[Closed] Worst, most hated, most vile UK city?

[i]been to Belfast a couple of times recently and was surprised about what a really nice, friendly place it is with a really buzzy atmoshere.[/i]

I went back in the late eighties, it wasn't quite so chirpy then. 😉

is Holyhead a city?

No, sorry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_status_in_the_United_Kingdom#List_of_officially_designated_cities

Top 10 so far (it's been a slow morning):

1 London 13
2= Newport 8
Portsmouth 8
4 Stoke 6
5 Peterborough 5
6= Hull 4
Preston 4
7= Birmingham 3
Coventry 3
Sunderland 3
10 Stirling 2

Other popular votes for Middlesborough, Swindon and Blackpool have been excluded as they are towns, not cities.

Oh, how odd; I don't see Edinburgh in the Top Ten in that book, TJ. I wonder why that is?

Interesting that New York gets a higher rating than London for architecture; sure, it's got some iconic skyscrapers and is undoubtedly home to some fabulous structures, but it lacks the depth and history of London, by a very long way indeed. And it's got absolutely nothing to compare with St Paul's cathedral, or the Houses of Parliament, or even stuff like Greenwich Observatory, Brunel's stuff or Arnos Grove Tube Station. On that basis alone I'd put it above New York, and I'm sure many people globally would agree with me.

Samuri - earlier vists were in late 70's and early '80s. Which is why today's such a big surprise

Crewe, by a length. I presume none of you have ever been there as i can't believe it's not been mentioned yet.

TandemJeremy - Member
Of course I can cope with others opinions. However you make two claims that are factually wrong. London is not a green city and it is not easy to get out of.

This made me laugh. You claimed a subjective statement to be factually wrong. Twice. Also, there are plenty of places in Edinburgh without the twee vista you mention, have you ever spent any time in Broomhouse, Wester Hailes, Niddrie or Craigmillar?

For what it's worth, I've lived in Edinburgh all my life, and love it. However, I've been working in London a lot, and I'm growing to like it too. I thought I wouldn't like it, but the vibrant nature is really appealing. That and the food.
Also, in contrast to the claim of being insular, I find that the City is the only place outside of Scotland where my tartan dollars are accepted without a moment's hesitation.

My vote is for Belfast. All nicely polished in the centre, but go a couple of miles out and there is still a simmering hatred. Also, far too many planned developments and not much actually getting done.

Crewe, by a length. I presume none of you have ever been there as i can't believe it's not been mentioned yet.

TJ said And Glasgow has the highest amount off open space.

It's called derelict land.
I'm from Sunderland and the town centre is awful, though nicer bits and bobs on the outskirts.
The wife studied in Hull for a year and it is far worse.
Peterborough - nice cathedral or church in the town centre, but otherwise grim.

 

My local city is Peterborough, I don't live there thank God. It is grimer than a grim thing on grim Monday (bit of Black Adder to cheer up the Peterborians :-> ).

However Reading, Middlesborough and bits of Laaandan are not very nice. I worked in Newham for a bit and now Tower Hamlets (well OK, Canary Wharf). Tell me please Elf, how nice are these areas?

Lot of people talking rubbish on here. I live in London, and there's loads of greenery in the city. To say there isn't is just wrong. Also, I live in zone 2, and can be in the North Downs in 40 minutes.
I'm from near Inverness, and have lived in Southampton, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and London is the best place I've ever lived. Mind you, the traffic is christ-awful. But is any city any different?

But is any city any different?

Yes. Cardiff traffic is trivial compared to London.

molgrips - Member

But is any city any different?

Yes. Cardiff traffic is trivial compared to London.

Pah! I live in Ely, there is probably more traffic on the road in Cardiff at 3am on Christmas morning than we get in a week...

Ely is a special case. I bet there is more traffic there than in St David's on a Tuesday in winter 🙂

Cardiff traffic is trivial compared to London.

Anywhere's is to be fair.

For me the defining factor of a city's worth is the city centre but the flotsam and jetsam of the suburbs can completely put you off the place before you get there. For example whilst I really like the centre of London and all the culture and iconic architecture it has to offer, arriving there by car through endless miles of crap puts me off the place. In contrast my closest city of Portsmouth has limited appeal but arriving there by yacht, bobbing around in the harbour for a bit before coming ashore AND NEVER SETTING FOOT OUTSIDE OF OLD PORTSMOUTH, BITS OF SOUTHSEA, THE OLD DOCKS AND GUN WARF and it's a very pleasant if not life changing experience.

