What are some examples of smaller towns and villages that people should avoid and why?
Posted by crev_of_smeg@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 260 comments
Saw the post asking about which places in the UK were as bad as people say they are - and I noticed that most of the places on there were larger towns or cities - or at the very least towns that people had heard of. With this in mind, what are some examples of smaller places that people may not have necessarily heard of outside the local area, that have a bad reputation locally and what makes these places undesirable?
buckreeder@reddit
Burnley. It's as bad as you think, in fact it's worse.
MixGroundbreaking622@reddit
The only town to smash itself up when they win at football.
christianjwaite@reddit
Absolute carnage. I was a skater back in the 90s there, red hair, chains, fully not fitting in with a chavtastic era of the town.
One day we knew footy was on so went to skate the police station/library out of the path of the crowd and they bloody diverted it right through. Some absolute knob weasels started on my mate for “not supportin ya team” and spat at him. He’s a live wire so started fighting back. Was about 100 yobs vs like 8 of us. Luckily there was a heavy police presence so it was nothing more than a quick scuffle before it got broken up, but that was scary as hell. That day they smashed up loads of windows in town including the skate shop.
I took my wife to Burnley for the first time for my dad’s funeral. We were walking from the station dragging a suitcase and some chavs shouted briefcase wanker at us and threw a bottle of what I presume was piss at us. We’d been there like 5 minutes. She’s from Middlesbrough and had never had an encounter like that and I think she thought I was exaggerating, but I’ve had many bottles of piss thrown at me over the years.
Fuck that place. I left over 20 years ago now and only go back to see my mum every now and then. Beautiful surroundings though once out of town.
buckreeder@reddit
Best thing about Burnley is the wonderful landscape/ moorland around it. Gives you something pleasant to look at whilst you're being beaten half to death.
MangoGoLucky@reddit
Any ex mining village or village based around a single industry. Their populations only exist because of industries that are no longer there and the planning system prevents them from moving to productive areas.
SnooRegrets8068@reddit
Camborne, Redruth, St Austell, Penzance
Bronyaur_5tomp@reddit
I was in Penzance a little while back, seemed like a decent place to me
km6669@reddit
Penzance, heard they got a heroin problem, smackheads late at night see kids and rob them. Why should we care? thats their problem. Now their in your town so how you gonna sort them?
Tbf to Penzance it actually got better when the crack came in. Not many places can be improved by a crack endemic.
Fit_General7058@reddit
And St Austell
km6669@reddit
Ahh yes St Awful, all the abject poverty of Cornwall without the beach.
Bronyaur_5tomp@reddit
Ha, fair enough. I didn't see that. It was mainly the bottom of pints of Hicks
titianwasp@reddit
It is my understanding they have an issue with Pirates. In this day and age!
rooh62@reddit
Penzance is decent now; I’m looking to move there. The others though? Fair enough yeah.
Dedward5@reddit
I live near Camborne (go shopping there) and it’s fine same re Penzance.
Wgh555@reddit
Planning system? Isn’t it more the poverty and lack of opportunities to retrain that keep them stuck?
MangoGoLucky@reddit
The planning system makes housing in areas with oppurtunity expensive by restriciting housing supply e.g London. So people who are poor or in entry level jobs cannot afford to live in areas with more productivity.
Former_Intern_8271@reddit
That's what developers say anyway, the people who make the most money when they build houses as slowly as they can get away with.
MangoGoLucky@reddit
Yeah so if we built more houses the price of houses would decline and developers would be like ‘shit we need to get these built now’. The current system encourages landbanking. And when developers do want to build the planning system rejects the proposals.
Former_Intern_8271@reddit
No it doesn't
MangoGoLucky@reddit
You think the planning system doesnt reduce the supply of housing?
Former_Intern_8271@reddit
Not at all.
MangoGoLucky@reddit
So when housing is rejected by councilours supply is not damaged?
Former_Intern_8271@reddit
The applications were never supposed to be accepted to begin with.
MangoGoLucky@reddit
You are an idiot
MangoGoLucky@reddit
Also the idea of ‘supply and demand’ is not a developer conspiracy its how housinf markwts work. Are London landlords just twice as greedy as landlords in the north?
Former_Intern_8271@reddit
No, Londoners have more money because that's where a lot of high paid jobs are, landlords will just extract a much money as possible
MangoGoLucky@reddit
The percent of wages spent on rent is higher in London than lets say south wales. Why do you think this is?
