What place in the UK has the strongest cultural identity?

[-]

StillNectarine7493@reddit

Blackpool. 😂 😂 😂 That place is on l a whole other planet /s

[-]

Well cornwall im not suprised..though part of england i do once remember they are closer genetically to north wales than to the english and manx and welsh have the same byronic celt roots and tend to sound similar

Now its an article i read in passing a decade ago so take it as you will

[-]

TheGeordieGal@reddit

I'd say Newcastle/Northumberland (I'd maybe be willing to go as far south as Teesside). Geographically we're quite cut off with hills/moors west and east, it's a long way to another major city and we're so far from London people forget we exist - including government (who cancelled the funding to finally dual the a1 - the main road through the area and link north and south). We're also south of the border so not Scottish although I've come across many Scots who hate the English but then add on - but not Geordies lol. I know many people here feel closer to Scots than they English (the border was fought over for a long time too lol - Berwick finally settled as English).
I have also seen maps where we're cut off for whatever reason. I think people just like nice straight lines so go from Carlisle in a straight line across to Newcastle. The majority of Northumberland is actually further north than the south of Scotland.

[-]

Separate-Region2070@reddit

There cultural identities across the whole of the uk. England , or specific translation, Land of Angles is largely built by people Alfred to great a king wessex who an alliance with merchants Northumberland and Hen Olgledd against the Danes to finally expelled them. Later the Saxons established a loose alliance untill the Norman's invaded and spent ravaging and harrying the regional power centres. Harold was last of elected warrior king to rule by consent. The Norman's ruled by intimation untill the of Plantagenet dynasty.

[-]

I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS@reddit

Yorkshire, or "God's own country" as they call it.

I imagine the Cornish disdain for English people is not nearly as pronounced in the real world as it is on reddit. Though it probably stems from Cornwall being one of the most deprived areas in the country while rich people from elsewhere buy up all the property as second homes and price out local people.

[-]

philbie@reddit

You do realise that Cornish people are not English, they are celtic like the welsh people. The anglo saxons did not live in Cornwall even though it became part of wessex

[-]

plimso13@reddit

Cornish people do have Celtic roots, but that does mean Cornish people aren’t English politically or historically for the last 1000 years. Many parts of England retained Celtic ancestry after the Anglo-Saxons arrived. Welsh people are from Wales, English people are from England, regardless of your ancestry, skin colour, or ethnicity.

[-]

Minskdhaka@reddit

It's interesting that Yorkshire calls itself that, because so does Kerala.

[-]

Bacon4Lyf@reddit

my argument against second homes was always who is doing more damage, someone buying a million pound house in st ives where theres no jobs, or my at the time landlord with 10 HMOs in camborne and redruth, where working people actually live and have jobs. I always maintained that the second home ownership thing was a misdirect

[-]

fastestman4704@reddit

Cart before the horse there though. The are no jobs in "Holiday Home" communities because they have become "Holiday Home" Communities.

If most of your town is empty for 3 quarters of the year it's going to affect local business and local people. All the young people are priced out of their own town, leave for a city and a steady job and never go back.

[-]

Bacon4Lyf@reddit

My example of st Ives though has been artists and art galleries since the 1800s, there’s wasn’t industry there anyway, unlike Redruth

[-]

fastestman4704@reddit

Yes but there was always an actual town there and the people from that town could afford to stay and live, recently that's changed.

[-]

JimmieSavsscumsock@reddit

I wonder how many locals would begrudgingly sell their 70 grand cottage for half a million to a northerner?

[-]

Cakeo@reddit

Ah right because industry and businesses have remained exactly where they are since the 1800s lol

[-]

Insufficient_Funds-@reddit

Genuinely interested to find out about this. What jobs would there be? Aren’t most of those villages old fishing or mining communities? Without those industries, what would sustain the local population? Sure, there’d be shops and pubs etc, but you need an industry to generate the money for the population to spend in the shops and pubs.

I don’t think the holiday homes caused the issue. I think the collapse of the traditional local industries caused a vacuum, and because it’s a beautiful part of the world the tourism industry filled the space. It’s awful for the locals who can no longer afford to live in the village their families have lived in for generations, but I don’t see how they could sustain a community without jobs.

[-]

BoleynRose@reddit

I did some flyering for a kids club at a seaside town in Kent. It was mental how many parents were interested but would need to sign their child up to the London club as that's where they were really from, they were just at their second/third home on holiday.

My boss was annoyed at the lack of sign ups and said the beach must have been packed over the holidays. I said it was, just not with locals!

[-]

Single-Position-4194@reddit

Good point.

[-]

andrew0256@reddit

We're there any jobs before the holiday homes came?

[-]

agingbiker@reddit

also the cornish identity is distinct from english. cornish was a distinct brythonic language akin to welsh that only died out in the 1800s, and are more "celtic" than saxon by lineage.

[-]

Helicreature@reddit

Just out of interest, in my small village not far from St.Ives, many of the older people still spoke Cornish when I was a kid in the ‘70’s and our proclamations ( death of The Queen; coronation of the King) are still made in both languages.

[-]

agingbiker@reddit

you're kidding?? awesome.

[-]

NinecloudSoul@reddit

He's lying, unless he's hundreds of years old.

[-]

LetTheBloodFlow@reddit

But that's the point, though. You could throw a dart blindfolded at a map of the UK and you'd stand a better than 50/50 chance of hitting a region with a history and culture every bit as old and distinct as Cornwall's. I mean, my family comes from East Anglia and, yeah, the stories.

[-]

Upset-Elderberry3723@reddit

Cornwall was not really incorporated into England, though. There isn't a great amount of evidence to suggest that the Romans conquered Cornwall (a lot of historians believe that they were pre-existing allies, and there's very little Roman archeology or artefacts there), and successive invasions did not culturally instill a sense of synonymity between England and Cornwall (perhaps, in large part, because of the linguistic difference).

When mapping the railways in the 20th century, they had to concede that they could find 'no de jure binding' of Cornwall to England.

[-]

FlippingGerman@reddit

Everywhere has history, for as long as people have been living there. It's not 50/50, it's all of it.

[-]

LetTheBloodFlow@reddit

Milton Keynes.

[-]

Any-Republic-4269@reddit

Full of old villages, thatched cottages, medieval churches, a couple of market towns, a Victorian railway town, and a globally important slice of twentieth century history...

[-]

LetTheBloodFlow@reddit

I don't even have to be talking about the New City to show you're wrong. Milton Keynes Village (properly called Middleton) has history going back to the 11th century. There are settlements in the UK literally more than a thousand years older than that.

[-]

Sea_Appearance6837@reddit

Maybe I have misunderstood, but how are they wrong? It has had history for as long as people have been living there, it doesn’t matter if it’s recorded history is younger than other areas

[-]

LetTheBloodFlow@reddit

I don't understand how saying 60 years < 2,000 years could possibly be controversial but here we are.

More to the point, I was responding to the claim that Cornwall's history and culture were somehow special and distinct by saying that a lot of the UK can make that exact same claim. Apparently I didn't go far enough with that response and got told I was wrong because I wasn't right enough.

[-]

Sea_Appearance6837@reddit

No, I was only replying to the part where someone just stated that Milton Keynes does in fact have significant history (as does everywhere) and you said ‘ I don’t even have to be talking about the new city to show you’re wrong’. Maybe I’ve just misunderstood.

[-]

Any-Republic-4269@reddit

Milton Keynes has physical evidence of settlement dating back to the late bronze age. Middleton (Milton Keynes from the 15th Century) church may date from the 11th century, as do many churches - because this is when timber Anglo-Saxon era churches were rebuilt in stone. Right at the heart of the city is the 4th-13th century Moot Mound (the modern council HQ was deliberately built next to this). Of course recorded history is another thing - the 11th century is where it starts (Domesday book) for most places.

Of course, MK, modern city aside (which is important both as architectural history - Modernism/Garden cities), Urban History (grid and roundabouts!) and social history (New Towns/post war slum clearance), the real important thing is Bletchley Park - one of the most important historical sites in the world

[-]

KingWiltyMan@reddit

Thats not at all true. Cornish history is the most distinct of any English county. It has a solid claim on being a nation.

[-]

Constant-Estate3065@reddit

England itself is a patchwork of historic cultures though, including Celtic.

[-]

libtin@reddit

And genetically England is majority Celtic

[-]

AgeingChopper@reddit

It's not. Very little disdain , more a desire to protect our heritage as we rapidly become a shrinking minority in our own lands.

Most of us have many English friends and family. We are deeply intertwined.

[-]

AdRealistic4984@reddit

In Yorkshire a “rich Londoner” is someone from Sussex who has bought a £400k detached house. In Cornwall a “rich Londoner” is a banker in Berkhamstead who has spent £2 million reshaping the bay you live on

[-]

PARFT@reddit

or are they a rich cornish person with a home in Berkhampstead?

[-]

elmo298@reddit

Yeah, living in a glorified retirement home sucks ass

[-]

Charly_030@reddit

Find yourself a sugar mummy

[-]

VastOpinion6020@reddit

It’s more to do with the Celtic history. Cornish people didnt speak English until they were forced to recently.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

That’s not true

I’m from Cornwall, we never once ever had conversation about language oppression

We had lots of conversations about how houses priced for London tourists were why we so many of us live in caravans

[-]

fractals83@reddit

There is a lot of talk on the Cornish sub about identity and language erasure. But yeah, obviously the main issue is the crazy house prices and the 11 month a year empty 2nd homes

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

I can’t speak for sub, but I’m in Cornwall right now, grew up here too. In 20+ years I can’t recall ever hearing a conversation about language erasure as an issue in our lives.

And my neighbour for five years was a Mebyon Kernow member who taught Kernowek

[-]

Constant-Estate3065@reddit

Join the club. Hampshire became one of the most unaffordable places for locals to live because of decades of wealthy incomers gentrifying the place and playing the property market.

[-]

Appropriate-Divide64@reddit

It gets brought up online quite a lot. Every time a video from a foreigner posts about Cornwall you'll get a flood of people going

"ItS cOrNwAlL nOt EnGlAnD"

As a Yorkshireman it's like me going "Acktually it's Jórvik not England. We were forced to become part of England by King Eadred against our will and our rich Norse culture was eliminated"

[-]

GourangaPlusPlus@reddit

Always remember "May Your Second Homes Burn" graffiti on the A38 (I think)

[-]

achillea4@reddit

Or the Not The 9 O'clock News sketch 'Come home to a real fire, buy a holiday home in Wales'.

