Places you've never been to - revisited!

[Ivo]

Back in May 2011 I asked everyone to name some notable places they had never been to. Some rather interesting replies appeared, and the thread appeared to spark some interest in people going off in all directions in an effort to apparently "clear" them.

The thread in question can be viewed here. Note that the Wikipedia page linked to repeatedly has since been deleted

So, folks of RailUK, where do we stand now?

For me, the one major "flaw" continues to be Kingston-upon-Hull. The other four places of more than 100,000 people have all been cleared, with two on one day in April and the other two on consecutive days in October - the latter two of which were genuine visits. This also means that I have visited - or at least passed through - every urban area in the United Kingdon, again with the solitary exception of the East Coast's such area largest south of Teesside, that has a population of 160,000 people or more; among those to have 100,000 or more, the only conurbations to join Hull in the list of places I've never been to are the Mansfield and Burnley areas. (A list of these can be found here.)

So, using the old formula of asterisks for changing trains (etc) only and underlining for total misses, my list of urban areas - lousy Wikipedia - goes thusly, for places of 100,000 or more...

Leicester*
Teesside*
Coventry*
Stoke-on-Trent*
Hull
Derby* (which I apparently left off the previous list hock
Aberdeen*
Luton*
Milton Keynes*
Crawley*
Mansfield
Dundee*
Burnley
Telford*
Blackburn*
Nuneaton*
Doncaster*
High Wycombe*
St Albans*
Bedford*
Chesterfield*

 

[starrymarkb]

Well the only one of those I've been to (not counting passing though on the train - only where I have left the station) is Milton Keynes. Soulless pit that was (went for work training at Mercedes UK which needed an overnight)

 

[Hyphen]

For me, the one major "flaw" continues to be Kingston-upon-Hull.

Quite. It really is a big flaw indeed. Strongly recommended to be avoided at all costs.

I spent two years living in Chesterfield. It has a church with a broken lid and a rather busy bypass. Would recommend scheduling no more than 8 mins there.

Derby - it'll take you 15 mins to find the city centre first, then all you'll see is a shiny new large shopping centre. Oh, and a shiny new tiny bus station.

Mansfield had a new bus station open the other week and now has a link to the railway station. Other than that, lots and lots of chavs. Its main hospital (rather shiny but a bit out the way) can't afford to pay rent on its building and has lots of problems with septicaemia.

Can't comment on the others

 

[ryan125hst]

Note that the Wikipedia page linked to repeatedly has since been deleted

I've managed to find it though.

 

[Ivo]

I've managed to find it though.

Rather than telling us, prove it!

 

[EM2]

How are we classing 'been to'?
For example, I've been to Peterborough, but only to a friend's house to collect a fish tank.
And I've been to Derby, but only to visit the NR Control Centre.
Do they count?
I'm assuming changing trains in Cardiff doesn't

 

[Trainfan344]

The only one in Ivo's list I have been to is Coventry.

I too would like to know what marks it as 'been to'

 

[ryan125hst]

Rather than telling us, prove it!

Go onto the original thread and then click on the link to the deleted Wikipedia page. You will then get a message saying that the page is deleted.

Then go to http://archive.org/web/web.php and paste the Wikipedia URL into it. You can then view the list as it was.

Hope that helps.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

http://web.archive.org/web/20120727...i/List_of_United_Kingdom_cities_by_population

 

[W-on-Sea]

I've been to a few of those that I'd not previously visited over the last couple of years.
I've changed trains at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and St Helens (that place looked utterly grim - definitely more miserable than Hull), and changed between a train and a rail-replacement bus at Luton (almost unbelievably grim).

I've passed through a few of the others (Southampton, Walsall, Telford, Peterborough, Stockport, Newport, Sutton Coldfield, Woking), but haven't been to the others at all.