Former_Intern_8271@reddit
Because the cost of utilities and essentialls.is practically fixed whenever you live, so earning a higher wage means a higher proportion of income is disposable and up for grabs from landlords.
moon-bouquet@reddit
As well, the lack of community support if you move; no childminding from parents!
Saxon2060@reddit
I went to Durham university and took a walk out in to the countryside one day. Walked to Langley Moor. So very sad, never seen anything like it really. Ex mining village that just felt stuck in time.
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
It's going to happen to Padstow soon aswell once their local factory closes (130 suddenly without jobs 😬)
dwair@reddit
TJ Books? Padstow will just continue it's decent into a middle class holiday home extraviganser. Few people who work there can afford to live in Padstow. They all live in places like Bodmin and the ex-clay villages like St Dennis
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
Unless they're lucky to have parents they can live with.
You're absolutely right though about the price, rentals are absolutely insane and good luck getting a flatshare in town.
AcceptableCustomer89@reddit
I don't think Padstow will have as much trouble as the inland Cornish towns...
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
No not as bad as Padstow has a lot of businesss in the harbour but it's still going to be a massive loss for the local population.
AuroraDF@reddit
Not any. Just some. I grew up in a mining town that was hit hard in the 80s, but it picked itself up and it's decent enough now.
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Shirebrook, Goldthorpe, Featherstone, Creswell, Alfreton, Thurnscoe, Grimethorpe, Mexborough, Stainforth, Wombwell, Hemsworth, South Kirkby to name some.
PaleImagination7348@reddit
It's kicking off in Cresswell the local councillors have been allegedly cooking the numbers in the kitty
spidertattootim@reddit
That's strange, I grew up in an ex mining village and I've moved round a bunch of times, to ever more productive areas. I guess the planning system missed me.
JennyW93@reddit
I grew up in an ex mining village and moved to an ex mining town and then to an almost-ex-gas city and back to an ex mining town. Am I doing it right?
AdRealistic4984@reddit
Stanley in Co Durham
Dynamite_Shovels@reddit
People don't really tend to expect it because it's a tourism hotspot in the summer but there's a lot of towns in Cornwall that are, for lack of a better word, complete shitholes and very rough - places like Camborne, Redruth, St Austell, Newquay etc; they're only a stones throw from gorgeous areas but as towns they are properly rough and rundown these days. Massive shame.
Have heard plenty of stories of people being shocked at how bad St Austell and Newquay are especially; as they want to visit Carlyon Beach or Fistral Beach, stay nearby, and realise the towns are grim.
Clockwork-Armadillo@reddit
This is the same with most tourist towns. Tourism promotes a party culture which leads to high drug and achohol usage, prostitution etc the high footfall makes prices skyrocket and the best most of the locals can hope for is a minimum wage job in the service Industry and all the money the town makes gets prioritised for catering for tourist needs rather then local services.
hairychris88@reddit
Bodmin has no redeeming features
CitizenBloop@reddit
The Cat like creature will beg to differ
RositaZetaJones@reddit
Bodmin Moor is great for a day out walking.
1901pies@reddit
Watch out for the Beast!
FiveHoursSleep@reddit
The jail is an interesting feature…
Alix_T_1865@reddit
you can even stay the night there, there’s a hotel there as well!
kipperfish@reddit
The staff at premier inn bodmin have been fantastic. I only know this because work have sent me there a few times recently. That's about the only good thing I can say.
Semele5183@reddit
Same with the western part of the Lake District! Extreme poverty right beside very affluent touristy towns.
powpow198@reddit
Barrow in furness 😐
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
Aside from the beaches, Bude is a shit-hole with grumpy residents and no jobs.
dwair@reddit
Yet it's still heads and shoulders above anywhere else in N.Cornwall / East Devon.
Dolphin_Spotter@reddit
But it does have a truly magnificent tunnel.
MagentaPyskie@reddit
Fuck St Awful/Austell (aka my hometown)
sihasihasi@reddit
Fuck me, yeah, we regularly stay near Snozzle. Agree that the town is an absolute shithole.
Gauntlets28@reddit
Most of those towns are fine. They're just that - towns. Some people go in expecting Cornwall that the whole place is somewhere between a resort and a retirement home, but that's deluded. The ordinary folks still need somewhere to live, and mostly they live in the non-touristy bits.