[-]

Choice-Demand-3884@reddit

"recently"

[-]

fractals83@reddit

I means it’s been speaking English for over 500 years, and it wasn’t exactly forced in that Cornish was outlawed, only that religious preaching and text was mandated to all be in English.

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

People on Reddit have a poor understanding of British linguistic history in general. Like the welsh not is brought up in some circles as if English teachers were imported into Welsh schools to best their children. The reality is generally more complex with English being the prestige language and Welsh parents feeling it more advantageous for their children to learn it. Of course Welsh was deftly demonised in some manners like the blue book but I’m (feel free to correct me) pretty sure that it didn’t lead to any laws policy in actuality, and that while it did a great disservice to Welsh it actively diseased the use of the Welsh knot as it was seen as barbaric or something.

[-]

Big_Statement1660@reddit

What's your first language?

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

English.

[-]

thefudgeguzzler@reddit

That applies more to the other minority languages in the UK and Ireland, not really to Cornish.

The Cornish language died out in the 1700s, which isn't really 'recent'.

And unlike Welsh or Irish, the decline wasn't a forced one, but it declined relatively naturally for a number of different reasons.

[-]

Eastern_Office4772@reddit

Was this in the news?

[-]

headphones1@reddit

Yorkshire has to be the only place where people take massive pride in the county they come from.

[-]

Constant-Estate3065@reddit

Spoken like a true Yorkshireman. Every English county has lots of local pride, their own flag, and their own county day. It’s not something that’s exclusive to Yorkshire.

[-]

jaydubyah100@reddit

People from Somerset do, people from Devon do, people from Cornwall do.

[-]

CrustyHumdinger@reddit

God they're tiresome. "Plain speaking Yorkshireman" = "rude"

[-]

exgiexpcv@reddit

Yeah. I didn't have an immediate answer except "whoever is the poorest lot" because nothing forms and reinforces identity like a shared sense of oppression.

[-]

LochNessMother@reddit

From what I have heard from non-Cornish who have moved down there, it is just as pronounced. But then those people are the ones who have left again, so maybe they were more sensitive. But yes it’s due to being a playground.

[-]

Opposite_Radio9388@reddit

Orkney has a very distinct culture of its own.

[-]

Nemisis_the_2nd@reddit

I grew up in the shetland islands, but moved south, and periodically return. The thing I've noticed is that the culture still exists, but is rapidly being eroded, and I see a little more lost every time I go back. I think a bit of it is modern mass media influencing people, while theres also subtle demographic changes masking older residents being replaced with new immigrants to the islands.

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

What aspects of the culture are disappearing? Shetlandic? Really curious as I’ve researching scots.

[-]

Nemisis_the_2nd@reddit

I'd say the language mainly. Shetland arguably died out in the 70s, but there are some great attempts ongoing to maintain it. My experience is only anecdotal, but I feel like every time I go back you have a few more older islanders that have died, and a few new ones that have grown up watching TV shows with a neutral accent, or moved from the mainland, and the accent is a little weaker.

The other change I notice is the main island getting more and more houses built on it, and the island is becoming more developed. When I left, there were 5 houses on the headland I lived on, 3 of them crofts. Last count, there were now 20 nordic-style wooden houses. That said, as I understand it, the population is concentrating on the main islands, rather than increasing overall.

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

That’s a real shame. I’ve bought a poetry book in Shetlandic and it really interests me, especially as my northern dialect of English (on the border so similar to scots in vocabulary) is influenced fairly heavily by old Norse like shetlandic was by norn.

How do shetlanders feel about there position when compared to the Faroese islands? As the have a great degree of autonomy and are seemingly doing a lot better in terms of funding themselves and their projects like the tunnels?

[-]

cragglerock93@reddit

I mean... presumably you're fairly young and you left? Is it surprising that people from other places are moving there to fill the void?

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

How do orcadians and shetlanders view each other?

[-]

mrmazola@reddit

Binoculars

[-]

alinalovescrisps@reddit

That properly made me laugh out loud 😂

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

Lmao

[-]

SupahflyxD@reddit

Northern cities have a stronger sense of self identity. I’m from Manchester my grandad was from Yorkshire.

[-]

Anaptyso@reddit

I'm pretty sure people from Yorkshire are trained from an early age that of they ever leave the holy land then they have to 1) tell people immediately upon meeting them that they come from Yorkshire and 2) talk about how their tap water is superior.

[-]

Intelligent-Mud6320@reddit

This. And they don't seem to get how insufferable they are to whoever they are beating on to. I actually find Yorkshire quite an indistinct and bland place in the UK.

[-]

jessikatnip7@reddit

As a southerner who’s recently moved back down after living in Yorkshire for a decade, Yorkshire tap water is definitely superior. 🥲

[-]

Routine_Ad1823@reddit

I always thought the tap water thing was people just being performative but I went to London recently and it really is gross in comparison

[-]

Anaptyso@reddit

I live in London and am used to it, so it tastes fine to me. However it is very hard water, so I can imagine people from areas with softer water finding it weird.

[-]

DifferentLaw9884@reddit

It goes both ways tbf, I grew up in London with water hard enough to chew and found it so odd to drink the extremely soft water when I went north to my grandparents, it was so sweet it tasted saccharine and chemically to me. I’m sure if I spent 6 months there it would taste delicious and the water wherever I went next would taste gross until I adjusted.

[-]

Choice-Demand-3884@reddit

It's part of our school curriculum until secondary school begins.

We also invent dialect words to cause thrattle among the yansprats that weren't born in Yorkshire.

[-]

Anaptyso@reddit

Are half of those words odd ways to refer to a bread roll?

[-]

Perfect_Ending7@reddit

Scotland and North Wales instantly springs to mind, I’ve heard some awful stories of how certain groups from these places hate English people with a passion and it’s really scary.

I happened to be born on another side of an imaginary line on a map while living my life peacefully and judging others only on their character but okay, I’m hated 😳

[-]

glasgowgeg@reddit

I’ve heard some awful stories of how certain groups from these places hate English people with a passion and it’s really scary

You've only heard stories, or you've actually experienced it? These are different things.

I've experienced hatred in England for being Scottish, but I'm not going to act like every English person is like that.

[-]

Technical_Heron_6312@reddit

The midlands has a lot of "I'm from ___ not England" but it's nowhere near as serious as places like Cornwall. The past century will do that to you.

[-]

Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

Are you filling in the blanks with other countries names?

[-]

BrentfordFC21@reddit

🐶😗

[-]

Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

I lived in the West Midlands for 5 years and ever met a British person who claimed to be anything other than that. Like how scousers deny being English.

The only other option would be people who aren't from here originally saying that. Not quite sure why you think that's some kind of racist code.

[-]

glasgowgeg@reddit

and never met a British person who claimed to be anything other than that

The majority of people in Scotland identify as Scottish only, not British.

As of the last census, 62.4% of Scotland's population said they were ‘Scottish only’.

[-]

BrentfordFC21@reddit

Fairs, I had a different experience when I lived there with plenty offering their City / County and Britain but not England as their identity, so I had assumed you meant it as there’s no English people there

[-]

Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

Maybe don't assume and accuse people of racist intentions straight off the bat in future

[-]

BrentfordFC21@reddit

😂 you got it boss 🫡

[-]

Technical_Heron_6312@reddit

Hope this isn't aimed at me! 😆 In my experience the people saying this sort of thing are usually very left wing or on the older side.

[-]

BigDsLittleD@reddit

Counties/towns.

Ive met a lot of people from Liverpool who were "Scouse, not English"

Met a couple of "Geordie, not English" types too, though not as many as Liverpool.

Theres always, as the OP says, a lot of "Cornish, not English" as well.

[-]

Technical_Heron_6312@reddit

Precisely this! Usually county/region rather than cities minus Brummies?

[-]

Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

Right but my point is I've never heard that from a Midlander and I lived there for 5 years.

I've never lived in Cornwall or Liverpool yet I've heard them say it. Do you get my point?

[-]

WildWinterberry@reddit

I’ve never seen any midlander say they’re not from England

[-]

Technical_Heron_6312@reddit

More like "I'm __ not English" to be fair, bit of a mistake on my part lol. Like I say it's not necessarily serious, it just comes from understandable grievances. I can imagine it's similar up north.

[-]

appletinicyclone@reddit

Honestly, Brighton and Bath are pretty great

Brighton is fantastic. I never visited it much then suddenly did a lot and wow it's just pure distilled 2006 Uk hopefulness and even though it's so diverse it's characteristically British in every element

[-]

Few-Scholar1873@reddit

Liverpool - feels different and maybe its just football fans.

There's also yorkshire.

Plus London, not like people of london have disdain for other parts or english people but it definitely feels very different from rest of the country. I feel it has lots of similarities to nyc than other cities in england.

[-]

Jip_Jaap_Stam@reddit

With Yorkshire, it seems like they're happy to be English but think they're the best of us. But some people from Liverpool talk like they'd happily separate from the rest of the country.

Like you say, though, I think football does play a part. As does the amount of Liverpudlians with Irish heritage.

[-]

OPGR1234@reddit

My boyfriend is Irish (proper kerryman none of this my grandparents were born there) and he says that scousers feel like Irish people to him 😂

[-]

Ruhail_56@reddit

Make sense. They both have an unearned sense of arrogance.

[-]

OPGR1234@reddit

Where the hell are you from? The Irish aren’t arrogant at all! Probably one of the friendliest nations on earth.

[-]

leedler@reddit

???

[-]

Particular-Bid-1640@reddit

Makes sense, lots of Irish came to Liverpool, especially during the 1840s famine

[-]

No_Opposite7757@reddit

I have to say, I don’t get how it makes sense. Being in England for almost 200 years makes a family very English.

[-]

Particular-Bid-1640@reddit

When you get a lot of people from a different place moving there, it's bound to be slightly different as the incoming culture meets the extant culture and makes its own newer culture.

[-]

No_Opposite7757@reddit

I get that and it would make sense if we were talking about the 2nd generation of Irish immigrants and not people whose great-great-great-great-great grandparents were Irish lol.

[-]

90210fred@reddit

That's a bit unfair on the Irish

[-]

OPGR1234@reddit

Ahh scousers are different. Be unfair to compare Irish to the English but scousers don’t count. By the way I’m actually not a scouser, but I do love Liverpool and was granted honorary scouse status by my Scouse friends when i was young.

[-]

nemmalur@reddit

Some people have described Liverpool as an Irish city that just happens to be in England.

[-]

PeterThielsAnalBeads@reddit

I'm from Yorkshire but now live in a different part of England.