Not visited:

Stoke-on-Trent
Plymouth
Southampton
Derby
Dudley
Newcastle-upon-Tyne*
Luton*
Sunderland
Walsall
Middlesbrough
Bolton
Telford
Peterborough
Stockport
Rotherham
Newport
Exeter
Eastbourne
Sutton Coldfield
Blackburn
Oldham
St Helens*
Woking

 

[ryan125hst]

http://web.archive.org/web/20120727...i/List_of_United_Kingdom_cities_by_population

That would be a quicker way to access the page!

 

[Ivo]

As with the first time I did this thread, decide for yourselves what counts and what doesn't. The idea is to see how different people's ideas and "performances" differ.

If you wanted to be really concise, you could introduce oads of other criteria, such as Duration, Frequency, Area, and more.

And thank you for the Archive suggestion. Needless to say, that hadn't occurred to me.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

http://web.archive.org/web/20120727...i/List_of_United_Kingdom_cities_by_population

Thanks for that, Matt. I see that our little "big town" of Macclesfield just crept in on the list in 173rd place...nice picture of the Town Hall, though.

 

[Liam]

The largest place in the UK haven't been to is Bristol. Of the major English cities, I've only been to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle. Never been to Bristol, Hull, Leicester, Coventry.

According to this list, the largest place in Scotland I have not visited is number 26, Wishaw. There is only 8 places on that list I haven't been to. Of the 47 left, I would say around 30 of them have been more than just passing through. The joys of supporting a lower league football club...

 

[gnolife]

I'm going to sort mine into three lists, places I've changed at on coaches/trains, places I've called at on coaches/trains, and places that I've never been to full stop, and only the places with population over 100,000 according to that list. Before I start, I'm going to give an honorable mention to Southend-on-Sea. I have been to Twerp for the sole purpose of saying that I've been to Twerp. I got off a Shoeburyness bound train, left the station, took a picture, then joined the next Shoeburyness train. I got a greeting that reminded me of home from a charming group of younger teenagers outside the station

Changed Trains at
Bristol (I've changed trains at Temple Meads twice, and Parkway once)
Leicester (changing from a Sheffield - St Pancras to a service that would abandon me in Luton. I think that might have been the biggest mistake I ever made )
Coventry (Changing from the Nuneaton - Coventry to a XC to Leamington)
Bradford - I'm choosing to count this, because I've never been to Bradford for the sake of going to Bradford, I've always been OSI-ing between Forster Square and Interchange, or just plain changing at Interchange
Wolverhampton - This is here on the same principle as Bradford, I've only ever changed from the mainline station to the tram at St Georges.
Reading - This was me trying to avoid CrossCountry (I was trying to travel at somewhat short notice, and not wanting to play musical chairs). I'd decided that to get from Southampton, I'd be better off changing trains at Basingstoke, Reading, Oxford, Bicester Town to Bicester North, Smethwick and Crewe. Took a while, but it was definitely worth my time, and the cost of the tickets to allow me to travel through Bicester.
Derby - I've changed buses from the Black Cat to the TransPeak (I'd gone to see Alty vs Eastwood)
Dudley - A little bit of research tells me that Coseley is in Dudley, and me being a dopey fool hadn't noticed that my train from Crewe wasn't calling at Smethwick (I was trying to get to Kidderminster)
Newcastle upon Tyne - I've had one overnight connection, from the last train from Newark to the first one for Carlisle. Don't you just love stupidly priced and routed advances. I've also changed here for the T&W Metro
Milton Keynes - Well, changing at Bletchley rather than MK Central to get to Bedford
Huddersfield - Depending on how much of a cheapskate I feel like being, I'll sometimes catch the 184 bus from Manchester to get to West Yorkshire football matches, I change for trains to Leeds here
Oxford - See Reading for explanation
Ipswich - Again, this is another funny one like Bradford, having hoofed it from Derby Road to Ipswich, just for the sake of being able to say that I'd been to Derby Road.
Telford - on a WMDR, I decided I felt like killing a bit more time, so went out from Wolves to Telford and back
Peterborough - I've changed here once, for a trip that a fair number of the forum know of, but I will not be going into details here
Watford - I'd changed here because an RPI was being awkward on the train from Crewe (I was travelling on a Family and Friends railcard, with ID proving that I was 16, but 15 when the railcard was bought)
Newport (S Wales) - This was me trying to make the most of my funny routed ticket from Birmingham to Portsmouth.
Cambridge - On my most recent non-forum outing, on an Anglia plus rover, I changed here on my way back home

