Rubbish towns

[Bletchleyite]

Why wouldn't you want to live here may I ask?

Here? Your location is shown as Baildon, Shipley, which isn't in Bradford (though is near it). Surely that is an example of one of the bits outside Bradford he/she might prefer?

(Though Shipley town centre is a bit grim too - and that big set of traffic lights by the pub and Ibis *really* needs pedestrian lights, crossing it is horrible)

 

[Bantamzen]

Here? Your location is shown as Baildon, Shipley, which isn't in Bradford (though is near it). Surely that is an example of one of the bits outside Bradford he/she might prefer?

In these parts Shipley is considered to be part of Bradford, and my council tax is paid to Bradford Council. Any sense of separate identity in Shipley was lost decades ago. I am always curious as to why Bradford has such a negative imagine compared to so many other towns and cities, I've lived here for most of my life and never felt particularly unsafe, threatened or compelled to leave. Yes it has social and economic problems, but so does the whole country, especially the capital.

Just as an aside, Baildon is itself officially town now, and any inference that it is connected to Shipley would be met with derision from the Middle Classes here. House values and all....

 

[Bletchleyite]

In these parts Shipley is considered to be part of Bradford, and my council tax is paid to Bradford Council. Any sense of separate identity in Shipley was lost decades ago.

That's quite interesting, as it seems to be that classic "nicer bit on the side" in the manner of Newport Pagnell to MK, or Ormskirk to Liverpool, or somewhere like Marple to Manchester - and in all those cases people consider themselves resolutely not to live in the city.

 

[yorksrob]

In these parts Shipley is considered to be part of Bradford, and my council tax is paid to Bradford Council. Any sense of separate identity in Shipley was lost decades ago. I am always curious as to why Bradford has such a negative imagine compared to so many other towns and cities, I've lived here for most of my life and never felt particularly unsafe, threatened or compelled to leave. Yes it has social and economic problems, but so does the whole country, especially the capital.

Just as an aside, Baildon is itself officially town now, and any inference that it is connected to Shipley would be met with derision from the Middle Classes here. House values and all....

I spent my early twenties working in Bradford and have a soft spot for the place.

However, I can't help but think that the biggest mistake was the destruction of the glorious Exchange station in 1973. It's all the more bewildering, given that Bradford has never been short of redevelopment land.

 

[Mojo]

My home town, Scunthorpe.

It’s great if, like me, you are a fan of Poundstretcher, B+M, and Home Bargains. The new Home Bargains on the site of the old Homebase is especially fantastic!

 

[175mph]

It’s great if, like me, you are a fan of Poundstretcher, B+M, and Home Bargains. The new Home Bargains on the site of the old Homebase is especially fantastic!

Especially as they've made use of the outdoor 'garden center' bit at the side.

 

[cjmillsnun]

Does Swindon have the Magic Roundabout?

Not the nursery age children programme, but a road design where each end of the road at the roundabout has a mini roundabout, meaning that you can take the shortest route to the desired road to exit the roundabout, even if it is anti clockwise.

It is one town that has a magic roundabout. It is the one that is called the magic roundabout.

Colchester, Hemel Hempstead, High Wycombe, Denham, Tamworth and London also have magic roundabouts.

In reality they aren't roundabouts at all, but a series of mini roundabouts arranged in a circle.

 

[Bantamzen]

That's quite interesting, as it seems to be that classic "nicer bit on the side" in the manner of Newport Pagnell to MK, or Ormskirk to Liverpool, or somewhere like Marple to Manchester - and in all those cases people consider themselves resolutely not to live in the city.

Yeah at one time there was a distinct gap between what is considered inner Bradford and Shipley. But as developments have grown along the main arteries the lines have blurred as have attitudes. So these days Bradford (or more accurately Brat'fud) and Shipley are no longer considered to be separate entities in anything other than name. And to be honest the two share similar demographics, so this is not surprising here.

Baildon on the other hand is seen by residents to be separate from both Shipley and Bradford, mainly because the upper part of it (around the centre and railway station) is considered a desirable area for middle class families. Some residents have even expressed a desire to be part of Ilkley (technically part of the Metropolitan area of Bradford, but very separate in both geographical & social terms) or even Leeds, well only for administrative purposes, not when it comes to football!

I spent my early twenties working in Bradford and have a soft spot for the place.

However, I can't help but think that the biggest mistake was the destruction of the glorious Exchange station in 1973. It's all the more bewildering, given that Bradford has never been short of redevelopment land.

Having only moved to the city in 1976 I don't remember the Exchange station, but some pretty dreadful architectural decisions were made by the council in the 60's and 70's for sure.