I think when you're from Yorkshire and pride in your county is part of your identity, you assume all counties are the the same. But they're not, so I think when you show that pride it can come across as thinking you're superior in some way but that's not what is intended I don't think.

I live in a part of the country now where there isn't any pride in the county and I find it very odd.

[-]

PanTroglodyte@reddit

What does being proud of your county mean, though? Isn't it just an accident of your birth? I understand pride in something you've done, individually or as a group or community, but being proud of where you're born/ raised seems bizarre to me.

[-]

WallsendLad70@reddit

Depends when you live and the strength of regional identity. I feel equally Newcastle and North East as I do English. Possibly would be different if I was born and raised in Slough.

[-]

PeterThielsAnalBeads@reddit

Well you can boil that down to anything. Even your own personal achievements are products of your place of birth and your environment.

Whenever I'm friendly, nice or generally a good person and people attribute that to my 'Northeness' then I'm reinforcing a positive stereotype and that feedback loop is something to nurture and be proud of. As an example.

[-]

Jip_Jaap_Stam@reddit

That makes sense. Probably because Yorkshire has a stronger identity than most

[-]

PeterThielsAnalBeads@reddit

Yeah I didn't realise that until I moved away.

If I tell somebody from Lancashire that Yorkshire is better. They understand that it's banter and their retort is something appropriate like 'Yorkshire is a shit hole' and we laugh and move on.

When I said it to some of the people where I am now they just think I'm a bit of a prick.

[-]

Jip_Jaap_Stam@reddit

Banter is a dying art. Maybe because some people take it too far by making it personal, or unnecessarily taking it personally.

[-]

Counterpoint-4@reddit

There will always be banter in Liverpool!

[-]

Jip_Jaap_Stam@reddit

Until someone nicks it

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

If it’s any solace I think other parts of the north share this and West Country too.

[-]

jmr1190@reddit

As someone also from Yorkshire, I think some of it is also slightly performative and self-perpetuating.

People from Yorkshire have pride in being from Yorkshire because it’s something people from Yorkshire do. If it wasn’t already an established phenomenon then it wouldn’t be as strong as it is.

It’s worse when people move away from Yorkshire because it becomes one of those slightly silly ‘look at me, I’m regional and different’ things. A bit like how everyone goes wild over what they call a bread roll.

[-]

PeterThielsAnalBeads@reddit

This is very true. Personally for me, I am worried about losing my Yorkshireness because it's a part of my identity. I have definitely played up to stereotypes previously as a way of helping with that.

One thing I have noticed about Yorkshire people that has only started to annoy me since I've left, is if they play into the 'all people from Yorkshire are tight' stereotype.

[-]

Taucher1979@reddit

What does pride in your country look like though? I like where I live more than anywhere else in the UK and I wouldn’t live anywhere else but I don’t tell people where I live is the best place cos I don’t want to look like an arse.

Plus ‘best’ is subjective?

[-]

PeterThielsAnalBeads@reddit

It's a great question. Yorkshire is objectively a great part of the world. Is it the best place in the world? Obviously that's subjective as you say.

If you're from a decent part of the world and your cultural identity is very strong then it's not unreasonable for that person to think that they live in the best place in the world.

What I will say is that 99% of people that are from Yorkshire say that it's the best place in the world are saying it a bit tongue in cheek and they're expecting you to disagree with them in good humour.

[-]

lumynaut@reddit

I'm from Yorkshire but now live in a different part of England.

you'll always be welcomed back home when you come to yer senses ❤️

[-]

PeterThielsAnalBeads@reddit

It's even worse cause I'm 'Southern' now.

My friends down here think I'm lying when I tell them we chant 'YORKSHIRE' at music gigs etc.

[-]

No_Opposite7757@reddit

It's even worse cause I'm 'Southern' now.

Oh no, I am so so sorry.

[-]

PeterThielsAnalBeads@reddit

Thank you. I say dinner for evening meal now and everything. If I start saying 'barth' please put me down.

[-]

northyj0e@reddit

It's even worse cause I'm 'Southern' now.

Don't worry, you can take the lad/lass out of Yorkshire, bit you can't take the Yorkshire out of the lad/lass.

[-]

DucksBac@reddit

Oh very well put! This is exactly it!

[-]

feathersmcgraw24601@reddit

Unless the county is Lancashire, because we are superior to them

[-]

Hefty_Tip7383@reddit

We don’t think we’re ‘the best of us’, we know…

[-]

Constant-Estate3065@reddit

Liverpool is the only working class, left wing, red flag waving, people’s republic of working class people in the whole of the UK. Is what seems to go on in their heads.

[-]

Jip_Jaap_Stam@reddit

Exceptionalism, basically.

[-]

fastestman4704@reddit

But some people from Liverpool talk like they'd happily separate from the rest of the country.

In a heartbeat mate yeah.

[-]

No_Opposite7757@reddit

Why?

[-]

JGlover92@reddit

Liverpool is definitely very different as someone with a lot of family there. It does feel very distinct to other parts of the UK but that may be down to it just being a very outspoken and proud place compared to some of the more insular and quiet ones.

[-]

Nectarine-999@reddit

The people say it is but in reality, it’s just similar to other cities with maritime history - Newcastle and Glasgow for example. That’s all that separates it from its surrounding area - maritime. It’s not the Irish connection either because Manchester also has that.

“Scouse not English” - only the scallies say that.

[-]

bored_toronto@reddit

There's a miniseries on Netflix called "Legends" about 90's crime. A character says: "Liverpool isn't a city; it's a village".

[-]

Big_Statement1660@reddit

I've seen that. Load of idiotic shite. One mammy's lad and his mate running a drug operation. Abandoning a vessel in supposedly rough weather yet managing to stow 2 tonnes of drugs in an enclosed liferaft in the process. Bloody comical.

[-]

exgiexpcv@reddit

It's based on "true story," but yeah, I had a hard time wrapping my head around that one.

[-]

Big_Statement1660@reddit

What 'true story'? Bullshit. Probably based on various unassociated facts. I remember the Seaforth docks investigation, which would make an excellent dramatisation, but this shite?

[-]

Radiant_Pudding5133@reddit

Guy Stanton was a real undercover customs officer as part of HMRC Beta Project - it’s a dramatisation of his book, although I haven’t read it. Think everyone in it are “loosely based” on other people though

[-]

Big_Statement1660@reddit

The TV show is still total claptrap.

[-]

exgiexpcv@reddit

In fairness, I did use air quotes.

[-]

Lyscart@reddit

Liverpool isn't a city, it's just west Manchester - the start of the Irish Nan belt.

[-]

Single-Builder-632@reddit

"not like people of london have disdain for other parts or english people" maybe just on reddit, but I've definitely seen that.

[-]

nutella-filled@reddit

I think it’s a case of both sides thinking that the other is looking down on them and getting resentful for it, while both thinking that their disdain is just a reaction to the other’s disdain.

[-]

Spank86@reddit

I would definitely have said Liverpool.

Strong current of liverpudlian first English second (if at all).

I feel like Yorkshire just thinks its better England.

[-]

Honey-Badger@reddit

I would definitely say it's somewhat common for people in London to look down on the rest of the UK. Definitely a view in London that the rest of England is some sort of backwards racist hellhole and that if they're a minority they'll be racially abused the second they leave the M25

[-]

MasticatedBrain@reddit

Lol, I'm a Yorkshireman with one side of the family all scousers and the other side yorkies.

But I was born in Cornwall!

[-]

PartyPoison98@reddit

I agree on the London part. I've lived in and visited many cities across the UK, inside and outside of England, and they all felt more similar to each other than any did to London.

[-]

Few-Werewolf-1985@reddit

North Wales is the part of the UK most likely to not use English day to day and speak a common local language

[-]

ManicPixiRiotGrrrl@reddit

north wales is absolutely the most culturally rich part of the uk, I say as a scot. I was just blown away by it when we went last summer

[-]

Freshwater_Spaceman@reddit

There’s more culture in Rhyl than a Porton Down fridge, that’s for sure!

[-]

Grazza123@reddit

Western isles exactly the same

[-]

Worth-Phone-4220@reddit

I was pleasantly surprised to hear Welsh being spoken in the pub in Rhossili in the Gower a few weeks ago.

[-]

Any_Preference_4147@reddit

This goes for swathes of West & South West Wales too

[-]

Scarboroughwarning@reddit

Yorkshire,

[-]

HydroGamingz@reddit

It’s because Cornwall has been traditionally and culturally Celtic since forever, the English invaded and essentially wiped out the language.

Now the rich northerners buy second homes and out compete locals for them meaning there’s nothing for us.

The entire county has also been railed into submission for tourism, so much to the fact that in the summer any activity is too expensive and in the winter they don’t exist. So many places in Cornwall only now open in the summer for emmits.

For people saying it’s ’just England’ the place names are literally individual to Cornwall. Ain’t no place else got names like in Cornwall.

A lot of people do blow it out of proportion but there is a distaste for northerners (By northerners we mean emmits which means from out of the county). They can’t drive country roads either. Nothing worse than being stuck cause some dumbass for London can’t reverse down a lane.

[-]

nscar@reddit

Bradford

[-]

Yeoman1877@reddit

As ever, Reddit posters are not necessarily representative.

The Cornwall sub popped up randomly for me as well.

[-]

LogTheDogFucksFrogs@reddit

I learned this first hand while at uni. We had a lad who was from Cornwall in our year and brought it up during a class discussion - I was bemused by the way he spoke about it as though he was a different country and told him so. I could have phrased it better. It triggered a 10 minute rant about colonialism and appropriation. A lot of Cornish people feel very strongly about it although as a separate country with its own culture and view the loss of that as something akin to the British oppression of Ireland, or India.

I've softened my view - I was quite scornful when I first heard this. But I do still think it's a bit ridiculous. No culture has a divine right to exist and it's not like Cornwall has been snuffed out by a concerted campaign or an actual attack.

[-]

Rudhek_@reddit

A lot of Cornish people feel very strongly about it although as a separate country with its own culture

One of the main sticking points here is that Cornish people do have national minority status, alongside the Welsh, Scottish, and Irish, owing to the ongoing revival of the Cornish Language, which narrowly avoided extinction and is in an active phase of slow regrowth. It was recently granted the same protections as the other Celtic languages that has accompanied the BBC itself producing a new podcast in the language, for example.

No culture has a divine right to exist and it's not like Cornwall has been snuffed out by a concerted campaign or an actual attack.