Can't remember much to recommend Coventry from the year I lived there

Bradford is real shitty!

Exactly,

Even though I love going to London for the weekend, I could not imagine anything worse than living there all the time.
Except living in Widnes, Coventry or Luton.

In my opinion its better to live in the green open countryside and travel into town once a week to do the shopping, than living in smog, traffic congestion, and housing estates, and everything which goes with them, - chavs etc etc.

if you live in london you could ride a fixie though!

"just one gear on my fixie bike..."

😆

Chuckle at deep river. No Chavs in the countryside, oh no... 😀

The cities are bliss compared with most of the countryside. People are living in unimproved Victorian and older houses all over the place, struggling to make ends meet and not heating their place properly. Just walk around any county outside the ones surrounding London. We mistake the squalor for picturesque rural quirkiness.

Salford? Well generally a ring of horible places that are around Manchester City Centre. Ardwick and Harpurhey spring to mind too but don't think they're cities!

sefton - Member
if you live in london you could ride a fixie though!

I heard that was compulsory... 🙂

Stoke, Wolverhampton and Manchester. Bleugh!

Very surprised to see Stirling on that list. Anyone who seriously thinks that's a candidate for worst city in the UK clearly hasn't visited than many UK cities!

I've visited most UK cities and I think Preston would top my list of most awful.

The cities are bliss compared with most of the countryside. People are living in unimproved Victorian and older houses all over the place, struggling to make ends meet and not heating their place properly. Just walk around any county outside the ones surrounding London. We mistake the squalor for picturesque rural quirkiness.

Truro.

The hustle and bustle, nightmare commutes, gun crime, gang violence, racial tension, AIDS epidemic and stifling heat.

Oh, actually I meant Torquay.

Portsmouth's not great but no way coventry, birmingham, luton are better and i'm from soton and its my 2nd job to rip pompey!

oh and i dont know what the hell slough is clasified as but its dire..

is Reading a city as I'm not sure and I live in the ****in hole of a place?

Reading has some lovely road biking nearby tho..

I can't believe Salford hasn't been nominated yet 😯

I lived in Salford and I think it's an uber dump

wolverhampton should be made into a city just so we can slag it off... it's horrendous

ever been to Dartford? don't

I worked in Newham for a bit and now Tower Hamlets (well OK, Canary Wharf). Tell me please Elf, how nice are these areas?

Not too bad actually, considering the deprivation and all that. I live in Tower Hamlets, and I like it. There are worse places in London, let alone the UK. nothing in London compares to some parts of some cities in Britain.

Canary Wharf is the worst bit of Tower Hamlets, actually. Soulless dump. Fortunately I don't have to hang around there. 🙂

New York's on the list, it's higher than London, so the list is wrong = the list's crap.

Well, placing New York, a city with a history only going back a couple of hundred years, above London is just a bit daft when it comes to architecture. London has far greater depth and diversity, any expert will tell you that.

And I, as you know, know me onions when it comes to architecture. 😉

Since others have mentioned Salford, let me join the chorus. Holy **** that place needs to be scraped into the sea.

Oh yeah. Liverpool too.

(I lived in Salford and had many meetings in Liverpool, so what I say is indisputable.)

slough

Reading

Dartford

Not cities. Actually, I didn't even know that Dartford was a town, I just thought it was a tunnel! 😳

Personally I'd turn Birmingham into a smoking hole in the ground if it wasn't already a smoking hole in the ground

Dunno why everyone is slagging off London as "worst-most-hated-most-vile-uk-city". That's just blind daft. I lived there for 11 years, sometimes in real shitty areas with no money, and I can say I wouldn't swap those experiences cos it was such a vibrant melting pot. I like being In North Wales as well, with all the fab landscape and coast and relaxed vibe and family. It's brilliant too, just different. One place I can afford, the other I can't. both have their positives and negatives. depends what you want.

I'd never go back to Hull though!

Jealousy innit Kev?