I've called at, but never changed trains or visited
Northampton
Aberdeen
Dundee
West Bromwich
Rotherham
Sutton Coldfield

I've never been to
Kingston upon Hull
Plymouth
Sunderland
Walsall
Swansea
Bournemouth
Swindon
Poole
Middlesbrough
Brighton
Slough
Exeter
Eastbourne
Colchester

I've also never been to anywhere in Kent. It's something that's really bugging me with my route coverage.

 

[Cletus]

Out of the top 30:
London - Yes
Birmingham- Yes
Glasgow - Never been to Scotland
Liverpool - No but will be going to in September
Leeds - Passed through
Sheffield - No but will be visiting in June
Edinburgh- Never been to Scotland
Bristol - Yes
Manchester- Yes
Leicester - No but will be passing through in June
Coventry - Passed through
Kingston upon Hull-No
Bradford - Passed through
Cardiff - Yes
Belfast - Never been to Ireland
Stoke-on-Trent- Passed through
Wolverhampton- No
Nottingham- No
Plymouth - No
Southampton- No
Reading- Yes stayed overnight
Derby- Yes but only because I got on the wrong XC train at New Street
Dudley- No
Newcastle upon Tyne- Yes once years ago, drove up to watch Gateshead v Dover Athletic
Northampton - No
Portsmouth - Yes
Luton - No
Preston - No
Aberdeen - Never been to Scotland
Milton Keynes - Passed through

 

[SS4]

Y = Yes
P = Passed Through/Changed
N = No
[x] = Most visited (top three only)

London Y 
[B]Birmingham Y [2][/B]
Glasgow N
Liverpool N
Leeds Y
Sheffield Y
Edinburgh N
Bristol  P
Manchester N
Leicester N
Coventry P
Kingston upon Hull N
Bradford  N
Cardiff  N
Belfast  N
Stoke-on-Trent P
[B]Wolverhampton Y [3][/B]
Nottingham N
Plymouth  N
Southampton  N
Reading N
Derby P (a wonderful place to split if travelling north from Brum on XC)
Dudley P (both heavy and light rail)
Newcastle upon Tyne N
Northampton Y
Portsmouth
Luton N
Preston N
Aberdeen N
Milton Keynes P

Sunderland N
Norwich N
Walsall P (to mark off the direct line between Walsall and Wolves)
Swansea N
Bournemouth N
Southend-on-sea N
Swindon N
Dundee N
Huddersfield N
Poole N
Oxford N
Middlesbrough N
Blackpool N
Bolton N
Ipswich Y
Telford P (twice, on Great Escapes)
York N
West Bromwich [s]Albion[/s] P (both heavy and light rail)
Peterborough N
Stockport N
Brighton N
Slough N
Gloucester N
Watford P
Rotherham N
Newport N
Cambridge N
Exeter P
Eastbourne N
[B]Sutton Coldfield Y [1][/B]
Blackburn N
Colchester N
Oldham N
St Helens N
Woking N
Crawley N

I don't get out much

 

[GatwickDepress]

I've been to London, Manchester, Portsmouth, Southampton, Sheffield, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Oxford, Brighton, and York. I'd add Luton, but then I'll have to go back to therapy.

I really need to get out more.