Some may dispute this. It is well known that, following the reformation and the 1549 Western Rising, a Bible Translation was never produced by the crown in Cornish owing to the view that speaking Cornish was associated with backwardness and sedition - unlike in Welsh, for example, which had its own Bible Translation (in 1588) and services in the language. This has been interpreted by many in revivalist circles as being pretty purposeful in its intentions by the Tudor Crown and contributed to the end of Cornwall's golden age of literature in the 1400s-1500s and the rapid shrinkage of the language thereafter.

And yes, no culture has a "divine right to exist" but I don't think very many in Cornwall are arguing that its culture should exist due to any "divine right", instead that our ongoing cultural and linguistic revival (which has so far been pretty successful with 500\~ fluent speakers in 2021, up from only one in 1910!) ought to receive political and economic support, such as the recent Part III Status under the European Convention on Minority Languages.

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have on the Cornish language and its ongoing revival. It is unfortunately still not very well-known outside of Cornwall and revivalist circles generally, as I learned to my chagrin as a Cornish first-language 5 year old in a class made up entirely of English monoglots!

[-]

Interest-Desk@reddit

It’s great to see the Cornish language, culture and identity persist and be protected.

It is sad to see people (including the Council) turn that into some toxic regionalism. While Cornwall has a lot of history, the Cornish identity is a Victorian revival, it’s entirely modern.

[-]

Lavidius@reddit

Fwiw I'm from South East England but I think it's great that our island has so many cultures and languages, and I hope the Cornish get to keep there's.

I love Cornwall, my dad took me camping to Bodmin as a boy and I return as often as I can.

[-]

TheMusicArchivist@reddit

If they can get the same protection as Welsh, then great! At the moment it's not permitted to have a wedding ceremony in Cornish, it must be in English. In Wales you get a choice of English or Welsh or both (as I saw last weekend).

[-]

Lavidius@reddit

That's crazy! I didn't know that

[-]

sqnch@reddit

Leith springs to mind

[-]

spicyzsurviving@reddit

The local Facebook group is something else

[-]

cowrin99@reddit

The People's Republic!

[-]

Defiant_Classic_7774@reddit

Liverpool. Has the strongest and most idenitfyable, individual and cultrally unique identity.

[-]

songsofglory@reddit

I would have to say Northern Ireland.

[-]

Bacon4Lyf@reddit

Cornwall sub is a cesspool, I checked it out before moving there for work for a couple years, surprise surprise it’s not representative of how people actually are, the same as most of reddit. There is a strong identity, but the people on the sub are mentally ill

[-]

Altruistic_Ad5444@reddit

This doesn't match my experience at all. I go there a lot and in my experience it's mostly very civilised.

[-]

cold_tap_hot_brew@reddit

The feeling of being other and having our own distinct culture is quite strong in the North East of Scotland, where we speak Doric.

It doesn’t mean we hate everyone else but as the often forgotten, maligned & mocked there is definitely some strong resentment from many about that.

We’re a welcoming and friendly bunch to tourists who travel here so it’s not that deep.

[-]

senditoverthewaves@reddit

I follow Fish'n'things on YouTube and his Doric accent/dialect sounds great.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

What’s shocking about “marginalised poor area doesn’t like the dominant culture”

That’s before you get into “go look at house prices in those nice Cornish beach towns, then look at wages”

[-]

Responsible-Match418@reddit

There is also a more distinct cultural background in Cornwall rooted in Celtic heritage.

While you're absolutely right about economy and second homes, there is more nuance to Cornwall.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

I’m from Cornwall, I have never once heard “I don’t like emmets because of our deep rooted Celtic heritage”

It was the material conditions we lived in that caused the problems

[-]

Responsible-Match418@reddit

I'm not saying that's the reason emmets are hated, just that some don't see themselves as "English" first but instead Cornish first because they have a long history of being from Cornwall, doing Cornish things in Cornish ways. Culturally it's distinct, like Wales and Scotland, so it's not surprising people see themselves as Cornish first.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

Tell me more about all these cultural distinctions, these Cornish things tar we do in Cornish ways.

I’ll give you “jam then cream” and you tell me the others

[-]

Rudhek_@reddit

Tell me more about all these cultural distinctions, these Cornish things that we do in Cornish ways.

I’ll give you “jam then cream” and you tell me the others.

I would say that the Cornish language, although it is still not spoken by many, remains one of the main points of our cultural distinctiveness. You can see it in all our place names, like Redruth (Rysrudh - Red river) and Camborne (Kammbronn - crooked hill). Whenever I go upcountry the changing of topynymy from Cornish to English is really noticeable, although perhaps this owes more to my bilingual upbringing in both Cornish and English.

I would really encourage other Cornish people to learn even just little bits and pieces of Cornish. The language revival depends on more people, especially the younger generation, choosing to pick up the language. When I was growing up there weren't a lot of materials aimed at younger people in the language but today we're seeing the first bits of pop music in the language and even, now that Cornish has been granted Part III Protection under the European Convention on Minority Languages, a BBC Podcast aiming to teach basic Cornish and interest people into learning.

You may never choose to learn Cornish - most won't, after all - but its ongoing revival and the existence of street signage, placenames, and welcome signs in the language and the growing literature and digital media in it is part of what makes us culturally distinctive, I think. One of those Cornish things people are increasingly doing in their Cornish ways.

[-]

Rudhek_@reddit

I think it's interesting that this user respondied to me with a snarky comment only to delete all their comments in the chain. Wonder what happened here!

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

So your example of a Cornish we do differently is a language that not one of speaks natively and that almost nobody speaks at all? Ie a thing that 95% of Cornish people don’t do in any given day?

Just about every place name in the UK is derived from that area’s pre modern language

The fact that beaches are called Porth changes just about nothing about how we live our lives, outside of the incredibly small sliver of people who speak Cornish as a hobby.

[-]

mjratchada@reddit

Celtic heritage? The only real remnant is language and that almost disappeared its revival was almost completely manufactured. This is more rooted in history since the early industrial revolution and poverty.

[-]

Rudhek_@reddit

its revival was almost completely manufactured

All linguistic revivals are. The Czech linguistic revival involved purging Germanic loan-words from the language and inventing Slavic neologisms in the 1800s, followed by creation of new literature in the language (since most literature in the language had been burned or lost) before it finally received institutional support, but I don't think anybody today would claim that Czech is "completely manufactured". Language is evolving and fluid, not static.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

Its a weird superiority thing too though. You don't see marginalised poor areas of Scotland saying they aren't Scottish, or in the North of England saying they hate the English!

[-]

evelynsmee@reddit

If the marginalised parts of Scotland were being told they are English whilst having a Scottish heritage, they wouldn't shut up about it. Or in fact exhibit A Northern Ireland.

The crux of the Cornish thing is that they are historically/culturally/genetically/whatever closer to the Welsh than the English, in the sense of Anglo-Saxon England heritage. It's exactly the same in France with the Breton and the French.

I don't mean wouldn't shut up about it in an "and they should" rude way. It is just the situation. They are in a position of regional identity and heritage AND having all their property bought up by Londoners pushing the locals out. Second home areas in Wales, Lake District, Scotland etc only have the latter situation. Although Yorkshire might disagree with that

[-]

Lassie7777@reddit

As someone from the Lake District I do disagree with your latter point. We have a rich cultural history, our dialect is heavily related to scots, old English and old Norse, we have our own Celtic wrestling, yearly festivals, and are the heart of fell running. The Cornish are an ethnic minority but literally every place in England has a distinct history and cultural groups. The other day I talked to a doorman of a local pub and I was the first local he’d met.

Also you realise that in Scotland lots of the second homes are in Gaelic speaking communities of the islands which have their own unique cultures too, same in wales.

[-]

Eayauapa@reddit

With Liverpool, you sort of do.

Manchester's is less pronounced, but whenever I was at uni in Liverpool and told people I was from a town near Manchester (because if I said Macclesfield, the next question is usually "where the fuck is that?") I could, without fail, point out who was from Manchester, because they would instantly chime in and start gassing on about how that wasn't actually in Manchester, even though I never claimed it was.

Liverpool has it's own "Scouse, not English" thing going on, which I've never really been able to take seriously.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

Most people would have understood if you'd said Cheshire surely?

[-]

Eayauapa@reddit

You'd be surprised how many people don't know where that is, or demand I be more specific. To be fair, if you said Cheshire you could mean Buxton or Ellesmere Port, which are two extremely different places.

[-]

FootballPublic7974@reddit

Buxton is in Derbyshire!! 🤣🤣🤣

[-]

Eayauapa@reddit

I know, I know, I always get mixed up as to where the border is. I was wondering whether it was Buxton or Wilmslow that wasn't in Cheshire and didn't check, I gambled and lost

[-]

FootballPublic7974@reddit

Fair play. I lived in Sunny Buxton and worked in Macc for years, so I know the Cat and the border really well.

[-]

Eayauapa@reddit

I've spent 22 of my almost 27 years in Macclesfield, I've just always known Buxton as "that town you can get a bus to" rather than thinking about a border.

I do like that they've got the free spring there, that's always nice. If you've worked in Macclesfield for years, odds are I've probably met you at least once lmao

[-]

FootballPublic7974@reddit

Hehe, I left my job in Macc in 2003, so probably not 🙂

I do work in Wilmslow now though.

[-]

Eayauapa@reddit

Fair enough, that's a nice area to be working in, good on ya!

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

And 'a town near Manchester' could mean anything from Standish to Glossop!

[-]

Username___5@reddit

Technically Glossop is in the high peaks in derbyshire, only technically though

[-]

Eayauapa@reddit

If you're in student accommodation with people from all over the country and some international students, it gives enough of an idea in the shortest amount of time.

[-]

Geejay-18@reddit

Buxton is in Derbyshire, but I take your general point. There's that cliche about 'leafy Cheshire', which doesn't really work if you've been to places like Ellesmere Port, Runcorn and Crewe.

[-]

Eayauapa@reddit

It is, I always get mixed up as to where exactly the border is. Point still stands that Wilmslow and Crewe are in the same county and are as close to polar opposites as possible given the proximity.

[-]

Ajax_Trees_Again@reddit

I always thought the Liverpool thing was primarily pushed by Liverpool fans from Ireland getting over the cognitive dissonance of supporting an English club.

Anecdotal experience seems to back that up.

That’s not to say there isn’t a very strong Liverpudlian identity though

[-]

TemporaryLucky3637@reddit

But some Scottish people do deny being part of the U.K.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

I've never known any deny it, some do want to change it which is their right.

