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Rubbish towns

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AM9

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That's quite interesting, as in terms of what the place looks and feels like Bracknell is an abject dump.
I think that it is down to the town being in the midst od the A4 tech corridor, so many who don't aspire to houses in the more desirable surrounding towns and villages, see (or saw) Bracknell as a well balanced place in which to settle.
I've never been there but that was the opinion of some who knew the area well.
 

scotrail158713

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Blackpool is my nomination
Yeah. It’s pretty grim. Although I’ve only been there for an hour one day, in November, when it was pouring with rain, and blowing a gale - so it is probably a lot nicer in the middle of the summer.
 

Samuel88

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I also visited Hertford today, and with the shopping centre closed, the town, which used to be quite a nice place to wander, is now just grim
 

PeterC

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Newport ( SouthWales) where I lived till recently was a bit of a tip - plenty of beggars and boarded up shops.
I haven't been to Newport for a long long time and don't remember much about it except leaving the pub in a hurry when a fight started. For grim though just head up the valleys.
 

Bletchleyite

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"Marston Vale mafia"

With the exception of Llandudno itself which has got rather nicer in recent years with a resurgence in British weekend breaks, and nearby Conwy which is quite charming if a bit small, pretty much all the towns on the North Wales Coast are decidedly grim.

Holyhead has surely to be the worst.

Speaking of faded seaside resorts, a vote to Morecambe, which (together with the other bits on that side of the river i.e. Skerton) is basically the scally bit of rather charming Lancaster. Though with the proposed building of one of those biodome things as a major tourist attraction its fortunes may be about to change.
 

Iskra

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With the exception of Llandudno itself which has got rather nicer in recent years with a resurgence in British weekend breaks, and nearby Conwy which is quite charming if a bit small, pretty much all the towns on the North Wales Coast are decidedly grim.

Holyhead has surely to be the worst.

Speaking of faded seaside resorts, a vote to Morecambe, which (together with the other bits on that side of the river i.e. Skerton) is basically the scally bit of rather charming Lancaster. Though with the proposed building of one of those biodome things as a major tourist attraction its fortunes may be about to change.

Agree with most of that post but I would say Morecambe has improved slightly recently since its nadir in the 90's. Most of the trashiest bits have closed down. It does have the redeveloped and nice Midland Hotel, the seafront is now all clean, tidy, modern, the beach is nice and it has brilliant views over the bay and onto the Lake District. It also gets nice very quickly at Hest Bank, when heading towards Carnforth.
 

tsr

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Between the parallel lines
Gravesend
Hastings
Darlington (which I appreciate may be controversial to some on here...)
Fort William (a shame considering the surrounding country)
Brandon
Neath
Redhill
Guildford (increasingly decaying)
 

Bevan Price

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Sadly, I find that many town & city centres are becoming increasingly tired and neglected, with lots of closed shops, and all too many homeless, rough sleepers and/or beggars. But go to the suburbs, and you often find pleasant areas with green areas / parks, although many local shopping areas are also in decline.

Sometimes, the only mitigating features are historic buildings, museums, etc. - apart from these, I would even regard much of Central London as a depressing dump.
 

J-2739

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Yes, but the rough parts seem to be concentrated in the centre, where Thurrock and Medway meet.

The Thames Estuary, from photos I've seen, doesn't seem to be a very attractive area...
 

Peter Mugridge

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Epsom.

Broken glass everywhere on the pavements after Friday and Saturday nights - too many drinking places in the town.

Rapidly becoming a clone of Croydon in architectural terms.
 

Samuel88

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Yes, but the rough parts seem to be concentrated in the centre, where Thurrock and Medway meet.

The Thames Estuary, from photos I've seen, doesn't seem to be a very attractive area...
Again, probably due to the fact Grays, Basildon and to some extent the Medway towns are 'new towns' housing the East End of London castoffs
 

yorksrob

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Gravesend
Hastings
Darlington (which I appreciate may be controversial to some on here...)
Fort William (a shame considering the surrounding country)
Brandon
Neath
Redhill
Guildford (increasingly decaying)

Hastings has its rough aspects, but it also has things going for it. Nice sea front, charming old town etc.
 