 

[Crisps]

Aberystwyth is lovely, if a little remote. I’m a little biased though as I went to university there.

I live in Newton Aycliffe which is basically another Peterlee. They were both developed at the sane time and both feature depressing, half empty town centre dominated by a large supermarket.

I work in Darlington, which is even worse, but nowhere near as bad as Middlesbrough or Hartlepool. I love the North East but many parts are holes!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Aberystwyth is lovely, if a little remote. I’m a little biased though as I went to university there.

I live in Newton Aycliffe which is basically another Peterlee. They were both developed at the sane time and both feature depressing, half empty town centre dominated by a large supermarket.

If only rents were cheaper, small businesses and a big supermarket with car parking could be more symbiotic

 

[hexagon789]

Leuchars, basically just an interchange between the train and the bus to St Andrews. The place seems devoid of life and the bus stop is pretty run down.

 

[175mph]

Leuchars, basically just an interchange between the train and the bus to St Andrews. The place seems devoid of life and the bus stop is pretty run down.

It's RAF base is where my mum met my dad, she worked as a chef there and my dad used to be in the RAF.

 

[cactustwirly]

Surprised Chatham hasn't been mentioned! Though the 'Spoons was much nicer than I'd expected.

Rotherham is a hole, I'll second that. As is Kirkby. And Wigan. Lowestoft didn't exactly fill me with joy when I changed trains there recently, though in fairness the rain was giving Manchester a run for it's money!

Chatham has very good naval museum

 

[cactustwirly]

The whole of the UK?
It's dirty, full of the great unwashed, has loads of economic and social problems.

When I've been to mainland Europe, the streets are so much cleaner, the people more friendlier, hardly and homelessness or visible drug use. It just feels so much nicer.

Someone tell me I'm wearing rose tinted spectacles?

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Chatham has very good naval museum

I went to see the "new" Rochester station yesterday (having had something to do , a few years ago in promoting the project) , deeply impressed not just the station , but the regeneration of the area and especially the once derelict industrial area. I crossed the boundary into Chatham , which is clearly also benefiting from some of this investment. Terrific service from RCH , - HS1 , Victoria , Charing Cross and now Thameslink.

That area , having slightly known if for a good number of years , always reminded me of "South Wales valley on Thames". Seems to be reinventing itself a bit.

 

[trainophile]

Nothing wrong with Hartlepool. I was there on Wednesday, had a great time at the Royal Navy Museum on the waterfront, and lunch in Wetherspoons.

Also Redcar is nice enough - we went twice this year already. Pity it was raining last week, but on a sunny day the sea front is very nice. Also another tick for Wetherspoons.

Places I wouldn't bother going back to include Blackpool, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, and (sorry about this) Leeds. I'm not over-fussed on Manchester either, but can't avoid it on my regular travels. It's okay for changing at Piccadilly, but once outside the station I get a feeling of gloom.

 

[J-2739]

Places I wouldn't bother going back to include Blackpool, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, and (sorry about this) Leeds. I'm not over-fussed on Manchester either, but can't avoid it on my regular travels. It's okay for changing at Piccadilly, but once outside the station I get a feeling of gloom.

Eh, Leeds ain't a town!!!

 

[Typhoon]

I went to see the "new" Rochester station yesterday (having had something to do , a few years ago in promoting the project) , deeply impressed not just the station , but the regeneration of the area and especially the once derelict industrial area.

Shame they are building flats which now block the view of the river. Used to be a better place to change trains than Chatham.

Surprised Chatham hasn't been mentioned!

Possibly because there are worse places in Kent, some not so far away. Chatham isn't bad, St Mary's Island has been sympathetically developed (in my view at least), the marina is a plus as is the Dockyard (mentioned above by cactustwirly above) where they are making an effort (https://thedockyard.co.uk/whats-on/). Shopping's pretty dire but there is more to life than shopping.​

 

[EM2]

Possibly because there are worse places in Kent, some not so far away. ​

Like Gillingham *shudder*

 

[trainophile]

Eh, Leeds ain't a town!!!

Oops, sorry . Neither is Manchester then. I wasn't considering the official definition of a town.

 

[trainophile]

Any views on Christchurch? I have just booked a short break there in October, simply because the Travelodge there is ridiculously cheap. Now wondering if there's a good reason for that!

 

[fowler9]

How did it take #96 posts before Bradford got a mention?

It has a magnificent gothic city hall, fantastic theatre and concert venues, fabulous Victorian architecture, but...

I have never seen a town or city in the uk with a worse litter or fly tipping problem! What a shame, could have been a beautiful place but neglect, industrial decline, grand ideas that were never likely to win the funding they required, being the end of the line as far as rail and motorways are concerned and being overshadowed by its bigger and wealthier neighbour have left Bradford drowning without a place in the 21st Centaurus.