[-]

TemporaryLucky3637@reddit

Maybe I’ve not explained it right but I’ve deffo heard multiple Scottish people say they aren’t British they’re Scottish?

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

That’s self identification of your ethnic identity, not pretending Scotland is independent

A difference so big you could drive a bus through it

[-]

AskingBoatsToSwim@reddit

It really isn’t different, because being “British” isn't an ethnicity you have a say in, it’s a citizenship all Scottish people currently do have, and a geographic fact of living on an island called Britain.

[-]

so-many-sandwiches@reddit

A lot of people in Northern Ireland might raise an eyebrow to this definition

[-]

libtin@reddit

It’s a group called slavo/liberation

They’re like sovereign citizens in America or the nutters in England the claimed the Magna Carta gave them the right to ignore the Covid lockdown rules

[-]

AskingBoatsToSwim@reddit

You do see marginalised poor areas of Scotland saying “we’re not British”, which is just as factually wrong as what the Cornish say.

[-]

Swisspearwood@reddit

My brother-in-law witnessed a fight between a Geordie and a Scot. He reported that when the Scot called the Geordie "an English bastard" the Geordie replied "Don't call me English, I'm a Geordie!"

[-]

ManicPixiRiotGrrrl@reddit

you’ve clearly never heard of shetland. they do not like to be called scottish

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

That's a bit more understandable though, its 100 miles away from the rest of Scotland and as close to Bergen as to Aberdeen.

[-]

Bluenose70@reddit

Ok, probably not that marginalised or poor, but don't the Orkney Islands see themselves as not Scottish?

[-]

DaddyCool13@reddit

To be fair a lot of northerners do actually do that lol

[-]

HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit (OP)

I don’t know how unique that it is to Cornish people.

Certainly bigoted to project that ill-feeling onto all English people.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

Cornish people not liking the negative effects of tourism, second home ownership and gentrification isn’t bigotry

Grow up

[-]

HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit (OP)

I’m not sure where I said it was.

Learn to read.

[-]

AskUK-ModTeam@reddit

Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people.

Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people. AskUK contains a variety of ages, experiences, and backgrounds - consider not everyone is operating on the same level or background as you. Listen to others before you respond, and be courteous when doing so.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

Not sure you understand what bigotry is then

Very confident Cornwall isn’t forming anti English hate groups, oppressing your people etc

Learn to read, you condescending wet blanket

[-]

AskUK-ModTeam@reddit

Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people.

Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people. AskUK contains a variety of ages, experiences, and backgrounds - consider not everyone is operating on the same level or background as you. Listen to others before you respond, and be courteous when doing so.

[-]

Perfect_Ending7@reddit

They actually said it was bigotry to project it on to all English people, which is correct. You didn’t read it.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

I did, I read it then i inferred that they were imagining this projection.

I’m from Cornwall, I’ve never encountered blanket anti English bigotry. I have witnessed individual English people decide that well motivated disdain and hostility towards English tourists, second home owners etc is in fact a blanket hostility to all English people

I read it all, and made judgement based on my experience, I’m not in fact an illiterate child

Thanks though, if I was moron who thought you were only supposed to read half of sentences, if find that really useful advice.

[-]

HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit (OP)

You deleted a comment saying I don’t understand what bigotry means so idk why you’re lying.

Sometimes it’s okay to admit you were wrong, we’re all human.

[-]

Nolberto78@reddit

It's not unique to Cornwall, it shares similarities with parts of Wale and the North East, but it does have It's unique elements. Like Wales, they have their own language that has been driven out. Former mining communities left to rot. Fishing communities left to rot. Lack of infrastructure support.

It's location has left it ransacked by the wealthy for summer homes and retirement properties leaving It's youth with no prospect of remaining in areas that their families have been for centuries. No businesses move there as it's a geographic extremity, so jobs are few and far between. It's not more bigoted than saying southerners control all the money. Sure, it's a generalisation but so is saying the Cornish hate the rest of England.

However, given their voting history in recent years, they have done it to themselves to an extent. They've screwed their own youth over as much as wider England has

[-]

Terrible-Group-9602@reddit

It's crazy how people still don't get this

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

They choose not to understand.

I had a guy tell me that Cornish people are lucky because they can find such easy casual work in the summer and then go elsewhere in winter. As though being fucked over on endless zero hour contracts is a good thing

[-]

mjratchada@reddit

It is good for some people. I am on zero hour contracts and have been for a long time and have benefited greatly from it on many levels.

[-]

Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit

“I benefit from being totally at the whim of my employer and having no financial security”

You’re either a liar, an idiot or maybe both

[-]

FrankieTheD@reddit

Blackpool the same though and they don't have a distinctly unique culture compared to the rest of the area

[-]

That_Organization901@reddit

Everyone looks at the towns on the coast and forget about the estate up the hill. There’s parts of Cornwall that are the some of the most deprived areas in Europe.

When all the jobs and ability to live in the county is ’trickle down’ from retirees and all the investment in jobs is for people from outside the county (lithium and space program), it doesn’t take a genius to understand why Cornwall is trying to look after its own.

[-]

shedenvy@reddit

Wales

[-]

Spooky-Limes@reddit

I often see the Northern England subreddit pop up on my feed and it's the most loser, unhinged thing I think I've seen.

These people think all southerners are these horrible, arrogant twats who think northerners are backward cavemen. Weirdest superiority echo chamber I've come across

[-]

WickhamMoriarty@reddit

Arguably Northern Ireland is the place in the UK with the two strongest cultural identities.

[-]

rtrance@reddit

Northern Ireland

[-]

attilathehunn@reddit

Had to scroll down a lot to find this. It was my first thought. I'm from London and went to visit Belfast because I read a book and watched a documentary about the troubles. I found its a wholly different world.

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

Is Belfast different to London? Yes, marginally.

Is it "wholly different"? No. Absolutely not. It's entirely recognisable as another city in the UK.

[-]

raoulraoul153@reddit

Definitely not 'wholly different' if you're including, say, Namibia or New Guinea, but I think NI is about as far from the UK average as you get in the UK.

Like go to west Belfast or rural south Armagh or something and you've a completely different celtic basis for culture (music, history etc), and people whose immediate family and ancestors don't just 'hate the rest of England' the way Cornwall or whoever might, but who actually fought UK security services, had brothers and cousins and partners shot by the British army etc. They play different sports GAA), different music, have opposite political opinions, pay at least as much attention to Southern Irish media and news and so on as they would the BBC.

Even the Protestant/Unionist parts of NI are about as different to the rest of the UK as you'll find anywhere, but the strongly republican parts reject the UK to an extent you don't get even in the most Scottish/Welsh Nationalist areas.

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

"Even the Protestant/Unionist parts of NI are about as different to the rest of the UK as you'll find anywhere."?

They absolutely are not.

[-]

attilathehunn@reddit

Can you elaborate on why you say this?

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

Much of Scotland, particularly in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, celebrates William, King of Scotland's campaign in Ireland to enforce Scotland's Claim of Right of 1689.

Usually, by hiring flute and accordion bands to provide jolly accompanying music.

[-]

attilathehunn@reddit

I found the nationalist and loyalist murals, graffiti and signs everywhere very very different. There was literally a big sign with "IRA" and a silhouette of a rifle. Then on the loyalist side murals with a man wearing a balaclava pointing a gun directly at the viewer. Peace walls. Police with rifles standing guard. Obviously one of these side doesnt even want to be part of the UK so they have a strong cultural identity in that respect. (Irish language reading club and cafe for example)

And I noticed everyone lets you know about which national group they're part of. On one occasion I asked for directions and the man said "its that way right next to the Church of St Patrick where I was baptised".

I know "cultural identity" isnt always the same as what was going on in the troubles. After all "cultural identity" could also be things like yorkshire pudding and going to the pub. But I experienced Belfast as having a very in-your-face manner about it.

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

Glasgow may not have these 'murials' #HildaOgden, but you'll see "IRA" or "UDA" tags quite often.

You'll also find the FM of Scotland 'breaking bread' with Sinn Féin/IRA.

In this context, Belfast is just another British city.

[-]

attilathehunn@reddit

Of course, I'm not disputing that Belfast is a city in the UK.

Glasgow perhaps is similar in that a significant part of the population want to become no longer part of the UK.

In this respect both are quite different to London, which was my first claim.

I found interesting to realise now how the OP said "Apart from the obvious Scot and Welsh nationalists" but didnt mention the Northern Irish situation where you also have nationalists/loyalists who engaged in a physical conflict. That has to result in a pretty strong sense of identity.

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

I'm replying to your post where you said Belfast is " a wholly different world."
It certainly isn't.

[-]

rtrance@reddit

Belfast and London are pretty different bro 😂

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

Of course they are.

Are they "wholly different"? Absolutely not.

[-]

PeaceLoveCurrySauce@reddit

They are, ones a shithole and the other isn’t

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

Steady, buddy. I quite like London.

[-]

PeaceLoveCurrySauce@reddit

Same here

[-]

attilathehunn@reddit

There have been a lot of good answers but nobody has said yet what I think is the best answer: British overseas territories like Falkland islands, Tristan de cuhna, Gibraltar, etc

Many of these are in the southern hemisphere, they have penguins and Christmas during the summer. That has to have a big impact on the cultural difference between there and say London or Manchester.

[-]

iesamina@reddit

I used to live in Cornwall and I miss it so much. The feeling of coming home as you cross the Tamar - unbeatable

[-]

Decent-Entry-9803@reddit

Llanrwst considers itself its own country and allegedly applied (unsuccessfully) for its own representation at the UN.

[-]

Horror_Ad8573@reddit

Within Scotland you've got the east west and north south divides.

Glasgow and Edinburgh are very different culturally.

Central Scotland very different from the Highlands and likewise the borders.

[-]

ParkJi-Sung@reddit

Manchester or Liverpool, maybe Newcastle.

[-]

BreadfruitOdd9974@reddit

Sandbach Services on the M6

[-]

super-freak@reddit

Surprised that no one has mentioned the Isle of Man yet. Ask them and they are Manx, and absolutely, definitely NOT English.

[-]

libtin@reddit

The Isle of Mann isn’t part of the UK

[-]

Mfcx6sp4@reddit

But that makes sense because they’re not English. People from Cornwall are English.

[-]

OPGR1234@reddit

Liverpool. Scouse not English.

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

I visited Liverpool for the 1st time and absolutely loved the people. As a Scot, it was lovely not to see Union jacks everywhere. The people are very similar to us Scots

[-]

StreamWave190@reddit

As a Scot, it was lovely not to see Union jacks everywhere.