Well the only one of those I've been to (not counting passing though on the train - only where I have left the station) is Milton Keynes. Soulless pit that was (went for work training at Mercedes UK which needed an overnight)

Soulless pit is precisely right. Have to go up to visit my boyfriend a few times a month, walking through the "Little Boxes"-style suburbia is no better.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Been beyond the station at (e.g. to commercial centre / hotel etc):
London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester, Leicester, Coventry, Dull, Bratfud, Cardiff, Belfast, Stoke, Wolves, Nottingham, Plymouth, Southampton, Reading, Derby, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Portsmouth, Luton, Preston, Aberdeen, Milton Keynes, Sunderland, Norwich, Swansea, Bournemouth, Southend, Swindon, Dundee, Huddersfield, Oxford, Middlesbrough, Blackpool, Bolton, Telford, York, West Bromwich (well, from The Hawthorns station-stadium!), Peterborough, Stockport, Brighton, Gloucester, Watford, Rotherham, Newport (Gwent; never again, horrid place), Exeter, Blackburn, St Helens (area around Junction station only, never town centre), Woking.

Been on the station at but never beyond:
Northampton, Walsall, Ipswich, Slough, Cambridge, Eastbourne, Colchester, Oldham (both heavy and light rail).

Passed through on train but never alighted at:
Dudley (both heavy and light rail), Poole, Sutton Coldfield, Crawley.

 

[bb21]

Using the supplied list, the only thing I cannot tick off fully is 23 - Dudley. If passing through on either of the railway lines nearby counts then I have no blanks in the top 30.

(Lower league) Football takes you to all sorts of weird and wonderful places on earth.

 

[Trainfan344]

The top 30 for me:

London - Yes
Birmingham- Yes
Glasgow - Never been to Scotland
Liverpool - No but will be going to in September
Leeds - No
Sheffield - No
Edinburgh- Never been to Scotland
Bristol - No
Manchester- Yes
Leicester - Passed Through
Coventry - Yes
Kingston upon Hull- No
Bradford - No
Cardiff - No
Belfast - Never been to Ireland
Stoke-on-Trent- Yes (Although never been off at the station, have gotten there by car many times)
Wolverhampton- Yes
Nottingham- No
Plymouth - No
Southampton- Yes
Reading- No
Derby- No
Dudley- No
Newcastle upon Tyne- No
Northampton - Yes
Portsmouth - Yes
Luton - No
Preston - Yes
Aberdeen - Never been to Scotland
Milton Keynes - Passed through

 

[Ivo]

OK, so from that same Top 30 then...

0 London (I've stayed overnight in Feltham on numerous occasions, and nowhere else, but it is technically still a part of London)
2 Birmingham
3 Glasgow
0 Liverpool
0 Leeds
3 Sheffield
3 Edinburgh
1 Bristol
0 Manchester
5 Leicester
4 Coventry
Kingston-upon-Hull
3 Bradford
2 Cardiff
0 Belfast
5 Stoke-on-Trent
3 Wolverhampton
3 Nottingham
3 Plymouth
3 Southampton
2 Reading (I have stayed overnight on numerous occasions in nearby Winnersh though)
5 Derby
5 Dudley
0 Newcastle-upon-Tyne
3 Northampton
3 Portsmouth
5 Luton
3 Preston
5 Aberdeen
4 Milton Keynes

1 = At least 20 genuine visits
2 = At least five genuine visits
3 = At least one genuine visit
4 = Visited to change between trains and/or buses only
5 = Passed through, but without leaving the vehicle
0 = Stayed overnight at least once (takes priority over all others)

The next highest place on the list whose name would be crossed out is Maidstone in 79th, but even then I have used the nearby Motorway Services on the M20. If this means Maidstone should be included in the list, the "honour" would instead go to Halifax in 87th.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