Thing is, just about everyone on here what slags London off will come here at some stage, whereas I will probbly never visit the place they live in. Simply no need to. I don't say that to be rude or owt, it's just a fact. My home town offers me more of what I want than any other city possibly could. Anywhere else, and I'd feel I was missing out on certain things. That's just my honest feelings about it. I accept it's not everyone's cup of tea, and far from ideal for some others. Same way I can feel content here, I can appreciate someone else will feel the same about their home.

Be happy where you are. I am.

Crikey ... I am just about to have my fag. LOL!

I've no idea how you afford it in a shitehole part let alone a nice bit though! lol!

whereas I will probbly never visit the place they live in. Simply no need to. I don't say that to be rude or owt, it's just a fact. My home town offers me more of what I want than any other city possibly could. Anywhere else, and I'd feel I was missing out on certain things.

Oh how sad. To not even realise that there are things you are missing out on by being so parochial in your viewpoint. YOu don't even realise what is missing in London

YOu don't even realise what is missing in London

Well, you better come and show me then. 🙄

Actually, I'm sure there's tons of stuff in London I haven't a clue about, such is the sheer scale of the place. That's what I love about it; always something new to discover.

As for other cities; it's not so much as missing out, it's about choosing where to visit based on potential appeal. Hence there are a number of places which hold little attraction for me. And some places I'd love to visit, Edinburgh included. I almost did go once, but a holiday in Barcelona was a darn sight cheaper, and quicker to get to...

As for 'parochial'; have a word with yerself. Your comments about London show just how hypocritical you are in this regard, I'm sorry. And if you read through my posts on here propply, you'll see that I'm not slagging anywhere off really.

I have actually bin to a number of cities in England, and bin quite underwhelmed by them. Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Stoke, Leeds. But unlike you, I won't dismiss them as crap, because I've not seen much of them really. Same way as you haven't seen anywhere near as much of London as I have.

You're just jealous because I have a strong sense of identity with a place. Whereas you've always felt like an outsider, and always will.

[i]I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien...[/i]

I lived and worked in Newham for about 7 months and it's much more chilled out then other parts of london as people are generally just standing around in gangs, not barging past with a trolly bag and mobile phone. also 20 mins drive north and i could be out on my bike.

not somewhere i'd want to live or work long term but okay for a while, quick blast along the DLR and you're in the city (i say blast but really a crawl, if it was actually working)

I have lived in Edinburgh and London and I think they're both fantastic places and I still go whenever I can get the chance.
Yarmouth is a dump, as is Preston, Blackpool, Bradford and Birmingham (all of which I've visited)

TandemJeremy - Member
YOu don't even realise what is missing in London

Dear beloved leader, could you please find time to enlighten us poor bright-light bedazzled citizens what is missing from our City ?

I'm sure it would be hugely improved by your wise and considered critique and help make our lives better, happier and more fulfilled 😆

Elfinsafety - Member
I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien...

best way mate, rather that anyday than a middle class faux académique 😉

aliens for the win, simples innit 😆

Oh how sad. To not even realise that there are things you are missing out on by being so parochial in your viewpoint. YOu don't even realise what is missing in London

There's something missing from everywhere.

That does not make everywhere bad.

Rather than looking for what is missing, try looking for what is there. The list is very very long indeed in the case of London.

molgrips - Member
Rather than looking for what is missing, try looking for what is there

Wow ! that's real 'thought for the day stuff' 🙂

Thanks for the inspiration, it's good to read something uplifting and positive for a change...........

😀

That'll be £3.50 please, pay on your way out.

Funny, isn't it...
Seems to me that almost all the "hate" is coming from those out of London, while there's far more tolerance from those in London.

Of course, that can't be right, as everyone knows London is full of hateful people, isn't it?

😉

Oh, and Peterborough smells. FACT.

Newport is a sh*thole, i live 6 miles from IT.

how the hell it got city status is a total mystery, in its hayday it was a nice place but im talking yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeears ago.

its stuck between a rock and a hard place as they havent really got the cash to pump into it, nobody goes there and Cwmbran a town near it has stolen all the customers from the shops.

they messed up few years ago when they stopped the damming of the river, this would have helped a bit.

i would put a big vote in for blackpool aswell, sadly i ended up there on a stag party 4 years ago... i was actually looking forward to it until we got off the bus, another place that will never get back the glory days... sad i guess.

