Charing Cross (London) has been mentioned, but I would add that it is actually defined as the centre of London (or rather the actual Cross in the station forecourt is), with all national road distances to London measured from it, and therefore I nominate it as the winner!
The only problem is that it isn't at Clifton Down!Actually, credit where it's due, Clifton Down is slap bang in the middle of one of Bristol's livelier areas. Lots of good shops, cafes, bars round there.
Good job it's not, really! It's an idea for another thread though: Which stations are in the middle of a field?The only problem is that it isn't at Clifton Down!
Bidston!Good job it's not, really! It's an idea for another thread though: Which stations are in the middle of a field?
To be pedantic I believe the distances are measured from Charing Cross roundabout at Trafalgar Square - where the actual Cross was, not where it is now.
Not that it makes a lot of difference.
That is true but a city centre is more than shops. The Central Station is well sited for the castle, the Quayside, very many pubs and restaurants, the Lit & Phil, the Arena, Centre for Life, both cathedrals, etc etc.Some folks said Newcastle, but it's a plod along Grainger St with the shops becoming more naff the further down. One of the ideas for the metro was better connections as the commercial area moved further north
GarsdaleGood job it's not, really! It's an idea for another thread though: Which stations are in the middle of a field?
I vote for Rannock. Everywhere in Rannock is within 100 yards of the station
Cardiff has a great rail network, not only two stations bang in the centre but also one at the Bay and other numerous suburban stations. Exeter is the same but on a smaller scale.Both Cardiff Central and Queen Street are slap bang in the centre, has to be the city centre best served by rail. Both 2 mins walk from the main streets.
describing it as a "main shopping street" is being a bit charitable.........Market Street is the main shopping street in Carnforth which the station leads directly to, with some added bits on New Street/A6.
It depends on what the OP means by 'centre'. If the meaning is 'comparison shopping', I doubt whether many people will be travelling by rail to access them, whether the station is handy for them, or otherwise, and depending whether the location has a local train service to it.
I'll try an example. Yeovil Pen Mill is far from the main shopping street, but does have a local rail service from Weymouth. Only folk north of Maiden Newton would consider shopping in Yeovil, as Dorchester West and Weymouth are more convenient to access from Maiden Newton. Ironically, there is a small out of town 'mall' adjacent to Pen Mill, so if you want Matalan and live in Yetminster, you could be interested! Unfortunately, Chetnole and Thornford are a good walk from the village they serve. Worse, the mall of course has a free car park, so that only car-less customers could possibly be rail-customers. All this is why local rail is so useless for many everyday activities.
It's different in city areas possibly. The Welsh valley lines are set up for comparison shopping and sports viewing in Cardiff. In Bristol, you have to get a bus at T.M. from wherever you came from locally, to Broadmead, so you would have bussed it throughout, most like, or drove with all the plebs to the ghastly O.O.T. dump at Cribbs Causeway. If I lived in Keynsham, I would get a train or bus to Bath, where the shopping experience is better than Bristol.
Ideally placed as regards the town, not ideally placed as regards the rail network.Of course, Yeovil Town station was ideally placed.........bloody Beeching
Not if you wanted the shops and town hall /courts etc and coach stop. A hefty lug up the steep hill. What was particularly central about Yeovil Town then?Ideally placed as regards the town, not ideally placed as regards the rail network.
Somebody else suggested it.Not if you wanted the shops and town hall /courts etc and coach stop. A hefty lug up the steep hill. What was particularly central about Yeovil Town then?
Closer than Pen Mill surely, and definitely more so than Junction. Pretty good for the bus station and Middle Street and Vicarage Walk shops. For towns and cities above a certain size, no single station site is ever going to to adequately cover all of the centre, let alone the entire settlement within trivial walking distance. And where exactly is this mythical centre of so many towns and cities today anyway? Just because a historic market square / town hall / cathedral exists in a particular position, that doesn't mean most commercial activity or employment is based around there.Not if you wanted the shops and town hall /courts etc and coach stop. A hefty lug up the steep hill. What was particularly central about Yeovil Town then?
Not if you wanted the shops and town hall /courts etc and coach stop. A hefty lug up the steep hill. What was particularly central about Yeovil Town then?
ideally placed if the line to Taunton had been kept open and doubled. Not as a local service, but as an alternative long distance route relieving the LSWR routeIdeally placed as regards the town, not ideally placed as regards the rail network.