London - Yes
Birmingham- yes
Glasgow - yes
Liverpool - yes
Leeds - yes
Sheffield - yes
Edinburgh- yes
Bristol - only on train/station
Manchester- yes
Leicester - only on train/station
Coventry - only on train/station
Kingston upon Hull- yes
Bradford - yes
Cardiff - no
Belfast - yes
Stoke-on-Trent-yes
Wolverhampton- only on train/station
Nottingham- yes
Plymouth - yes
Southampton- no
Reading- only on train/station
Derby- yes
Dudley- only on train/station
Newcastle upon Tyne- no
Northampton - only on train/station
Portsmouth - yes
Luton - only on train/station
Preston - yes
Aberdeen - yes
Milton Keynes - yes

from ivo's op list that arn't included above


Teesside no
Crawley been to gatwick
Mansfield yes
Dundee yes
Burnley no
Telford yes
Blackburn no
Nuneaton only on train/station
Doncaster yes
High Wycombe only on train/station
St Albans only on train/station
Bedford only on train/station
Chesterfield yes

 

[LE Greys]

Places I've never been at all:

• Liverpool
• Stoke-on-Trent (or anywhere in the Potteries)
• Cardiff, Swansea or anywhere in South Wales
• Birkenhead
• Southend (or anywhere east of Rainham on the LT&SR)
• Blackpool
• Aldershot
• Barnsley
• Crawley
• Mansfield
• Burnley
• Holyhead
• Penzance
• Kyle of Lochalsh
• Oban
• Anywhere in Ireland

And off the ECML:

• Lincoln
• Skegness
• Cleethorpes
• Middlesborough
• Saltburn
• Bishop Aukland

I've never got off the train at:

• Sheffield
• Brighton (if you count passing through Cliftonville Tunnel once)
• Coventry
• Derby
• Gillingham or any of the other Medway Towns
• Northampton (only passed through once on a diversion)
• Wigan
• Warrington
• Retford
• Berwick-upon-Tweed
• Stirling
• Perth

And never left the station despite changing at:

• Manchester (twice)
• Leeds (many times)
• Leicester (many times)
• Preston (once or twice)
• Milton Keynes (once)
• Sunderland (once, on a GC Valenta bash where I got bowled by a Zephyr)
• Slough
• Ipswich (a few times)
• Grantham (many times)
• Exeter (a few times)
• Basingstoke (many times)
• Clapham Junction (a few times)

Reading, Darlington, Dundee and Newark only stay off this list because of rail-replacement bus services.

Here's my list from the last one, very much extended and reordered. Manchester has now been 'promoted' from 'never got off the train' to 'never left the station despite changing trains'. Other than that, not much change, although I haven't had much time to go anywhere these last two years. Not much progress, really.

This was actually quite educational, I never realised just how big some of these places were, since I tend to see them as dots on a map, so tend to place the significance of places such as Grantham much higher than befits their size, up with Northampton say, and Peterborough with Coventry. Aldershot was the biggest surprise, especially since it is so close to the SWML and so poorly served.

 

[Ivo]

Aldershot was the biggest surprise, especially since it is so close to the SWML and so poorly served.

Aldershot's a funny one. In terms of size, it really isn't that big; it's no bigger than Grantham, for instance. However, its conurbation works in a similar way to the Medway Towns, in that Aldershot is just one of a cluster of medium-sized that are economically independent of one-another but still support each other by providing services that the others do not, with no one settlement clearly being the most important. Of note however is that the conurbation *almost* forms a continuous urban block with Reading - Crowthorne is considered part of the latter, whereras Sandhurst is not; at their closest point, even an unfit man could run from the edge of one to the edge of the other in under three minutes...

The Blackwater Valley area as a whole however has very good transport in place, both locally and otherwise, and in terms of both road and rail. There are no less than eleven stations in the area with services to destinations such as Reading, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth and of course London, across four different routes which all converge in or near the area, with another three less than a mile outside. The area is also served by a motorway, two dual-carriageway primary routes and a fair number of bus services which link most of the main centres together, one of which is so popular it was the first route in the UK to be upgraded to Stagecoach Gold other than those selected for the initial trial.

So Aldershot itself may not be that big, and neither are any of the other towns (Camberley, Frimley, Farnborough and Farnham), but as a whole they are one of the most powerful centres in the South-East.

Interestingly, the conurbation as a whole is only the 30th largest in the UK - and yet it still manages to straddle three different counties.