Newport is indeed a dump. The post industrial economy and the war were not kind to it.

Well, placing New York, a city with a history only going back a couple of hundred years, above London is just a bit daft when it comes to architecture. London has far greater depth and diversity, any expert will tell you that.

Unusually for you, you seem to have missed the point there.
You quoted a list when comparing London to Edinburgh, then rubbished the list for disagreeing with you about Noo Yoik. Does it only have value when it agrees with your fairly narrow view of the world (if it's not London it's rubbish?). Like does architecture only have merit when it's hundreds of years old? Lloyd Wright, le Corbusier, Gehry, Rennie Macintosh have no place in your world?

Well, placing New York, a city with a history only going back a couple of hundred years, above London is just a bit daft when it comes to architecture

Why? Does good architecture have to be old?

I've never been to New York, but I have been to Chicago. To be honest I wasn't at all fussed to go there but driving or walking down a street full of skyscrapers is quite frankly staggering - one of the sights of the man-made world imo.

Does it only have value when it agrees with your fairly narrow view of the world (if it's not London it's rubbish?). Like does architecture only have merit when it's hundreds of years old? Lloyd Wright, le Corbusier, Gehry, Rennie Macintosh have no place in your world?

No, you're missing [i]my[/i] point; London has a far greater depth of architectural history than New York, so to place NY above London on such terms is daft. London has far greater variety and diversity of styles, throughout the city, whereas most of NY's outstanding architecture is concentrated in or near Manhattan. And yes, I have bin there.

I appreciate the work of those architects you've mentioned. They do fit into a relatively narrow historical period mind.

Whereas with London:

The Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, The Normans, The Tudors, Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmore, The Victorians, The Brunels, John Nash, Pugin, The Gilbert Scotts, Charles Holden, Denys Lasdun, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Zaha Hadid and even our very own [b]aP[/b] off here, to name just a few, if yer really wanna start name-dropping.... 😉

How many Roman or Anglo Saxon buildings in London Elf?

Why? Does good architecture have to be old?

Not at all. See above.

London's a greater city, architecturally. It's as simple as that. No contest.

New Yorkers have said this to me.

How many Roman or Anglo Saxon buildings in London Elf?

Granted, not a lot left, but the foundations of a number of buildings date back to those times, and some parts of original structures exist in some buildings. Point is, those civilisations have had a part in the formation of London, whereas New York is relatively much younger.

But you know this, which is why you're trying to split hairs... 😉

London's a [s]greater[/s] more diverse city, architecturally

FTFY

Is diversity linked to greatness? What about places like Granada?

Point is, those civilisations have had a part in the formation of London

Yes, and this is one of the most overwhelmingly amazing things about London IMO. I can walk around the place and be in ten different ages at once.. quite amazing. However in other cities their history is writ just as large across the map.. Even American ones. It's a shorter period and it's not necessarily as obvious but it's still there. Sometimes you have to think like a historian rather than an architect tho.

Is diversity linked to greatness?

That's one of those questions which is inextricably linked to quasi-biological theories and one's political beliefs.

I was talking about architecture, but feel free to expand the context of the thread if you like 🙂

Granted, not a lot left, but the foundations of a number of buildings date back to those times, and some parts of original structures exist in some buildings. Point is, those civilisations have had a part in the formation of London, whereas New York is relatively much younger.

.and how does Venice fit into this? It has virtually no diversity, being pretty much all high renaissance with some Byzantine influence, yet is generally seen as one of the architectural wonders of the world?

EDIT - the railway station doesn't count.

I was talking about architecture, but feel free to expand the context of the thread if you like

But architecture is a manifestation of culture, and one's architectural preferences are really a question about how one would like to reorder the world to fit one's own worldview, so it's all the same...

This list could go on forever!

Cities, Liverpoool, Manchester & Hull.

Towns:
Swansea (it isn't a city is it?)

I can't even think of a city I could call 'worst most hated most vile uk city'.

I obviously need to get out a bit more.

And to name London is IMO crazy....

People have mentioned Peterborough quite a few times. I live near Peterborough and while it's not a great place, it's not too bad. When I first moved near the area I wasn't convinced & I always used to think of it as just a name on the A1.

