroad and he said he had never been off the Isle of Wight in his life. He might have been joking, but the way he said it and continued on, and that he didn’t break into sniggers at his brilliant wit, made me me think he was telling the truth. Of course, he might have meant ‘since I became an adult’, but still…

Then there was the chap in the Exeter area who, despite having railway tickets, went once a year to Plymouth for Christmas shopping. Other than that he had never gone anywhere, except for the one occasion that he had gone to Gloucester for a wedding.

 

[dangie]

A similar question could be asked? What percentage of people who live London have never been outside of London to visit other parts of the UK?

I hope most city dwellers remain within their cities. Imagine what the state of the countryside would be like if they discovered just how nice it is?

 

[etr221]

A 2014 poll reported in the Telegraph:
"Paris was the most visited capital city, with 52 per cent of those queried having been, while eight per cent of people questioned had never visited any capital city at all, including London."

Average Briton 'has visited seven countries'

Paris is the most visited overseas city, a survey suggests, with eight per cent of Britons never having visited a capital city (including London)

www.telegraph.co.uk

That gives us a 'maximum' possible of 92%.
This is adults only, so I would speculate children are less likely to have visited bringing that figure down.
I must admit I was surprised at 52% having visited Paris. That is much higher than I would have expected. I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption that more people would have visited London compared to Paris.
Going back to the OP estimate of >75% of UK residents; that doesn't look unreasonable subject to the poll reported above being statistically robust.

Without knowing what the poll asked, and who was polled, one can't really say - but an arguable inference from what it says is that only about 50% have visited London (as Paris, the most visited, had 52%).

But I think it is fair to say that a lot of people - far more than forum members, who are the opposite, might think - are very parochial, for whom going beyond their imediate neighbourhood/comfort zone is very rare - even to the next county/town/other side of the city. So I would not be surprised if the answer was that about half have never beeen to London. One comment I have read is that the big wars of the last century (WW1 &2) and National Service did make a lot of people travel or move far more than they would otherwise have done: an effect that has now passed away.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Brought up in West wales in the 1960's - Swansea was a weekly outing (by bus) - Cardiff maybe annually (by train) - and despite having relatives in London - maybe 3 visits in all (by train - first behind a class 52 !) - university clearly gave considerable more mobility.

It was not unknown for many people locally never to have visited London - though when the Severn Road bridge was opened in the mid 60's , excursions were run by coach (not bus) to view this modern marvel - some of them to view only , not use it.

Most things people wanted were available relatively locally - including superb coastal resorts and much else .....why travel ?

 

[Purple Train]

I would estimate that over 75% of UK residents have been inside Greater London at least once, because:

Lots of sectors are still centralised in the capital
It's a significant tourist draw
Most UK residents have a car and/or a railway station nearby
Half the UK population can reach London in half a day
The population beyond a full day's travel from London is low - mostly beyond Inverness and on some of the Scottish islands.

What do you think?

Growing up in the East Midlands, even Nottingham was an exciting trip out! I imagine that in a lot of places further north with similar backgrounds, the situation will be about the same.

With that being said, a third of the population is in the south-east, so that probably skews the numbers back towards your figure. I think it may be around 75% overall, but it would be very interesting to see if there is any research on this topic, especially broken down regionally.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

About fifteen years ago I listened to a conversation on the bus between a chap who was probably in his late fifties and a woman. She mentioned about holidays and asked if he was going anywhere: he said that he was going to stay with his brother in Ventnor; the chap presumably lived somewhere in the Bembridge area as he was grumbling about how difficult it was to get to the hospital in Newport. She vaguely mentioned about going abroad and he said he had never been off the Isle of Wight in his life. He might have been joking, but the way he said it and continued on, and that he didn’t break into sniggers at his brilliant wit, made me me think he was telling the truth. Of course, he might have meant ‘since I became an adult’, but still…

There was a story some years ago about an elderly resident of Newport, Isle of Wight, in their 80s who had never seen the sea.


( No, they weren't blind before anyone asks! )

 

[urbophile]

I love London and wish I could afford to live there. However I love the rest of the UK too, and while there are some cities and even more of the countryside that I haven't visited, I find it amazing that so many Londoners take pride in never having been north of Watford (unless Oxford and/or Cambridge count as that). Unlike the rest of the country, where most of those who have never visited London will likely be in the lower income groups, many upper and middle-class Londoners have a disdainful prejudice against (unfashionable) places they have never visited despite having the money and opportunity.

 

[MotCO]

I remember being surprised when Caleb, Jeremy Clarkson's side-kick in Clarlson's Farm (on Amazon Prime), said he'd never been to London, and he had to drive there in one episode.

 

[WatcherZero]

I had never been to London before I was 37, only went for the galleries, otherwise very unattractive place with no relevant draws.

 

[Albaman]

I had relatives, all now deceased, who lived in the Warwickshire/Northamptonshire area. Some years ago on a visit, during conversation with two different carers both of whom lived in or near Daventry, I was surprised that neither had been to London.

I was 15 years of age when I visited London on a day trip ( for train spotting ) whilst on holiday near Blackpool. Had it not been for my interest in railways, I am sure my first visit would have been many years later.

 

[Jamiescott1]

I live in the commuter belt and travel into London for work daily, its a 25 minute train journey.
I have friends who make a big thing of a yearly visit to London - you can be there in 25 minutes

 

[ChrisC]

I love London and wish I could afford to live there. However I love the rest of the UK too, and while there are some cities and even more of the countryside that I haven't visited, I find it amazing that so many Londoners take pride in never having been north of Watford (unless Oxford and/or Cambridge count as that). Unlike the rest of the country, where most of those who have never visited London will likely be in the lower income groups, many upper and middle-class Londoners have a disdainful prejudice against (unfashionable) places they have never visited despite having the money and opportunity.

A cousin of mine married someone who has lived all of her life in London and had limited experience of visiting other parts of the UK. I think on the few occasions when they been up here to visit me she hasn‘t really felt very comfortable being outside of a large city. I get the feeling that she views us as being somewhat primitive for not having a shop in the village, limited public transport, country lanes without much street lighting and no pavements. What really upsets her is the fact that farmers drive tractors around and mud gets on the lane spoiling her shiny designer shoes. I live within 10 miles of the centre of Nottingham, so I don’t know what she would feel about a really isolated location.

 

[urbophile]

A cousin of mine married someone who has lived all of her life in London and had limited experience of visiting other parts of the UK. I think on the few occasions when they been up here to visit me she hasn‘t really felt very comfortable being outside of a large city. I get the feeling that she views us as being somewhat primitive for not having a shop in the village, limited public transport, country lanes without much street lighting and no pavements. What really upsets her is the fact that farmers drive tractors around and mud gets on the lane spoiling her shiny designer shoes. I live within 10 miles of the centre of Nottingham, so I don’t know what she would feel about a really isolated location.

I wonder if she'd feel the same about a village in the Cotswolds or Sussex, rather than Nottinghamshire?

 

[GusB]

I can count the number of times I've been on one hand. In my student days I went to visit friends there for a few days, travelling from Aberdeen on the overnight coach. My second trip was work related, but I didn't really get to see much - a quick tour around the company's premises in west London and then back to the hotel in Harrow, which was where head office was located. We did get taken out for a meal in Harrow-on-the-Hill, which had a charm about it. Overall, though, I was rather underwhelmed and I couldn't imagine living there at all.

The only other time was on a trip to France with a youth orchestra, but we skirted around London and I don't think that counts!