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Stations to avoid and why

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Sprinter107

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Another vote for Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road. Both could certainly have the potential to be dodgy at certain times.
I think they are dodgy. They arent the most inviting stations on the network. I've changed at Stapleton Road on the odd occasion I've travelled between Gloucester and Clifton Down if the connection has only been a few minutes, if not, then it's definitely via Temple Meads.
 
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rg177

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Aggressive and organised begging mainly, where they seem to operate in packs with one distracting the staff while the others accost the general public. The dispersed waiting rooms seem to attract some interesting characters too, to the point you can't relax/let your guard down in them. I've used stations all over the country and go through Leeds station more often than I do Sheffield and nowhere do I come across as many persistent issues. I think the lack of ticket barriers means the undesirables have free reign over the station and there aren't enough security staff to cover the whole station.

The only bother I've had in Sheffield Station is an older bloke walking around trying to shake everyone's hand!

I say this as someone who's worked (for my university), static, on the concourse, for many hours at a time.
 

185143

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The only bother I've had in Sheffield Station is an older bloke walking around trying to shake everyone's hand!

I say this as someone who's worked (for my university), static, on the concourse, for many hours at a time.
Likewise, I'm finding the mentions of Sheffield odd.

I don't think I've ever been in the concourse area of Doncaster without being accosted by beggars though. There are plenty of unpleasant stations out there, Sheffield is not one of them in my experience.

I recall my first visit to Adderley Park, a couple of unsavoury looking characters ran past as I was walking down the platform and asked if the train was going to Brum then dived on when I confirmed it was. As soon as the train departed I heard sirens and a few Police officers came running onto the platform and asked if I'd seen anyone get on the train...

Also, Stromeferry in a dark, damp shelter in the rain on an early August evening was beyond unpleasant and downright painful. And wet when I decided the midges could have the shelter.

Plenty of stations in Suburban Glasgow leave a lot to be desired as well. I remember after a day on a Daytripper where I'd cleared about 30 stations meeting some enthusiasts at Central who gave the running commentary "S*itehole, S*itehole, S*itehole..." as I listed where I'd been.
 

153375

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Sleaford is a awful station to change trains at, especially late afternoon early evening, no waiting rooms, ticket office or toilets after 1:30pm. There is a TVM when it’s working. Urine soaked stairs, groups of kids who congregate on the platform effing and jeffing, can be quite intimidating for some people.
 

Esker-pades

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Also, Stromeferry in a dark, damp shelter in the rain on an early August evening was beyond unpleasant and downright painful. And wet when I decided the midges could have the shelter.
See, my experience with Stromeferry (very cold January) was rather good. I'd say that any midge-prone station in the dark and damp would be horrible (so not a reason to avoid Stromeferry).
 

185143

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See, my experience with Stromeferry (very cold January) was rather good. I'd say that any midge-prone station in the dark and damp would be horrible (so not a reason to avoid Stromeferry).
True. I was thinking more along the lines of stations I'd had bad experiences at.
 

Iskra

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Carnforth is pretty grim these days.

Other than being cold and windswept it's okay I think. Just needs a waiting shelter on each platform then it would be okay. It's nice, bright and well lit, certainly a lot better than it has been!
 

TheSel

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Other than being cold and windswept it's okay I think. Just needs a waiting shelter on each platform then it would be okay. It's nice, bright and well lit, certainly a lot better than it has been!

... and 'Snug', a micropub immediately adjacent the former-through (London bound) Platform is a superb place for a pint, in non-Lockdown times.
 

Iskra

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... and 'Snug', a micropub immediately adjacent the former-through (London bound) Platform is a superb place for a pint, in non-Lockdown times.

Yes, although it was closed very early on a Sunday evening when I tried to use it about a month ago. I had to go to the station hotel and that was decent to be fair. Carnforth at least has plenty of railway interest too.
 

Dave W

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For me I’ve always felt slightly anxious/nervous travelling in an unknown area - like a foreign country - than when I’m somewhere I know well.

Sure, but that rationale doesn't explain why you'd single out Preston station as a place where people not from the UK would feel unsafe.

I did a fair amount of photting there in the late 2000s, including dark and cold evenings, and never had a problem. I am British though so I must be immune to whatever it is...
 

scotrail158713

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Sure, but that rationale doesn't explain why you'd single out Preston station as a place where people not from the UK would feel unsafe.
I’ve never been to Preston station so it maybe doesn’t explain that. I was just reasoning how foreigners may feel uneasy in somewhere like that.
 

yorksrob

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... and 'Snug', a micropub immediately adjacent the former-through (London bound) Platform is a superb place for a pint, in non-Lockdown times.
Yes, although it was closed very early on a Sunday evening when I tried to use it about a month ago. I had to go to the station hotel and that was decent to be fair. Carnforth at least has plenty of railway interest too.

The buffet also does a cuppa and cake !
 

MikeWM

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The station I've felt most uncomfortable at over the last couple of years was Wellington (in Shropshire). I was there early evening (around 6-7pm) and there were a number of very unsavoury-looking characters hanging around, some with unpleasant-looking dogs, both on the platform and outside the station entrance.

Even then though, I didn't actually feel threatened, just a bit uneasy.
 

Sprinter107

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The station I've felt most uncomfortable at over the last couple of years was Wellington (in Shropshire). I was there early evening (around 6-7pm) and there were a number of very unsavoury-looking characters hanging around, some with unpleasant-looking dogs, both on the platform and outside the station entrance.