 

[LE Greys]

Aldershot's a funny one. In terms of size, it really isn't that big; it's no bigger than Grantham, for instance. However, its conurbation works in a similar way to the Medway Towns, in that Aldershot is just one of a cluster of medium-sized that are economically independent of one-another but still support each other by providing services that the others do not, with no one settlement clearly being the most important. Of note however is that the conurbation *almost* forms a continuous urban block with Reading - Crowthorne is considered part of the latter, whereras Sandhurst is not; at their closest point, even an unfit man could run from the edge of one to the edge of the other in under three minutes...

The Blackwater Valley area as a whole however has very good transport in place, both locally and otherwise, and in terms of both road and rail. There are no less than eleven stations in the area with services to destinations such as Reading, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth and of course London, across four different routes which all converge in or near the area, with another three less than a mile outside. The area is also served by a motorway, two dual-carriageway primary routes and a fair number of bus services which link most of the main centres together, one of which is so popular it was the first route in the UK to be upgraded to Stagecoach Gold other than those selected for the initial trial.

So Aldershot itself may not be that big, and neither are any of the other towns (Camberley, Frimley, Farnborough and Farnham), but as a whole they are one of the most powerful centres in the South-East.

Interestingly, the conurbation as a whole is only the 30th largest in the UK - and yet it still manages to straddle three different counties.

The weirdness of suburbia. If we came back in a thousand years, we would probably find (if it's there at all) that it was yet another place on the edge of London, a city that stretches all the way to Chelmsford (and looks a bit like that city planet from Star Wars).

 

[Trainfan344]

The next highest place on the list whose name would be crossed out is Maidstone in 79th, but even then I have used the nearby Motorway Services on the M20. If this means Maidstone should be included in the list, the "honour" would instead go to Halifax in 87th.

The next highest place for me on the List would be Norwich in 32nd, Changed trains, left the station, changed buses, been into the city, passed through in a car, but then it is the closest City to me.

 

[Clip]

I appear to have enough EC points to finally strike off Inverness from the list of places ive never been.

Im sturggling still to think of many large towns/cities that I have not been too.

 

[scotsman]

London - Yes
Birmingham- Yes
Glasgow - Yes
Liverpool - Yes
Leeds - Passed through
Sheffield - Yes
Edinburgh - Yes
Bristol - Yes
Manchester- Yes
Leicester - No
Coventry - No
Kingston upon Hull - No
Bradford - No
Cardiff - No
Belfast - No
Stoke-on-Trent- No
Wolverhampton- No
Nottingham- Yes
Plymouth - Yes
Southampton- No
Reading- No
Derby- No
Dudley- No
Newcastle upon Tyne- Yes
Northampton - No
Portsmouth - No
Luton - No
Preston - Passed through
Aberdeen - Yes
Milton Keynes - No

 

[MidnightFlyer]

The weirdness of suburbia. If we came back in a thousand years, we would probably find (if it's there at all) that it was yet another place on the edge of London, a city that stretches all the way to Chelmsford (and looks a bit like that city planet from Star Wars).

I think like that sometimes, though in the past. I mean, at the turn of the last century (roughly 1880-1900) places like Romford, Harrow and Brentford would all have been rural towns surrounded by mile after mile of fields - in the cases of each now the nearest expanse of countryside would be some 8-10 miles away! In the space of about 120 years some places have gone from hamlets and farms to thriving urban housing estates, tower blocks and shopping centres, so odd to think that once upon a time (perhaps even in some people's lifetimes) it was the back of beyond. An even more up to date comparison would be Heathrow Airport, which 70 years ago was still a village and farmland!

Even out of London, the New Towns acts from the 1940s onwards have seen places like Milton Keynes, Stevenage and Harlow explode in size by several hundred % in just a few decades...

Of course, like you seemed to imply, it will be fascinating to see where it ends. I wonder if in 100 years' time, some younger people will find it amazing to learn that Chelmsford, Reading and Gatwick Airport were all separated from London by miles of countryside!