Former_Intern_8271@reddit
This is the story with the majority of Britain tbh, 90% of it is pretty much just fine but uninteresting.
moiraroseallday@reddit
Yep, I know someone who retired and moved to a holiday town in Devon they went to every year, after a year they came back to their home town. Said it was rough in the winter, almost got mugged at one point, just a really rundown sad place.
AlfredApples@reddit
Bodmin
tmstms@reddit
I'm going to say- none really. Because, what does 'avoid' mean? What reason does one have to go to X place other than for work or leisure? And thats why I said the X is a shithole expression is just so meaningless anyway.
The most deprived place in the uk is probably Jaywick. But AFAIK there is nothing there except houses- there is no reason hy a non-resident would go there.
EVERYWHERE has better and worse localities, better and worse streets. but visitors, esp tourists, don't deliberately try to go to those bad localities.
The reasons why streets or localities are bad are usually that enough deprived people live there for it to a breeding ground for gang membership and other kinds of criminal activity. But that will be very local.
OK, so I live in Castleford, W Yorks, and it is run down because it is ex-mining and ex-power generation and a number of the factories have shut. One area, around Beancroft Road, is especially fallen from its state -say- 50 years ago (long before I ever saw it). Now, the traditional view here is that the part of the town going towards Ferrybridge, which is called Airedale, is the one to avoid. But that does not mean the housing stock is all of equal size and quality in Airedale- there are plenty of nice streets if you are living there.
The UK is a country where things are really really localised IMHO. I live in an excellent street, but the ones either side are terrible....
Dull_Glove4066@reddit
I think avoid means find a reason not go. For example, if I was invited on a night out in Dewsbury I would probably make an excuse and avoid. If however Dewsbury was the place to be for something I'm really interested in then I wouldn't have a problem making the visit.
Vegetable_Orchid_492@reddit
I grew up near Dewsbury - emphasis on the 'near'. As a child in the sixties, Dewsbury was a vibrant shopping town. There was a busy market, with every stall filled; a doll's hospital; lots of independent stores and cafes.
The best place for six year old me was Caddy's ice cream parlour, the best ice cream that ever was. There was also a great display of Christmas lights and two cinemas.
Dull_Glove4066@reddit
It's very sad how it's gone to the dogs. Similar story to lots of places in that area e.g. Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield
Vegetable_Orchid_492@reddit
I know that Bradford is the armpit of Yorkshire but Halifax has some beautiful countryside.
Dull_Glove4066@reddit
Oh absolutely it does! The countryside in West Yorkshire is amazing
w1gglepvppy@reddit
Probably not relevant, but the train station pub in Dewsbury that's part of the Ale Trail is absolutely stunning.
Dull_Glove4066@reddit
Good shout, I've not been but always wanted to do the ale trail
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Jaywick has an absolutely gorgeous golden sands beach, maybe even the best in Essex. And certainly better than that in Clacton. It's very underused, though! Agreed, that apart (and an art gallery in a Martello tower) there's not much there.
Erivandi@reddit
Pretty much anywhere in the Scottish Highlands. Those little towns can look very picturesque but don't be fooled – they're shiteholes with plenty of drug addicts and violent alcoholics, and many of the people there have a seething hatred of outsiders, outmatched only by their hatred of whichever other little town is closest to them. Thankfully, many young people choose to move to places where there are actual things to do, so those little villages are quickly turning into ghost towns. Good riddance.
Ok_Analyst_5640@reddit
I've been tempted to move up there before but the distances for commuting to the only real work opportunities (Inverness) put me off. All the affordable stuff (for me) is along the Moray coast but quite far along so it would be 100 miles a day commute. You can get a nice looking house but looking around the towns (on street view or visiting - done both) and they're just dead - but not in a good way.
It's kind of sad really, the north end of Scotland could do with more going on than just Inverness and Aberdeen.
Realised eventually that I can get what I seek down here but closer to jobs. The dramatic scenery is nice but any rural suits me fine and it's got to be practical.
MysteryRockClub@reddit
They're natural enemies ... just like Englishmen and Scots, Welshmen and Scots. Or Japanese and Scots. Or, Scots and Scots. Damn Scots, they ruined Scotland!
_FreddieLovesDelilah@reddit
How bout Irish?
