Grim towns you've visited lately...

[Bluedot]

wiffmaster said:

Spent the last 10 months working on a project in Blackpool. Lovely people, but dear Christ, Blackpool makes Hull look positively salubrious. Ended up staying in Lytham St. Annes, which is much, much nicer.

Yeah I did that for 6 months. It was out of season so basically the B&B's and hotels in Blackpool were cutting each others throats trying to offer the cheapest deal trying to get anyone in, I used to just chop and change where i stayed depending on who was cheapest (within reason though, there were some really grim places that I'd never touch).
Blackpool is a pretty grim place out of season (I won't comment about it what it's like in season as I wasn't there), although as drives to work go, driving along the seafront on a windy bleak October morning is slightly more interesting than stuck in a queue on a motorway.
After a while I ended up staying most weeks in a friendly B&B in Lytham Saint Annes

[StevieBee]

Grays.

If ever a town was accurately named...

Interntaionally; Minsk has zero redeeming features and Nicosia in Northern Cyprus (part from the old town).

[Thankyou4calling]

Grim towns often have grim names.

Grimsby
Grays (as above)
Sucnthorpe
Blackpool
Goole
Harlow

Does the town become grim because of it's name?

[battered]

Thankyou4calling said:

Grim towns often have grim names.

Grimsby
Grays (as above)
Sucnthorpe
Blackpool
Goole
Harlow

Does the town become grim because of it's name?

If it does then Blubberhouses (Yorks) and Muckton (Lincs) had a lucky escape.

[hoegaardenruls]

Bluedot said:

Yeah I did that for 6 months. It was out of season so basically the B&B's and hotels in Blackpool were cutting each others throats trying to offer the cheapest deal trying to get anyone in, I used to just chop and change where i stayed depending on who was cheapest (within reason though, there were some really grim places that I'd never touch).
Blackpool is a pretty grim place out of season (I won't comment about it what it's like in season as I wasn't there), although as drives to work go, driving along the seafront on a windy bleak October morning is slightly more interesting than stuck in a queue on a motorway.
After a while I ended up staying most weeks in a friendly B&B in Lytham Saint Annes

Stayed in Blackpool out of season on a work trip, never again..

I think any seaside town can be pretty grim out of season - was stuck in Cowes one February, looking over the Solent to the bright lights on the mainland, and its the only time Southampton ever seemed attractive..

[Gompo]

WinstonWolf said:

forest07 said:

Anyone been to Gainsborough!

The road there was one of the best going last time I went there

I quite regularly go, partly because it is a reasonable drive out as suggested, but also because it's quite quiet if shopping.. and lastly it's on my way to Blyton and it's track! Some very nice villages around Gainsborough, but yes I would call it grim at times; although probably no worse than many towns.

[battered]

hoegaardenruls said:

I think any seaside town can be pretty grim out of season - was stuck in Cowes one February, looking over the Solent to the bright lights on the mainland, and its the only time Southampton ever seemed attractive..

I had work in Poole for months - did a winter there. Nice place, on the whole. Southwold however can look a bit bleak on a blowy wet November day, though it's not bad in the same season when the sun decides to come out a bit.

[anonymous-user]

Hastings. It probably looked better immediately after the battle.

[MarshPhantom]

Thankyou4calling said:

Didn't know about this thread but just skimmed through.

Are there ANY TOWNS not mentioned?

And as the thread is pretty old, have any been regenerated so they are actually now OK?

The Ferrier Estate in Kidbrooke is long gone. Replaced by a nice new development of flats and houses.

[surveyor]

Pesty said:

TVR Moneypit said:

eightseventhree said:

Rotherham

In particular the Eastwood estate. A cat 5 estate I think, (bearing in mind that the Gaza Strip is only a cat 3)

Every town and city around that area in S yorks is a st hole

Goldthorpe
Thurnscoe
Hemsworth (remeber the top gear alfa 166 review?)
dinnington (jesus)
Laughton common (on two occaisions I have driven through there and had to turn arround because of cars set on fire as barricades)
areas of sheffield like Wincobank and Firth Park!
all of Barnsley
Langold

The list is endless and unless you have actualy spent time there getting to know the locals you cannot imagine the deapth of depravity they get up to. Sure you can see the mess and old washing machines in the front 'garden' but until you know them you know nothing.

I have a particular favourite worst place in my heart of Maltby. I worked with the locals for around 4 years I could write you pages and pages but there is no point it would just sound like I had made it all up.

Edited by Pesty on Sunday 31st May 10:47

A bit of a historic thread, but Goldthorpe is where I started my career. Like all areas had it's decent and not so decent areas. Even Thurnscoe - although it's not so decent areas were pretty ste.

The people though, by and all are salt of the earth - but don't mention Thatcher....

My Grandfather died last year. He was a GP in Mexborough - 5 miles away and another pit town. The minister who took his funeral, was a former miner from Goldthorpe (with some history I was lead to believe...), and my Grandfather had saved his life as a boy. My grandfather had moved to Christchurch so a very small world...

[Chucklehead]

Apologies if I've missed criteria or the fact that this town will have already been mentioned a hundred times already..

Duisburg. sthole.

Thanks

[Opel-GT]

Belsen!

[Trabi601]

Chucklehead said:

Apologies if I've missed criteria or the fact that this town will have already been mentioned a hundred times already..

Duisburg. sthole.

Thanks

Duisburg?

[Trabi601]

Grim places I've been recently.

Swansea
Newport
Watford
Much of South London (Lewisham, Croydon, Catford, Bexleyheath, some other places I can't recall)
Hemel Hempstead
Dunstable
Daventry
Milton Keynes
Stevenage

[phil-sti]

Accrington

[battered]

Trabi601 said:

Grim places I've been recently.

Swansea
Newport
Watford
Much of South London (Lewisham, Croydon, Catford, Bexleyheath, some other places I can't recall)
Hemel Hempstead
Dunstable
Daventry
Milton Keynes
Stevenage

Pfft. Put some time in, sonny.
See hartlepool and die. Or wish that you could.

[Trabi601]

battered said:

Trabi601 said:

Grim places I've been recently.

Swansea
Newport
Watford
Much of South London (Lewisham, Croydon, Catford, Bexleyheath, some other places I can't recall)
Hemel Hempstead
Dunstable
Daventry
Milton Keynes
Stevenage

Pfft. Put some time in, sonny.
See hartlepool and die. Or wish that you could.

I'm originally from north east Manchester. I avoid most places north of Birmingham for a bloody good reason!

[Chucklehead]

Trabi601 said:

Duisburg?

[battered]

Trabi601 said:

I'm originally from north east Manchester. I avoid most places north of Birmingham for a bloody good reason!

I can understand. I've seen Bury. OTOH I've seen Prestwich/Prestbury (keep getting the 2 mixed up) in NE Manch, and places like Whitefield, and they are nice enough in parts.

[Freds]

forest07 said:

Anyone been to Gainsborough!

We were turned back at the check point, once they established the wife and I weren't siblings they turned us back because our feet weren't webbed.