Most people like their own country

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

Scottish not British 😬

[-]

libtin@reddit

That’s like saying “Texan not American” or “Catalan not Spaniard” or “Bavarian not German”

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

The Catalan people know ✊ you know Scotland is a country all on its own right? Texas is a state not a country

[-]

libtin@reddit

Scotland is part of a country; just like how Texas is part of a country or Catalonia is part of a country or Bavaria is part of a country

All Scots are British and have been since May 1st 1707

Under international law, you’re British; that’s why it’s on your passport.

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

Omg how educated are you? 😵‍💫 the uk is a mix of countries, including the north of Ireland, which is still under occupation by the British state

Scotland is a whole country all on its own. We have our own culture, laws and everything 🙄

[-]

libtin@reddit

1: the UK is a single country as confirmed by the court of Session in Edinburgh and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court

2: Northern Ireland isn’t occupied as confirmed by the Irish government, the UN, the EU, ICJ and Irish people

Texas has its own culture and laws, same with Bavaria and Catalonia

Why are you denying basic facts?

[-]

ConfidentAd4974@reddit

Hi, I'm Catalan, not Spaniard.

[-]

StreamWave190@reddit

What does your passport say?

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

Oh here we go, another bright spark 😵‍💫

[-]

libtin@reddit

For saying a fact?

[-]

Lopsided_Snower@reddit

What’s that got to do with the comment you replied to? The Union Flag isn’t the Scottish flag and the Scots have every right to not want to see Union flags ever again

[-]

Michaelx123x@reddit

Why would they be in this sub if the flag of it is so repulsive to them? Also you write as if Scotland is like a former colony…

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

What? Do you think everyone in the UK is proud of the Union Jack?

Many see it as sign of colonialism, greed of the British state. It’s not a one size fits all you know, no matter how you look at it

[-]

libtin@reddit

Many see it as sign of colonialism,

The same could be said of the flag of Braiz, Argentina, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, America, Japan, China, Russia, Denmark etc

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

Are they all called the Butchers Apron too? It doesn’t matter what your point of view is.

My point is, depending on your heritage, where in the UK you come from, this will shape you me view and opinion of the British state

Whether Scots, Irish, Welsh we all know the British state props up the south of England and 1 very peculiar family, who are still milking it for all their worth 🤮 independence can’t come soon enough for the rest of the UK.

[-]

Michaelx123x@reddit

Who said you had to be proud? OP was saying Scottish people have a right not to even see the flag which makes no sense given Scotland partook in those things you highlighted.

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

You are very much generalising when you say that Scots participated in British aggression

Of course you are correct, many absolutely did. But, there are thousands of Scots that didn’t kiss the ring, and were sent off as indentured slaves.

You also have thousands of Scots that fled the manmade famine in Ireland, do you honestly think such descendants view the British state with any respect, when they literally tried to kill as many as they could

[-]

TheMangoMagician@reddit

Cause Scotland’s in the union? Go to any government building in Scotland and you’ll see a union flag and a Scottish flag.

[-]

Lopsided_Snower@reddit

The commenter said ‘most people like their country’. The union flag is not that flag of Scotland, not liking the flag of a union they don’t want to be part of is understandable

[-]

VeryAwkwardCake@reddit

in liverpool?

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

Thank you ☺️

[-]

PutTheKettleOff@reddit

Do you see lots of Union Jacks in other parts of England?

[-]

cloud__19@reddit

I was in England for the Women's rugby world cup last year and we travelled around quite a bit and yes, we saw tons of flags everywhere except Liverpool.

[-]

Kezmangotagoal@reddit

No, it couldn’t have happened during a national event lol

Do you see any now? I live in London and just looking up and down my street, I don’t see a single flag.

[-]

cloud__19@reddit

Lol it had nothing to do with the Women's rugby world cup. I'm in Scotland so thankfully no, I don't.

[-]

Draigwyrdd@reddit

They're absolutely everywhere and it's actually quite off-putting as a Welshman. I visit England regularly and it's just weird. Even in places where an English flag is more appropriate you get that other one instead.

[-]

CrossCityLine@reddit

Welsh flags everywhere as soon as you cross the border, but if it’s in England it’s bad.

[-]

Draigwyrdd@reddit

I would have absolutely no problem with England flags.

[-]

PutTheKettleOff@reddit

Why the preference?

[-]

Draigwyrdd@reddit

The English tend to use a UK flag where an England flag is more appropriate. Bu using a UK flag instead, it conflates Britishness with Englishness. The English flag is much more honest.

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

Yes

[-]

LowAioli3870@reddit

A lot of Ulster Scots people moved over to Liverpool during the Irish potato famine.

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

I’m from Irish Catholic lineage myself, from both sides. They came to Scotland to work in the mills. So we are from the same stock I guess

I just loved the down to earth friendliness. I would definitely go back ☺️

[-]

Fine_Cress_649@reddit

There was a poll a while back where they asked people from different cities which was England's second city. Almost all Mancunians said it was Manchester, and almost all Brummies thought it was Birmingham, but 100% of scousers said it was London.

[-]

The_39th_Step@reddit

People in Manchester use the same joke lad

[-]

iceblnklck@reddit

People act like Liverpool and Manchester aren’t the same city in different hues.

[-]

Doobalicious69@reddit

Agreed, Mancunian here and both places are full of cringe.

"You'll never walk alone," "We do things differently here," you're literally just like the rest of country other than a bit more rain and some waterways lads.

[-]

Counterpoint-4@reddit

Would guess Liverpudlians do more banter than Mancunians - the Kop was renowned for their wit and I'm amazed how quick with the repartee Liverpudlians are.

[-]

iceblnklck@reddit

‘We do things differently’ sends me under because no-one knows who Tony Wilson was anymore. We’re losing the ancient texts!

There’s no city in this country that’s genuinely unique - York is like Chester, we’re like Liverpool, Birmingham like Coventry etc.

[-]

EducationalWeek885@reddit

I would say London is unique - there are no other British cities that are remotely similar. Both the good parts and the bad parts

[-]

FrankieBeanz@reddit

There's not even any record of Tony Wilson saying it and it's most likely from the film

[-]

Doobalicious69@reddit

Same type of people who got angry at people not smashing their pots and pans every Thursday during COVID.

"Wer doin are bit xoxo"

[-]

spongey1865@reddit

One of the things you get from people all over the country is thinking their area has some distinct sense of humour that's better. When actually humour across the UK is pretty universal. There's funny people from everywhere and everywhere likes funny things.

[-]

Big_Statement1660@reddit

We were once in Florida visiting the space centre. Whilst waiting, along with a guide, for another group so that we could all ascend in the same lift as part of the tour, we chatted about where we were from. I told her we were from Liverpool Uk and she said that she was from Texas. 'So we're both a fair way from home'. Another family turned up, he proudly displaying his ale gut in a fashionable singlet and she asked where they were from. They were from Manchester. I pointed out the proximity to Liverpool ' oh ,so you guys are all from the same place!'. 'No, we're from Manchester!' came the disgruntled reply. I pointed out that in relative terms she was of course right and he failed to see the joke. Looked like he didn't have a nail to hang his arse on, but at least he got his superiority fix.

[-]

The_39th_Step@reddit

Manchester feels more multicultural and wealthier

[-]

iceblnklck@reddit

If you go outside the city centre, it’s very much not wealthy.

[-]

The_39th_Step@reddit

Very much depends where you are, I’ll list areas I’d consider wealthy underneath.

Didsbury, Chorlton, Altrincham, Sale, Urmston, Hale Hale Barns, Heatons, Bramhall, Marple, Romiley, Prestwich, Worsley, Monton.

Lots of these are more Greater Manchester than Manchester but you know what I mean.

[-]

iceblnklck@reddit

Thing is, Didsbury, Charlton, The Heatons and Romiley have some pockets of wealth but the fact is high rent doesn’t equate to a wealthy area. If anything, it shows that we’re being priced out by southerners relocating here. Even Gorton has places with £900 a month rent. Doesn’t mean it’s a wealthy area, we’re just overrun with people moving here.

[-]

The_39th_Step@reddit

That’s actually not true. They have materially lower deprivation. It’s not just because people from down south move up. I mean honestly very few Southerners are moving to Romiley.

[-]

iceblnklck@reddit

Lower deprivation is not a byword for wealth 🙃

[-]

The_39th_Step@reddit

I honestly am not sure what you’re arguing about? Material deprivation is intrinsically linked to wealth.

[-]

iceblnklck@reddit

A discussion is not the same as an argument.

Material deprivation is not an instant indicator of wealth - lower levels of poverty does not equal wealth. A town listed as being two places above bottom does not equal wealthy, more that it has less poverty than last place.

[-]

The_39th_Step@reddit

I’m not wasting my time talking about with you.

You’re arguing that wealthy places aren’t wealthy, and if they are it’s because of Southerners.

You’re saying material deprivation isn’t linked to wealth. That’s really fucking stupid.

I think you’re just arguing for the sake of it, probably out of some ignorant desire to talk about how deprived Manchester is. I live here and I understand stats. Enjoy your afternoon.

[-]

iceblnklck@reddit

I have lived here (barring five years) my entire life and I definitely don’t need the likes of someone like you whinging on. So sorry that the concept of every area having rough pockets has passed you by in Ancoats, petal.

It’s really sad that you don’t understand basic critical thinking.

[-]

OPGR1234@reddit

😂😂😂

[-]

Voodoopulse@reddit

Purple wheelie bins.

[-]

Think_Raspberry_2232@reddit

Purple Aki.

[-]

Turbantastic@reddit

[-]

bullet-hell@reddit

Peeeerple

[-]

Doobalicious69@reddit

Laughably cringey.

[-]

Emergency_Cellist754@reddit

Northern Irish Republicans, to the extent they claim the country they live in doesn't exist.

[-]

DitheringDotty@reddit

The country they live in is Ireland. The UK is not a country. It's three countries and a bit of a fourth country, united under one flag.

[-]

malakesxasame@reddit

The UK is a country.

[-]

NeddTwo@reddit

No, its not. The UK is a unified three countries - England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland is a province, hence why a passport says "The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland".

[-]

libtin@reddit

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe,

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

Then, share with us your working definition of "country" that excludes the UK from being one.

No need for waffle. A simple, working definition along the lines of, "A country is..."

[-]

Emergency_Cellist754@reddit

No it doesn't, it says the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"

Either you're lying or you can't read something in front of you. You're not worth listening to either way.