NITSIRK@reddit
Many years ago when they first did the deprivation statistics, they were shocked to find pockets of poverty in otherwise idyllic surroundings. People living in Grandmas old house with no money got heating or a fridge. There is now a better understanding of rural deprivation: people who often inherited the house and that’s literally all they have. In local government we get the new statistics every decade or so and use that to identify trends in crime, housing, education, health etc. you can see the data yourself on places like this: www.crystalroof.co.uk
Ok_Analyst_5640@reddit
That website is really useful, thank you. Previously I'd looked at plumplot but never fancied paying for it properly.
NITSIRK@reddit
I was a demographer, and like to keep track of this sort of thing 😆
Unfair-Ad-9479@reddit
Gosport. It would be great to get a bit of tourism going here but, well, there’s a reason that they closed down the tourist information centre and don’t intend to open another one.
SammTheWizz@reddit
Was wondering if anyone would mention Gos Vegas.
Stuck on a penisular. 3 roads in, 3 roads out. Nightmare to leave at rush-hour. No train station. Lots of poverty. No appeal for businesses or tourists.
Bloody love it here, though.
cgknight1@reddit
Christ - by the end of the day it will be "what individual houses to avoid".
Extension_Friend8191@reddit
TBF I think most of the 'avoid' areas (including in cities) involve single individual houses/households. It only takes one and whole neighbourhoods are gone.
pinkthreadedwrist@reddit
Avoid my toilet!
Dotheysellpizza@reddit
And my axe!
Financial-Couple-836@reddit
Everyone avoid my house. Many thanks.
GreenMist1980@reddit
Midsomer, the murder rate is through the roof
V65Pilot@reddit
Seriously. Why weren't people moving away?
GreenMist1980@reddit
Why were they not suspicious about John Nettles? When he lived on Jersey there was a crime wave there too!
peterhala@reddit
Also: Cambridge & Granchester.
Bourach1976@reddit
Shetland probably too.
Valuable-Wallaby-167@reddit
That's a county, fool!
spookyflamingo17@reddit
Denton, also.
purpsky8@reddit
Most northern ex-mining towns.
Spottyjamie@reddit
Yet the north east ones got some investment to replace the mines
The cumbrian ones got sod all
robertsleftfoot@reddit
It's quite a narrow view. Yes, in Cumbria we lost the mines, my Granda was one, but we got Sellafield, an employer which will pay people, on the whole, more than the national average. The issue isn't just the mines closing, its all of the other industry. Speaking to my grandparents a while back, on our village alone, there was four industries going back 70 years. A village of around what, 150-200 houses. It's not just the mines closing, it's the other hundreds of industries that have fell in the last seventy years. When all you have is Sellafield, it's a tough gig.
Prestigious-Gold6759@reddit
It's so sad
adhdontplz@reddit
Bridgend (small by England's standards if not Wales.) Some surrounding areas are OK but the town center's been dead for at least 20 years, lots of deprivation, can't shake the "suicide town" reputation and perpetually grey.
Unusual_residue@reddit
South Cerney, North Cerney, Cerney Wick, Bourton-on-the-Water.
cd7k@reddit
Always wondered how you pronounce that - Kerney or Serney? (Please don't say "Cerney" :D)
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Like "churn", soft c
dontfeedthebadderz@reddit
No? It’s like serney
YesTesco@reddit
KERRY!
Dolphin_Spotter@reddit
In reality Burton is rammed with tourists, but the Cerneys are actually lovely.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Lovely gardens at North Carney, the equal of those at Barnsley (not the Yorkshire one). Lots of water at South Carney though. And we'd rather make jokes about Fred West than do so much as mention Northleach....
InviteAromatic6124@reddit
Bourton-on-the-Water is lovely, I used to go there all the time when I was a child.
No_Potato_4341@reddit
I think this person is being sarcastic
HopefulCry3145@reddit
There's a tearooms there and under the counter they've got a panic button and if I take one step inside they can press that, police will be there in three minutes.
TruePineapple6@reddit
If YOU step inside??????
Critical_Revenue_811@reddit
there's nothin left that hasn't been plummed
Majick_L@reddit
Saville Town / Ravensthorpe. Both on the outskirts of Dewsbury
MysteryRockClub@reddit
Saville town has definitely got a bad name now
Majick_L@reddit
I’ve not been in the area for well over a decade, but it’s never had a good reputation tbf
Chaya_kudian@reddit
Compton
MysteryRockClub@reddit
But only the west side.