Bletchleyite

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"Marston Vale mafia"
Fort William (a shame considering the surrounding country)

It isn't super-nice, but I really don't mind FW. As a gateway to a "big mountain" it knocks spots off Llanberis, which is just drab and grim. With so much tourist revenue they both could be so much more, though.


Weird place. Grim town centre, but with a load of posh flats and some very nice and highly expensive leafy suburbs. One can only assume that the people of the latter don't ever bother going to the former and just have Waitrose/Ocado deliveries and go into London if they want to go shopping.

It does get a bonus point for having that quite cool Boxpark shipping container food place thing next to the station, though. Shame that isn't permanent.
 

cactustwirly

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I don't mind it. "Reading, for when Slough isn't good enough". Which is most of the time, really.

Mind you, almost everywhere in that direction out of London is a bit rubbish until you get past Didcot. All the nice places are a bit further south.

Um no! That area is very affluent, Maidenhead is nice, so is Marlow, Henley, Wokingham, Ascot.
Reading has a very good Town Centre, but some of the housing towards the south/West isn't the nicest
 

306024

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Yes, but the rough parts seem to be concentrated in the centre, where Thurrock and Medway meet.

The Thames Estuary, from photos I've seen, doesn't seem to be a very attractive area...

Further down estuary Benfleet, Leigh-on-Sea (Leigh-on-Estuary?), Chalkwell, Westcliff, parts of Southend, Thorpe Bay, are all sought after areas. The contrast with the industrial area West of Benfleet and Canvey Island is rather stark.
 

The Albion

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Surely one of the worst is Dudley, where practically all the chain stores upsticked to Merry Hill soon after that Shopping Centre was built. And that was in the days before 'austerity'.
Another contender for ' Crap Town UK' must surely be Cumbernauld.
 
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HOOVER29

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The less said about Bolton nowadays, the better... Depressing beyond belief, given what a vibrant centre it used to be not many years ago.

Was going to say Bangor but then I thought about Bolton. Best thing about it is the road out.
Same applies to Goole.
Jesus, what a god awful place.
Cack ole if there ever was one.
And from my neck of the woods, Coalville, Leicestershire & Swadlincote or Swadville as we like to call it.
Burton isn’t that bad unless you breath in the fumes from the brewery & Marmite factory.
Yuk!!
 

eMeS

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To dispel some of the gloom, can I mention a seaside resort which really pleased me? Ramsgate, and its near neighbour, Broadstairs.
 

adrock1976

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What's it called? It's called Cumbernauld
Was going to say Bangor but then I thought about Bolton. Best thing about it is the road out.
Same applies to Goole.
Jesus, what a god awful place.
Cack ole if there ever was one.
And from my neck of the woods, Coalville, Leicestershire & Swadlincote or Swadville as we like to call it.
Burton isn’t that bad unless you breath in the fumes from the brewery & Marmite factory.
Yuk!!

I can understand your comments about Goole, as when I stopped off there on a North East Rover trip in 2016, I noticed a brick tower with the top shaped like a penis, the locals speaking funny as it sounded like they were interbred, and the most astonishing thing of all was that the local flower show is sponsored by the Masons.

Needless to say, that was around 30 minutes of my life waiting between trains that I will never get back.
 

adrock1976

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What's it called? It's called Cumbernauld
Could you say Kent and Essex are full of rubbish towns?

With the mention of Essex, this has got me thinking of Romford.

Romford is where the 1980s siblings band Five Star (which I was never a fan of them) were from, who tried to mimic Jackson 5. During my primary school days, there was a classmate of mine (a girl) who was openly a fan of Five Star.

Needless to say, I have never met anybody else since then who has openly admitted to being a fan of Five Star.
 
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