Not all negative though, it remains one of the friendliest places I’ve visited.

I spent four years at university there in the late nineties and had an amazing time despite a severe bout of depression and an aggravated burglary. It is one of the "left behind" places which is a shame.

 

[bramling]

I spent four years at university there in the late nineties and had an amazing time despite a severe bout of depression and an aggravated burglary. It is one of the "left behind" places which is a shame.

It’s rather unfortunate that it’s one of those places where they seem to have done everything possible to wreck anything nice in terms of buildings and architecture. There’s still a faint feeling of faded grandeur, but one has to dig deep to find even that.

 

[bramling]

I disagree on Dunstable, it’s a nice quiet well laid out market town - certainly nothing on the scale of some of the other locations mentioned here...

Must say I don’t really view Dunstable in that way. Notwithstanding the fact that it will always be irrevocably tied to ghastly Luton, from the outsider’s perspective it consists of a busy dual-carriageway and a busy crossroads, all of which suffers from chronic traffic congestion on a regular basis. What else does the town have to offer?

 

[hexagon789]

It's RAF base is where my mum met my dad, she worked as a chef there and my dad used to be in the RAF.

Must confess, I forgot the RAF base; nevertheless the town (or is it a village?) is very quiet.

 

[NorthOxonian]

Moving south, has anybody visited the soulless town of Swindon recently? Apart from lots of fast trains to London, what does it have to offer the world?

I have a massive soft spot for Swindon (and Reading too). But that's because I'd definitely nominate my own city for this - Oxford may seem like a picturesque and affluent place on the surface, but scratch beneath and you'll see one of the most divided cities in the country. I grew up in a rough area, but I feel much safer there than I ever have in Oxford, with one or two exceptions (ironically, mainly in the so-called bad side of town). People in Oxford definitely seem ruder than people from anywhere else, though that could just be bad experiences making me biased. Even the architecture wears on you after a while, it's rather intimidating in the same way as concrete new towns, but unlike Harlow or the like, you have to deal with loads of tourists who seem to love it!

I'd add a couple of places I've been to that I don't fancy going back to - other than Hoe Park with its view over the waterfront, Plymouth city centre leaves much to be desired. And whilst it's much smaller, Evesham is a very strange place, it feels far more isolated than it actually is due to the poor connections and sometimes it felt like people could sense I was from out of town just by looking at me - I've never felt like I was being watched walking down any other high street!

On the flip side of this question, I have nothing but praise for Exeter, Bournemouth, Guildford, Nottingham, and Northampton - the latter two in particular were big surprises since I'd expected them to be much worse than they were.

 

[muddythefish]

The last time I had been to Harlow town centre over 15 years ago, it was in a word, crap. I visited today and things haven't changed. Half the shops are shuttered, there are beggars and drunks everywhere and the whole air of the town feels to me faintly sinister. Can any other town match Harlow in it's rubbishness?

Decline of the UK high street. Britain has one of the biggest online sales per head of population in the world. It's no wonder town centres are decrepit - no one goes shopping anymore.

 

[Bletchleyite]

When I've been to mainland Europe, the streets are so much cleaner, the people more friendlier, hardly and homelessness or visible drug use. It just feels so much nicer.

I am in many ways a Germanophile, but Germany isn't always the cleanest place (you don't see much litter, but it can be quite grimy and run down), and it's the only place where I've seen someone (obviously drug-addled, you could see it from their face) dart from a train toilet and run across a platform with a needle hanging out of their arm.

So yes, the grass is always greener.

Even somewhere like Switzerland might seem a wonderland...until you get the bill.

 

[Bletchleyite]

People in Oxford definitely seem ruder than people from anywhere else

Are you Northern by birth? People in the North, even quite "rough" people (if you could use that term), tend to be friendlier than down South. When I moved to MK it took quite a lot of getting used to.

London is probably the extreme end of this - an incredibly aggressive place at times (in a way New York perhaps surprisingly isn't).

 

[bramling]

Are you Northern by birth? People in the North, even quite "rough" people (if you could use that term), tend to be friendlier than down South. When I moved to MK it took quite a lot of getting used to.

London is probably the extreme end of this - an incredibly aggressive place at times (in a way New York perhaps surprisingly isn't).

I’m as southern as southern can be (albeit I spend a *lot* of time in other parts of GB), however I’d agree with what has been written about Oxford. In fact I’d extend this to some other parts of that Thames Valley area.

In my experience things are rather more nuanced than northern=friendly and southern=rude. This could probably merit a thread all of its own!