I got myself straight outta there!
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Seems less insular than Hampstead Norris?
BppnfvbanyOnxre@reddit
Which one?
Ok_Article_3117@reddit
LUTON
Different-Employ9651@reddit
Hattersly. A satellite estate that was terribly planned and essentially trapped its inhabitants in long-term poverty due to its geography.
Visited a friend there as a teen. Asked to use the toilet and was told no, I couldn't use the toilet because their stairs rotted thru and they were currently sharing with a neighbour who wouldn't let strangers in.
It was council housing (I think the whole estate is) and it had been that way for over a year. There were 4 people living there, 2 adults, a teen and a kid.
Just wtf?
fezzuk@reddit
If your English, any small town in Wales.
Seriously nasty racist people.
ColonelCustard__@reddit
I'd avoid Sandford, for the greater good.
theotherquantumjim@reddit
Yarp
thesaharadesert@reddit
…narp?
RDGriff1987@reddit
Also watch out for them swans
GrandAsOwt@reddit
It’s just the one swan actually.
glaekitgirl@reddit
Bonum Commune Communitatis...
hesgotredhair@reddit
I heard everyone and their mums is packin’ round there…
AtebYngNghymraeg@reddit
Like who?
cunningplaning@reddit
Farmers
insomnimax_99@reddit
Who else?
ChublesNubles@reddit
Farmers mums
HardAtWorkISwear@reddit
The greater good.
-cunningstunt@reddit
The greater good.
ApplicationCreepy987@reddit
Most of South Wales
bengreen04@reddit
Colchester is too big to be included in this conversation, and most of it is rather nice.
There is, however, an estate called Greenstead that has the feel of an ex-mining village picked up and transported down south.
Awful place to be.
wildOldcheesecake@reddit
Jaywick.
jizzyjugsjohnson@reddit
Although if you’re ever in the area it’s worth a quick drive through, with doors locked and not stopping, just to see how insanely awful it is
jmillsy1990@reddit
Have done this - it's an experience for sure
Quick-Oil-5259@reddit
Don’t roll the windows down!
AdRealistic4984@reddit
A lot of them are from London originally
Old_Diet_4015@reddit
Hotten and Skipdale, North Yorks.
CrystalKirlia@reddit
Newark. Nuff said.
No_Potato_4341@reddit
I like Newark.
wardyms@reddit
Is this small?
Either way its a fantastic example of being a nice town, with horrible people.
CrystalKirlia@reddit
Thank you for vocalising what I was struggling with 😭
verzweifeltundmuede@reddit
Royston Vasey. It's a local village for local people
mommaymick@reddit
I’m visiting the UK right now! To Royston Village I go!!! Watch out for the crazy Canucks. We’re on our way.
Beancounter_1968@reddit
There is a Royston just outside London. Trains run grom Liverpool Street. But that isn't Royston Vassey
Dolphin_Spotter@reddit
Royston Vasey is the real name of Roy Chubby Brown.
El_Moochio@reddit
I mean you're right but... no one came here for facts !!!
Wgh555@reddit
But. WE DIDNT BURN HIM!!
verzweifeltundmuede@reddit
I'm just here to dig up some old friends
fartingbeagle@reddit
We'll have no trouble here!
Inkblot7001@reddit
Roystan Vasey
... after that League of Gentlemen documentary, no visit from us.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
DAAAAAAVE!!!!
RufusBowland@reddit
You’re my wife now.
Steamrolled777@reddit
There hasn't been a recorded murder in Sandford in 20 years.
SD92z@reddit
Garstang in Lancashire. So rough.
badonkadonked@reddit
Christ I must be from a real shithole then because I think Garstang’s really quite posh haha
pearsareforbidden@reddit
Me too. It's definitely not rough!
catjellycat@reddit
Chatham, Gillingham and my random shout Porthmadog
BigBadRash@reddit
What's wrong with Gillingham? It's always seemed nice enough, though I haven't really explored it too much and mainly just pass through it on the way to other places and if I do stop there it's usually just for mcdonalds
FeekyDoo@reddit
I used to commute, a ten min walk to the station, during the 18 months I lived there 3 buildings on that walk burned out.
... are you thinking of Gillingham in Dorset rather than the one in Kent?