But, there's a very fancy cathedral, a half decent shopping centre, the river Nene, Nene Valley Railway, Ferry Meadows country park, Peterborough Lido, an ice skating rink with a decent ice hockey team.....etc.
It's not a very picturesque place (apart from the cathedral!), but it isn't bad*.

*as with most places, there are some right crappy areas, granted.

Well I made my trip to Newport yesterday to try to win some work. Didn't seem that bad though was taken straight from the rail station to a rather bland building to the east of the town where A449 meets the M4. If we do win the project I'm hoping I can stay in a hotel near the office and never go into the town - should be some nice country lanes to ride on nearby.

So Newport is better than London then as I can ride in the countryside easier right?

Konabunny.. you're being silly now 🙂

For a very long time Preston was the absolute dunghole for me, until I went to Peterborough, dear jesus! I nominate both.

hilldodger - Member

Dear beloved leader, could you please find time to enlighten us poor bright-light bedazzled citizens what is missing from our City ?

A mountain with a chairlift up it.

Think you guys are jumping on TJ for no reason- everywhere has its own highlights, I love London but all he's saying is that you can't say "Town X has everything I want" unless you've tried everything there is to try- and no one place in the world has everything. I love the underground, frinstance, don't know why that is but I'd never have known til I used it, and I miss it when I'm not there. Glasgow clockwork orange isn't the same and the closest Edinburgh has is the Subway nightclub (smells the same, just as crowded)

missingfrontallobe - Member

This list could go on forever!

Cities, Liverpoool, Manchester & Hull.

Towns:
Swansea (it isn't a city is it?)

Excellent!

Someone slags off Liverpool, so Mr Overshoot very successfully nullifies their onion by providing examples of it's greatness. Nice one. I like that, good work Mr O! 😀

There is a threat Binners and I will be visiting Liverpool sometime in the not too distant future....

I would rather go to Newport than Cwmbran

Northwind - Member
Think you guys are jumping on TJ for no reason

Not jumping, just asking him to elaborate on his statement that London was missing something (vagaries of geology notwithstanding) 😉

He bowls into a thread, drops his little 'hate bombs' then doesn't come back to answer perfectly reasonable questions.

No doubt he'll reappear quoting 'piffle and bullshine', making snidey comments about fellow posters intelligence and being generally provocative.

Anyway, back to reality 🙂 ignoring the insults it's been a good thread, interesting to hear what other people think constitute a 'great city' with some fine photos of places that I for one haven't seen in person.

Let's face it, some people enjoy the hustle bustle of city life, others prefer rural tranquility - we're lucky to live in a country that can offer so much variety and allows people to experience many different lifestyles......

Wow I saw the thread title and thought I wonder if Newport gets a mention, looks like it's championship contender mmaterial. It is a dump but it's not really a bad place to live, there are more pubs per square mile than anywhere else in the UK and it's also home of the shell-suit, but there's shed loads of good riding nearby.

I would rather go to Newport than Cwmbran

You mean Cwmbranistan?

hilldodger - Member

Not jumping, just asking him to elaborate on his statement that London was missing something (vagaries of geology notwithstanding)

Pff. You call it a "hate bomb" when he says your city doesn't have everything a city can possibly have? I call it common sense.

CaptainFlashheart - Member

Oh, and Peterborough smells. FACT.

Peterborough used to smell of Sugar Beet and dog food, it now just smells of dog food as they knocked the beet factory down.

There are some good points to Pbog... It's on the A1, it's on the A14, it's on the East Coast main line, it's 50 mins from Kings Cross and 1 hour from Luton, East Mids and Stansted airports.

You see, the best thing about Pbog is you can escape really, really easily 🙂

London - find it really unfriendly

Stoke and Swindon - on a parr

but BLACKPOOL - ugh! Went to take the kids to see the lights once - had to bribe them with sweets etc so we could go home early before it got dark 😯

there are more pubs per square mile than anywhere else in the UK

There are fewer pubs per square mile that I would actually be prepared to step foot inside than anywhere else in the UK tho 🙂

Yes it has decent riding, but it's just as accessible from Cardiff near enough, which is a much nicer place 🙂

Yep Liverpool is shite

I notice that when illustrating the delights of Liverpool you didn't include any people! 😆