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

What definition of "country" are you using to exclude the UK from being one?

No waffle. Just a simple "A country is..." type of reply.

[-]

DitheringDotty@reddit

The United Kingdom of ...........of what? Of three countries. England is a country, Wales is a country, Scotland is a country (and of course six counties of Ireland). UK is a country, only in the political sense, it's a political union. Otherwise you wouldn't identify as whatever nationality you do.

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

I asked, "What definition of "country" are you using to exclude the UK from being one?"

How about trying to answer this rather than giving the waffle I asked you not to give.

[-]

DitheringDotty@reddit

Typical English pedantry :)

[-]

libtin@reddit

They’re a Scot

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

I'm from Glasgow.

So, give us a definition of "country" that excludes the UK from being one.

[-]

DitheringDotty@reddit

That explains a lot .........

Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled etc. but not in your case, if you're from Glasgow. But I'm willing to overlook your cultural deficencies. Lang may yer lum reek!

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

So, give us a definition of "country" that excludes the UK from being one.

[-]

libtin@reddit

The UK is a country mate; that’s a basic fact

[-]

libtin@reddit

The country they live in is Ireland.

If they live in Northern Ireland, then the country they live in is the UK

The UK is not a country.

The UK is a country

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland.

[-]

Emergency_Cellist754@reddit

Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are two separate countries, as confirmed politically and legally by both sides of the communities on both sides of the border in the Good Friday Agreement.

Neat example of exactly what I'm taking about though.

You're perfectly entitled to believe that that the island of Ireland should be a single country; but it isn't. Your opinion is irrelevant to the political reality of it.

[-]

Objective-Manner7430@reddit

Are they all called the Butchers Apron too? It doesn’t matter what your point of view is.

My point is, depending on your heritage, where in the UK you come from, this will shape you me view and opinion of the British state

Whether Scots, Irish, Welsh we all know the British state props up the south of England and 1 very peculiar family, who are still milking it for all their worth 🤮 independence can’t come soon enough for the rest of the UK.

[-]

koombot@reddit

Love the fact that nobody has said scotland as a hole, but by christ those northern isles folk are in a league of their own.

Im gonna go for Orkney. They get bonus points over Shetland because Orkney make Scapa Special, one of the finest pints known to man.

[-]

bvc900@reddit

Kettering.

[-]

LauraHday@reddit

Honestly people might complain about this answer but it’s London

[-]

lucylucylane@reddit

The western isles/the outer Hebrides Gaelic speaking and completely different way of life

[-]

Hybridfuture01@reddit

Any Pub when England are playing during the World Cup.

[-]

Lanokia@reddit

I posted on the Bristol subreddit, asking about visiting the city.

It was strange but the reaction was that I shouldn't visit, and I shouldn't even be posting on their subreddit. I deleted that post. Still going to the city [in a weeks time] but it definitely coloured my impression in advance.

[-]

Proteus-8742@reddit

You’ll be made welcome and have fun I’m sure, unless you’re running county lines or something

[-]

YchYFi@reddit

Bristol has a big student population and like 10 Wetherspoons. You will be fine. Don't listen to them. It's one of the most diverse cities.

[-]

HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit (OP)

I think the lesson is that regional subreddits are populated by some of the biggest losers on the internet.

They go on like they invented the place.

[-]

crap_punchline@reddit

Bradford

أنا والشباب نستمتع بجولة بالسيارة، ثم نتوجه للصلاة أو اثنتين.

[-]

Away-Activity-469@reddit

Southall

[-]

Skillfullsebby@reddit

Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

[-]

hoganpaul@reddit

That reminds me my Dad used to say every time we crossed the border, "Ladies and Gentlemen we are now entering Cornwall, please put your watches back two centuries"

[-]

shutupandtakemybtc@reddit

Being from Cornwall, we had similar going the other direction, 'Right everyone, checked your doors and windows are locked, we are crossing into England'.

There was an old boy who worked the railway, he used to asked for 'tickets n passports' as we went across the Tamar. That always got a chuckle.

[-]

riverscreeks@reddit

Having lived there and been to most of the UK, it’s Northern Ireland for sure

[-]

OldGodsAndNew@reddit

Which half

[-]

riverscreeks@reddit

Both tbh

[-]

Spottyjamie@reddit

Teeside or west cumbria

[-]

KybeRio@reddit

Yorkshire.

[-]

Fine_Cress_649@reddit

I live in an off the beaten track part of rural Scotland and we have an incredibly strong cultural identity. Edinburgh is the nearest city and only about 40 miles away but it's a different world from where I am.

[-]

OldGodsAndNew@reddit

Borders 100%

[-]

surfinbear1990@reddit

Leith?

[-]

cloud__19@reddit

Well that's the first time Leith has been described as an off the beaten track rural part of Scotland.

[-]

Al89nut@reddit

Not St Andrews then!

[-]

Cangingperceptions@reddit

Brixton, Peckham, Tottenham

[-]

CaptainQueen1701@reddit

Scotland.

The Western Isles

Shetland

Glasgow

[-]

thickgenius@reddit

Hate to admit it but I have to hand it to the scousers as a manc.

[-]

snapper1971@reddit

The Cotswolds - we have our own folk dance traditions, our own folk sports traditions, our own foods, our own particular architectural heritage, our own folk art and crafts that influenced the entire world and our own brewing traditions.

[-]

Short-Shopping3197@reddit

Every other area of the UK talks down about other areas. Where do you live that this doesn’t happen? 😂

[-]

Relevant-Opposite-57@reddit

Liverpool

[-]

TheArseN5@reddit

Whitechapel

[-]

Available_Chapter685@reddit

This is the actual answer - religiously and ethnically homogenous with a strong cultural identity.

[-]

thirddegreebuggery@reddit

I agree. Many parts of the UK have an undertone of cultural identity, but Whitechapel hits different.

The only reason why it might not be top is because it doesn't cover as broad an area as other cultural regions, like Yorkshire for example.

[-]

Factsonly42069@reddit

Tower Hamlets

[-]

trippykitsy@reddit

The further away from the metropolitan centres you go, the stronger the cultural identity. People in small towns have very thin walls between each other because they all share the same facilities and interact constantly. People in large cities can ignore each other's existence no problem.

[-]

chazwomaq@reddit

Not always. Liverpool and Glasgow have strong identities, and they are large metropolitan centres.

[-]

Acrobatic_Suit8546@reddit

Newcastle, we birthed Greggs.

[-]

Extreme_Question2814@reddit

This is Reddit so it’s probably not actually like that there

[-]

Swisspearwood@reddit

Every region of the country has its own identity and defines itself as distinct from every other region, really.

[-]

-Wartortle-@reddit

To be fair, Cornish is a recognised national minority, like being Welsh or Scottish and they’re just as proud - it goes on their birth certificates and is a strong sentiment that whilst they might be part of the UK, they are not English, in sentiment or ethnicity and even have genetic differences due to being originally Brythonic not so much Germanic / Anglesised

[-]

Tastetherainbow_2016@reddit

My other half’s a Yorkshireman and I’m pmsl at these comments. Can confirm the comments are true. As a Londoner (sorry about that) I quite enjoy trolling the locals when we visit, e.g, a loud hearty “Alwite luuuv!” in the shop when they dead-eye me and refuse to be polite. They will never out-arsehole this Lewisham bird 😂

[-]

Undark_@reddit

So do you mean just within England? Because in the UK it's probably northern Ireland, but you just said you aren't talking about the countries even though the countries are the answer... Could just as easily go to Wales or Scotland.

So just in England, yeah it's probably Cornwall because they have their own language. It's a historic language and very rarely spoken, but they have one.

I might give second place to Newcastle and the Geordies.

[-]

Bwca_at_the_Gate@reddit

Gotta love the casual sweeping away of the cultural identity of Wales and Scotland. Stick to the regions! Lol

[-]

CrustyHumdinger@reddit

Scotland

[-]

cuppateaangel@reddit

Cornwall is a Celtic nation. It's a shame more people don't realise that.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

Yeah but, its not though

[-]

Bingle_Bongle_197@reddit

Yeah but, [it actually is though](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_nations).

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

Not anymore, not for a very long time.

[-]

Bingle_Bongle_197@reddit

It still is. It’s not a country like Wales, but it’s a well established Celtic nation alongside Brittany, the Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

People in Cornwall even have national minority status that puts them on equal constitutional footing with the Scots, Welsh and Irish in terms of cultural protection.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

That's a sop. Its not in any way self governing, has no real border, its old language is close to extinction, most people living there don't actually have generations of roots there.

Its just a county with a lot of people who have a chip on their shoulder!

[-]

Bingle_Bongle_197@reddit

It doesn’t need to be self governing to be a Celtic Nation.

Most of the border is clearly marked by the Tamar River. The language is reviving and moved from its status of community extinction to critically endangered and is increasingly in use with increasing lesson enrolment.

Tin mining is even reviving.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

Lots of counties have rivers as their borders, doesn't make them a separate nation.

[-]

Bingle_Bongle_197@reddit

You must accept the truth. Cornwall will one day be independent.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

Highly doubt it, but of course if that ever does happen then I would of course agree that it was a nation.

[-]

ManicPixiRiotGrrrl@reddit

people like you are why us celtic folk don’t like the english

[-]

Bingle_Bongle_197@reddit

*Celtic nation* not nation state.

[-]

Successful_Tiger_656@reddit

So are Mercia, and Wessex. We also had separate kings.

As someone who can trace my ancestry back 2 generations, all of whom lived in what was once the kingdom of Mercia, I hate the people of Wessex for what they did to us under Alfred. We should get our own parliament.

[-]

mmoonbelly@reddit

Hmm…Wessex means west Saxon. Alfred’d be burning his cakes again on the levels…

[-]

HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit (OP)

I respect the LARP.

[-]

Japhet_Corncrake@reddit

The Cornish are a nation.

[-]

saxbophone@reddit

Northern Ireland surely‽

[-]

MissingBothCufflinks@reddit

Norfolk.

[-]

ManicPixiRiotGrrrl@reddit

the amount of english folk who think their small town in england has more culture than any random town in the celtic nations is truly hilarious

[-]

Spiritual-Archer118@reddit

Cornwall is a Celtic area with their own language so it tracks they would feel different. Scousers also generally hate being lumped in with the English which may be because of the huge amounts of Irish immigration.

[-]

Thoughtful_giant13@reddit

Liverpool. Very strong regional identity.