BigBadRash@reddit
I'm thinking of the Gillingham in Norfolk/Suffolk. Turns out there's a lot more Gillingham's than I realised
Murfiano@reddit
You want the one with the football team
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
No you really don't
Financial-Couple-836@reddit
The way you wrote that sounds like it says more about you than Gillingham
FeekyDoo@reddit
Hums a certain Prodigy tune as I walk with an evil smile on my face
Acrobatic-Pudding-87@reddit
My grandad grew up in Porthmadog but I never made it there for a visit. What’s wrong with it?
The_39th_Step@reddit
Porthmadog just seems a bit nothingy no?
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Edlington . See Google Street view of this and some adjacent streets https://maps.app.goo.gl/5RPiMTZikkugwHHb7
pinkdaisylemon@reddit
Blimey, why is it all boarded up?
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Gangs, drugs, local youth, general crime. It's really bizarre going through the historic street view images as earlier on it seems quite normal, until it isn't. You can find numerous news stories if you google the street name
pinkdaisylemon@reddit
It's so bloody sad.
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
It's terrifying how somewhere can collapse like that - how fragile civilization is.
pinkdaisylemon@reddit
Our country has been falling apart for some time. I'm so sad when I see places I know that used to be so nice fall into decline.
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Oh yeah Edlington is fucking grim.
Sturzkampfflugzeug1@reddit
Is that the same place those two brothers were arrested years and years ago?
ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit
Same town, yes. Awful story that was.
calmcatman@reddit
Normanton
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Which?
calmcatman@reddit
West Yorkshire
No_Potato_4341@reddit
I wouldn't call Normanton WY rough. Especially not compared to some of the other towns in that areas such as Knottingley, Featherstone, Hemsworth or South Kirkby.
calmcatman@reddit
Well I was gonna pick either cas or feath too, but I’ve seen more feral stuff in normie
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Fair enough. I've seen the most shit happen in Knottingley out of all of them probably.
calmcatman@reddit
I lived in knottingley for a few years before I bought my house and was surprised at how quiet it actually was
thisisspartattack@reddit
Bracklesham/Witterings. The residents are under the impression that the beach is privately owned and you need to book to visit (they just don't like tourists taking up parking spaces, but don't have enough industry to survive without tourism). The locals are pretty rough, there's nothing to do apart from visit the beach, but people flock there every summer. The beach isn't even a particularly nice one, not sure why people keep coming back.
Greengrass7772@reddit
Wisbech
Haverhill
Braintree
Firstpoet@reddit
Bedworth. Pronounced 'bederth' snd nearby Exhall, Warwickshire. Shakespeare's county; Forest of Arden and bucolic beauty?
Not the ex N Warwickshire coalfield bit.
RickySmith2493@reddit
Haha, Bedduff is honestly such a surreal place to walk through!
Firstpoet@reddit
A dilfferent Warwickshire to the South that's for sure.
InternationalFold467@reddit
I found Glossop rather odd...
No_Potato_4341@reddit
There is an estate there called Gamesley tbf which is pretty rough. Apart from that though Glossop is nice.
wardyms@reddit
Gainsborough, Boston. Lincolnshire has a fair few.
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Oh yeah Gainsborough is fucking shit but no one really knows how shit it is because its so small and insignificant you'd likely never go there.
Thestolenone@reddit
Featherstone, Thurnscoe, Grimethorpe.
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Goldthorpe too.
undoneyet@reddit
Agreed with Featherstone, nothing dangerous about it just somehow made me feel like I would lose the will to live if i stayed there too long, Im sure its different if you are part of the community though.
Small_Promotion2525@reddit
Grantham, one of the worst places you could ever live, high house price for the area due to London commute yet the town centre is dead. Won most boring town at least once
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Grantham is boring but I wouldn't say it's bad.
No_Potato_4341@reddit
Goldthorpe is fucking grim for a small place. Derelict houses everywhere and it's an ex-mining town.
gabrielks05@reddit
Codnor, Ripley, Heanor, Selston, Jacksdale, Loscoe, Riddings, and a few others around the Notts/Derbs border. All completely dead, ex-industrial now no jobs, old BNP heartland.