Even then though, I didn't actually feel threatened, just a bit uneasy.
Last time I got off a train there, notices were displayed on the wall advising that the station was a high crime area, and to take care, which didnt make the atmosphere any better. The booking office also went unstaffed at 1300 weekdays, which didnt help. I am going back a few years tho, and things may have improved now.
 

Parallel

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Another one I forgot was Llanelli. I’ve only been there a handful of times and there have always been drinkers on the stairs to the footbridge and kids mucking about on the platforms. Always seems very windy and has very limited facilities when the ticket office is closed.
 

Skipness

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Sums up a lot of the woes in this country when you’ve 50min to wait for a connection as your inbound train was late “There’s a pub”
York tap also recommended when you have a hour to wait for the Scarborough train when XC have been running late.
 

PYROOGOBBO

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Falkirk grahamston, not sure about falkirk high. use high if you can.

Good for freight captures
but in a nasty and grim 'little hicktown full of just nasty miserable people (specially the chavs) though the staff at the station are pretty cool. , advisable if you just catch a train there quickly or video the freights quickly too.
 

johnnychips

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York tap also recommended when you have a hour to wait for the Scarborough train when XC have been running late.
The trouble is with Tap pubs, if you don’t like real ale, and I generally don’t, is that the lager is expensive and has a distinctive taste that might not appeal to everyone. That’s why I would recommend the Howard Arms in Sheffield, two minutes walk from the station; in York there is one under an arch in the city wall before you cross the river whose name absolutely escapes me at the moment but it has a good selection of lagers (and real ales if you like).
 

Timmyd

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Some strange choices on here. We have some pretty hostile stations here in inner south London, Brixton and Elephant mainline stations spring to mind. The list would have been a lot longer in years gone by but Southern in particular has done a good job with previously rough stations like Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye through gating and more staff. Other side of the Thames, Essex Road has a personality all of its own....
 

MarkWi72

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Re Galton Bridge: In September 2006, I travelled from Tipton, , to Worcester. Myself and a couple of friends went to watch Worcester city play Blythe. We stayed in Worcester having a few beers later; we left Worcester about 9pm. My friends left the train at Stourbridge and I stayed on to Galton Bridge, for a connection to Dudley Port. As my train pulled into the platform, I noticed the Brum-Wolves local pulling into the platforms below. I legged it down the stairs, but the guard waved the train off. I was left on the deserted platform for 55 minutes. At 10pm or so. I waited and watched a few dodgy types enter the platform then disappear, whilst being regaled by the sounds of fireworks somewhere nearby.

I did complain, via a friend of mine, who ran a consumer type website called the Stirrer, now defunct. The answer came back from Centro/London Midland that the train had to stay to schedule. Well, fine, but why not make sure the connections worked? Since then, I moved to Dorridge, and when travelling across (pre-virus) I find this has been sorted now and connections co-ordinate better.
 

alistairlees

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The trouble is with Tap pubs, if you don’t like real ale, and I generally don’t, is that the lager is expensive and has a distinctive taste that might not appeal to everyone. That’s why I would recommend the Howard Arms in Sheffield, two minutes walk from the station; in York there is one under an arch in the city wall before you cross the river whose name absolutely escapes me at the moment but it has a good selection of lagers (and real ales if you like).
Are you thinking of The Maltings?
 

Mikey C

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Some strange choices on here. We have some pretty hostile stations here in inner south London, Brixton and Elephant mainline stations spring to mind. The list would have been a lot longer in years gone by but Southern in particular has done a good job with previously rough stations like Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye through gating and more staff. Other side of the Thames, Essex Road has a personality all of its own....
In general I think many inner London "zone 2" stations are probably nicer places late at night than they were say 20/30 years ago, as the areas just outside central London have tended to come up in the world and become much more vibrant.
 

Dave W

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In general I think many inner London "zone 2" stations are probably nicer places late at night than they were say 20/30 years ago, as the areas just outside central London have tended to come up in the world and become much more vibrant.

There are still a few I’d not want to end up on alone after dark, even with London Overground refurbs meaning lighting is very good and there’s CCTV everywhere. Some of the eastern stations on the Goblin and the bottom of the Lea Valley, for example.

I live in Harringay and use the mainline station regularly, so it doesn’t bother me, but that’s a station I certainly wouldn‘t want to be down the end of late at night. The area isn’t particularly dangerous these days (Yummy Mummy Central both sides of the railway now), but it’s dark and exceptionally remote, and if your only way out is blocked the rather unlikely alternative means of escape is across 8 lines of the ECML...
 

Merle Haggard

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I’ve never been to Preston station so it maybe doesn’t explain that. I was just reasoning how foreigners may feel uneasy in somewhere like that.

Can I suggest that it sometimes works the other way? A stranger (not just a foreigner) may be unaware of the reputation of a particular area and visit. Sometimes one hears of people coming to grief in, for example, an area of a country controlled by drug-dealers, or being surprised they're mugged in an area of a big city in a first world country, both examples being somewhere those with local knowledge would avoid.
Personally, I wouldn't go to King's Heath even in broad daylight (I was a schoolboy Christmas postman there, so speak from experience) , but apparently it's seen as just the location to leave surplus emus for long periods...
 
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