[-]

UniversalDav@reddit

A republican or loyalist area in Belfast

[-]

ZestycloseDress960@reddit

Mighty mighty Rutland (of course)

[-]

TheSanityInspector@reddit

As with all geographical subreddits, be aware that it may not be representative of the population as a whole.

[-]

HauntedPotPlant@reddit

It’s probably Yorkshire.

[-]

RevolutionaryLow309@reddit

The thing about Scotland is it's not just one homogeneous place

[-]

HauntedPotPlant@reddit

Of course. But it sure does have a distinct identity in the uk when set against the English. Same for wales.

[-]

Ennochie@reddit

Yet the centre of Edinburgh is more English than parts of England.

The true truth is that Scotland and England are much more similar than they are different.

[-]

RevolutionaryLow309@reddit

True.

[-]

Choice-Demand-3884@reddit

Neither is Yorkshire tbh.

[-]

kartoffeln44752@reddit

Yorkshire - having been on enough nights out or events with them it doesn’t take long before the inevitable “Yorkshire” chant

[-]

Top_Khat@reddit

Northumberland has a very strong cultural identity I’ve found

[-]

Bjornhattan@reddit

Yeah, you see the Northumberland county flag everywhere, tbf it is a brilliant one so not surprising!

Also, I would probably say the North East as a whole qualifies. It's pretty distinct from the Yorkshire/Lancashire part of the north, people around here are as likely to visit Glasgow or Edinburgh regularly as they are to head down to Manchester or Leeds. The dialect is quite distinct too.

[-]

garethchester@reddit

Historically we've been pretty cut off here in the North East - to get to any other parts of England you have to cross mountains to the West or moorland to the South, or go via sea - and that's stayed with us quite a bit.

[-]

moonkilpy@reddit

Isle of Lewis!

[-]

Agreeable-Bluejay235@reddit

wait what? i'm so confused rn. I've only been to Cornwall once and it was two years ago. I distinctly remember it being very white (and selling good ice cream) so how could they hate... themselves?

[-]

gaylordzuko@reddit

they don’t hate the english for being white??? the cornish culture and language was eradicated by the english but there’s a strong recent effort for revival. it’s a celtic nation just like scotland, wales, ireland, brittany etc. there’s plenty of relevant recent reason for the distaste towards the english as well as despite the tourist contributions to the cornish economy the second homes and airbnbs have driven house prices up to the point people are unable to live in the areas they grew up in & the tourist economy has lots of people stuck doing seasonal work on 0hr contracts.

[-]

Michaelx123x@reddit

Those issues are felt across the country, it’s not exclusive to Cornwall at all.

[-]

AdministrativeRip563@reddit

Birmingham probably has a stronger Pakistani culture than some parts of England have an English culture.

[-]

Brave_Assumption6@reddit

Yeah but only at a micro-locality level, not an entire region.

[-]

elmo298@reddit

Bradford dinghy rapids bro

[-]

kraygus@reddit

Portsmouth.
Mainlanders are suspicious.

[-]

DependentRounders934@reddit

The only answer is northern Ireland, they have shown alot of… passion… over which identity they are

[-]

Sandy_Bananas@reddit

Probably Cornwall, which is unfortunately ironic, given that they’re broadly county full of inbred mongers.

[-]

PaleozoicQueen@reddit

I can't believe Wales has not come up here!

Literally the world for us Welsh comes from an old word the English used for "foreigner" (though we were here first)

[-]

MercuryJellyfish@reddit

It's Scousers.

They consider themselves to be a whole different to thing to Cheshire, Lancashire, Manchester, or anywhere else remotely close to them. Even half of Merseyside doesn't count.

[-]

18havefun@reddit

Proud to be Cornish 🖤🤍🖤🤍

[-]

randomguuid@reddit

Bradford, obviously.

[-]

Fit-Obligation4962@reddit

The Hebrides has a distinct culture with Gaelic widely spoken amongst ordinary people but it is still Scottish/British .People overplay these differences in attempt to seem unique.

[-]

Big_Statement1660@reddit

The English special talent is disliking each other. That's why others find it so easy to walk all over them

[-]

AuroraDF@reddit

Shetland.

[-]

DaddyCool13@reddit

From what I’ve seen a lot of Shetlanders have the same reaction to being called Scottish as most Scottish people have to being called English

[-]

SeatOfEase@reddit

A Scottish lad at my office once described it as being "like Scotland, but shet". Funnier in his accent.

[-]

darybrain@reddit

Norfolk

The incest and extra toes make a difference

[-]

Entire-Chicken-5812@reddit

Cornish man here. Yeah..most of these 'Cornish' are from the Home Counties so go figure.

[-]

stervi2@reddit

Complains about English people living in England but then uses the Americanism “go figure”

[-]

Entire-Chicken-5812@reddit

What?

[-]

BuffaloAl@reddit

The old no true Scotsmen fallacy

[-]

SixthHyacinth@reddit

The North East's regional pride is by far the strongest I've ever encountered in England. It's also reinforced by its homogenity.

[-]

twiddlepipper@reddit

Aye, we'll not be havin' any Grockles down in Devonshire thankee very much! Apart from spending their groats on holiday, that is.

[-]

CaterpillarLoud8071@reddit

Every Yorkshireman will tell you, unprompted, that they'd have placed 6th or whatever at the latest Olympics if they were a separate country. 100% Yorkshire.

[-]

Politicub@reddit

As a Cornish, there's a feeling we were England's first colony. And unlike Scotland/ Wales/ Ireland, were not permitted to retain a regional identity. We still retained the language (in an increasingly reduced form) up until the 1800s, and have had our own flag and patron saint since well before any other English "county". We had our own unique relationship with the crown and English laws up until modern history and increasing English centralisation. It varies massively by person though, but we're definitely seeing a resurgence of a non-English, Celtic, Cornish identity.

[-]

theyachtclub311@reddit

This is absolute nonsense. Cornwall which has been part of England since 936AD? You’re a victim of your own imagination.

[-]

Rusty_Tap@reddit

I'm not a Cornish, but I have been adopted by the Cornish now that I live here (only took 3 years to be accepted). I think the Cornish disdain for outsiders is still handy in some ways, as almost everyone I ask who suddenly appears here from elsewhere has some connection to money laundering, fraud, noncing or someone wants to kill them.

[-]

Flat-White-G@reddit

The gogs in Wales are up there. Proper disdain for the English, sure, but also real hatred of anything hwntw. Ah well not taking anything from people that call llaeth “llefrith” what even is that

[-]

leekyscallion@reddit

Scouse. Genuinely fit better in there as an Irish person better than the rest of the country. They’re all lovely there.

[-]

living2late@reddit

I feel closer to the scousers as a Welshman too. Always liked the city.

[-]

chicken-farmer@reddit

Us Devons are pretty cultish

[-]

Bill5GMasterGates@reddit

The Scouse Republic

[-]

bellybanton@reddit

The Western Isles and the Northern Isles.

[-]

AverageThat5267@reddit

Liverpool

[-]

AverageThat5267@reddit

According to data, Cumbira

[-]

mydogisintheoven@reddit

Bradford

[-]

Adorable-Fault-5116@reddit

If I believed what I read on geographical subreddits, every part of the UK hates every other part of the UK, and are only united in their hatred of people outside the UK.

[-]

JackBrodzilla6507@reddit

The Principality of Sealand

[-]

Redditreallyannoysme@reddit

Merseyside, Cornwall, Tyneside.

[-]

EugeneHartke@reddit

Yorkshire.

Don't mess with Yorkshire.

[-]

duncymatt1@reddit

The North East in general

[-]

Economy_Primary1774@reddit

Spotted this in Sussex - Clearly exhibits strong cultural identity.

[-]

ccyymmrruu@reddit

I come from Pembrokeshire so can relate to the Cornish somewhat in terms of living in a tourism area. and I think there is more nuance to the distain you’ve experience or observed. The second homes has a real impact on life, as does living in a holiday destination. It is not as if the residents do not understand that the holidaymakers are adding to the economy, but these are often low paid jobs in areas where there was previous a good industry - mining, fishing, stone quarries etc. so it’s that history which has fed into any ill felling.

Of course there is the odd tourist who acts disrespectfully and the same goes for the locals.

[-]

DatGuy82772@reddit

Yorkshire

[-]

calmeilles@reddit

I have a strong suspicion that what you're seeing reflects the culture of the sub-reddit not the identity of the county.

My experience is that while present the conscious use of anything you'd consider cultural identity is on a par with Geordies or Scousers. Places where it's palpably stronger than that would be the Hebrides, Shetland and north-west Wales.

[-]

Ok_Net4562@reddit

Black country

[-]

DeapVally@reddit

Cornwall does have a language, but Yorkshire folk are as, if not more, proud.

[-]

Glittering_Vast938@reddit

I wonder if the pandas something to do with that and everyone descending on them due to not being able to go abroad. I remember seeing signs seeing “keep away” posted on SM.

[-]

Extra-Sound-1714@reddit

Isle of man, Northern Ireland, Liverpool and Scottish Highlands and islands.

[-]

OrganizationOk5418@reddit

Liverpool

[-]

YorkshireMary@reddit

I'd say the North East.

[-]

Prestigious-Garbage5@reddit

I imagine it has to be the Scottish islands - the Hebrides or Orkney and Shetland

[-]

Cantona-Eric-7@reddit

Peterborough

[-]

BeanOnAJourney@reddit

Imagine thinking a sub reddit is representative of an entire county's feelings. We aren't all like that in Cornwall.

[-]

johnstod112@reddit

Well it did used to be Wales and not England, granted we're talking over 1000 years ago but still

[-]

Brettstastyburger@reddit

Liverpool probably. A toxic culture but it's definitely strong.

[-]

JayMak78@reddit

[-]

markedasred@reddit

the toxic places are the ones with England flags everywhere, who can't wait for us to be a new MAGA republic. The culture of Liverpool is leftist.

[-]

KinnyWater@reddit

Toxic in what way?

[-]

Personal-Tadpole4400@reddit

Liverpool

[-]

writedream13@reddit

Can’t believe no one’s said Northern Ireland. Obviously there’s quite a bit of anti English sentiment there.

[-]

xxxxxxxxxooxxxxxxxxx@reddit

Maybe that’s just a Reddit thing.

I remember subscribing to the /r/nyc subreddit years ago thinking it would be showcasing cool photos of the city but ended up unsubscribing when 50% of the posts are just wanking each other off about how superior they are to the rest of their country.

[-]

When replying to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc. If a post is marked 'Serious Answers Only' you may receive a ban for violating this rule.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!

Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.