Medium_Click1145@reddit
Codnor used to have a pet shop but I think that might have gone now. I grew up nearby and a trip to Codnor Pet Shop was something you did on a Saturday
Able_While_974@reddit
Mansfield. I grew up in that area when all the pits were closing. It was bad even before then. Admittedly I've not been back for ages but I can't imagine it's improved much.
Spottyjamie@reddit
Whitehaven, hartlepool, consett, paisley, airdrie, coatbridge
peterhala@reddit
Cambridge, just keep away. It's the bus seat licking & frottage capital of Europe. Particularly in the summer months - just... No.
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
Yeah typical small town Cambridge 🙄
peterhala@reddit
That's EXACTLY what an inveterate seat licker would say. Nice try... x
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
Cambridge is not a small town duh duh duh
InviteAromatic6124@reddit
Slough
CuriousNowDead@reddit
Come friendly bombs
semicombobulated@reddit
Runcorn, Cheshire. Let’s just say there’s a reason it has “run” in its name.
Adorable-Boot-3970@reddit
Fucking Didcot
Rynewulf@reddit
Looking through the comments I just get the feeling people like city attractions and countryside attractions, and where all the people actually live are spooky places to avoid
levezvosskinnyfists7@reddit
Everywhere in Suffolk apart from Bury, and everywhere in Norfolk apart from Norwich
Rynewulf@reddit
Afraid one of the napping old people that makes up most our population round here are up to something?
Looking through the comments I just get the feeling people like city attractions and countryside attractions, and where all the people actually live are spooky places to avois
sokorsognarf@reddit
Lowestoft. Rough as a badger’s arse
Rynewulf@reddit
Always seemed like a typical sleepy rural seaside place to me. Or maybe I'm just too used to badgers and don't think of that as rough
Financial-Couple-836@reddit
I blame Mr Blobby
bishop5@reddit
Moved in a year ago, near town centre. It's not that bad. Then again, I spent six years in Middlesbrough.
FeekyDoo@reddit
Yarmouth is no better!
breakfast90210@reddit
Agree, a Norfolk Broads holiday was once nearly ruined by a mid-break day trip to this utter shithole
JC3896@reddit
For the sake of the residents, Bibury.
It's a tourist hotspot to the point where commuting through (which I used to have to do) was actually impossible, residents found tourists parking on their driveways and filling every public parking space so no residents could park up at home after work too.
AcceptableCustomer89@reddit
That's hardly the tourist's fault. Residents need to lobby their council for better infrastructure to handle it. I have little sympathy for people that move to a key tourist area and bemoan the people visiting for their exact reason why they live there - the beauty.
I put them in the same bracket as people who move near a pub, then moan to the council to get the pub to keep the noise down or close.
Rynewulf@reddit
Usually the onus is on tourists going to places to be gracious visitors. Like that lady who filmed her row over tea prices in Nepal, sometimes the locals are genuinely aggrieved by poor behaviour
There's a big difference between people moving to a tourist hot spot or next to an airport and complaining about the noise, and the tourists showing up to where you've always lived and then using up your private space as if they owned the place
Firstpoet@reddit
Better infrastructure? What a dual carriageway through the village? It was designed for horse and cart and that's exactly why it's charming.
perrosandmetal78@reddit
I'm pretty sure tourists parking on people's driveways were at fault
AuroraFlaress@reddit
It's important to approach these kinds of discussions with kindness and empathy, as every place has its unique character and community. Instead of focusing solely on negative aspects, it might be more constructive to highlight ways in which towns or villages are improving or unique in their own right.
Firstpoet@reddit
No it isn't. We want bile and irony and lots of it.
WhaleMeatFantasy@reddit
That’s not the question.
irgeorge@reddit
It's a bot account
JoeDaStudd@reddit
Any village with less then about 1000 people.
Any smaller and one argument can split the village and make it a very hostile environment.\ I've seen it happen twice and essentially you have two sides where they don't want to associate with the other. When it's such a small population it makes everything very awkward and kills any village community.\ Also with such a small population you normally have one family take over all the village events, committees, etc with anyone else being pushed out.
Firstpoet@reddit
What happens when two tribes go to war.
HardAtWorkISwear@reddit
I said it in that thread, and I'll say it in this one: Rotherham.
The reason no-one outside Yorkshire really knows it? Because it's a shithole with practically no redeeming features aside from the road out, and next to zero reasons for outsiders to visit.
Firstpoet@reddit
Designed to make Sheffield look beautiful.
Contoured-Topography@reddit
I thought this about the other thread, and I’ll say it here, everywhere, and yes, that means everywhere, has good and bad
I’m from Grimsby, renowned shithole, we’ve had a movie made about how shit we are, we have estates sitting at 51% poverty last time I checked, not just council estates, bad… bad places
Having said that, the outskirts of Grimsby? Lovely. Really spacious, big houses, right near the beach, right near good countryside.
I recently took my girlfriend to Grimsby and I live in a relatively nice bit. I obviously only took her to local nice places and she absolutely loved it, thought it was stunning.
However go anywhere near the town centre and its an absolute shit state.
I now live in Cambridge, pretty much renowned as the nicest city in the country, and it’s definitely a lot nicer, but I’ve still noticed some rougher (looking atleast) areas
So, in terms of places people should avoid… meh? Id be more worried about whether you want city/town/village living then go from there.
One thing I will say for these so called ‘shitholes’
A 1 bed flat in Cambridge can set you back a solid 500k
My house in grimsby is detached, 4 bed, 3 bath, corner lot, massive wraparound garden, garage, 4 car drive and on a lovely estate with a big shop and school nearby. Cost 235k
And if you’re streetwise and know where to go and where not to go (especially at certain times) you can avoid the neer-do-wells
Ive only been jumped once and its because my stupid mate made us walk somewhere dodgy at night (when I insisted we shouldnt) and then got lippy with a load of chavs
bullette1610@reddit
(Dis)honourable mention for Haverhill re. Cambridge!
nabooshee@reddit
Always dishonourable is Haverhill!!!
Prestigious-Gold6759@reddit
Whereabouts in Grimsby is your house (roughly)?
BringBackHanging@reddit
What's your mother's maiden name (roughly)?
Prestigious-Gold6759@reddit
haha see what you did there... I'm just curious as I've just bought a property in Cleethorpes and I'm trying to get to know the area better...
Illustrious_Code_833@reddit
I am so glad you have said this I have just read the other post too, I couldn’t agree more I have came back from a weeks holiday at haven in cleethorpes last week and 25 of us kids included went. 2nd time for me and my three kids.
We are from Birmingham. I can honestly say we thought it was lovely all the grass by the roads is cut the areas are most definitely more looked after. It is British. Believe me not one couple wanted to come home. A 5 bed detached house was £365k which I consider fair and reasonable. We had the best time and I personally have been looking at jobs up that way and houses ever since.
Prestigious-Gold6759@reddit
Yes Cleethorpes beach and pier are surprisingly nice
intrepid_foxcat@reddit
You were doing great there until you said "I've only been jumped once..." as a positive.
kuhfunnunuhpah@reddit
Bacup in the Rossendale Valley.
SilyLavage@reddit
The good villagers of Lindisfarne have definitely Wicker Manned a tourist or two. Very eerie place.
Critical_Revenue_811@reddit
Lindisfarne is beautiful! I've not had creepy vibes (just check the tide times if you're driving!)
humbleavo@reddit
Crawley, literally a shit hole. It’s ugly, boring, lots of crime
Clint_Poppie@reddit
I used to think Workington was the ass crack of the north. Then I went to Maryport. The locals call it Scaryport. Depressing as hell. Shout out to Highley in Shropshire too. Both Maryport and Highley have been the subject of BBC documentaries about how dick-crunchingly shit they are.
SnooBooks1701@reddit
Selsey, one road in and out and the population doubles in the summer due to the enormous caravan parks around it. There's two kinds of people who live there: racist inbreds who were born there and think nearby Chichester (population less than the enrollment of most mid-sized universities) is a big city, and old racist Londoners who moved there to die.
GlorfindelForTheWin@reddit
I grew up here and can testify! We used to call it The Village Of The Damned 🤣
Powerful_Loss_4856@reddit
Royston Vasey… they only like local people.
adysheff67@reddit
Anywhere that has Midsomer in front of its name, murder central in those villages....
No_Detail9259@reddit
Manchester
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
Smaller town and village I think not
CatGirl184@reddit
When my parents first moved
Difficult_Coffee_510@reddit
To?
Regular-Custom@reddit
The place in Get Out
Ilovevinylme@reddit
Liverton Mines
Ted_Hitchcox@reddit
Royston Vasey
MLMSE@reddit
Avoid Hollyoaks village if you don't like serial killers
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