[Closed] Worst UK City

I get to travel the country with work and have visited most of the cities mentioned so far.

Live in and around Bradford for 20 years (not now) and don't really like what it has become now but I don't think it is the worst.

It also depends by what deffinition we are determining the worst?

Just looking at the picture of Bradford above also shows some of its old architecture and history so for me it can't be a 'bad' city just yet.

Having driven through, around, into and past Stoke I'd have to say there are no redeeming features of it as a city centre so that gets my vote.

Sheffield is brilliant. But I was a student there which I think helps.
Manchester is immeasurably better that it was say 30 years ago when I first worked there.
Derby? I'd forgotten who horrible that place is.
But really, London has no competition. It's foul.

I've spent 30 years travelling around the cities mentioned here, many of them are deeply depressing places to live which is why I chose to move.
What I find sadenning is the unstoppable drive within the remaining few decent places to follow the likes of Bradford, (which actually used to be very nice) etc to give up their green spaces for endless industrial squaller fed by cheap labour in the name of "growth" which is actually just a name for exchanging quality of live for many, into a lot of money for few.

Growth is another name for greed and that is what makes all these place crap.

Spent 3 years at Coventry as a student, haven't returned once.

Absolute shiiiiit hole.

Portsmouth is pretty bad, tbh. Tho as pointed out earlier there are some cool museums.

Got to agree with a few other here that the problem is we don't do cities very well over here, which is why everyone drives everywhere from their suburbs and commuter villages. Work, shop and socialise in the towns and cities but live outside.

Birmingham's is dull and soulless, it more like a large sprawling town with regenerated areas with a slug and lettuce, pizza express and a starbucks but not the worst city. Anyone saying London is just doing the irrational hatred of London, in all but the worst outer boroughs have more going on and of interest than many town and cities. Southampton and Portsmouth are grimy but no worse than 90% of small British cities / large British towns.

Bradford get my vote, but I have not been to Derby, that looks rough as a butchers dog. Bradford seemed like a right dive to me and what made it worse was the feeling of past glory, that it once was nice and was now a dive.

You're all wrong, every city mentioned so far has some redeeming qualities, (even Brum), you've just dancing round the stinking great elephant in the room, the one true answer, the apogee of grim.

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you.....

[b]LUTON[/b]

Wikipedia

...Luton is a large town

**** off London rules. The best and worst to offer. I loved it.

Got to agree with a few other here that the problem is we don't do cities very well over here, which is why everyone drives everywhere from their suburbs and commuter villages. Work, shop and socialise in the towns and cities but live outside.

Manchester grim !

So what, who cares its still got a bit of character where else has such unique street entertainment.

Having spent the last two days in Peterborough I would put this as a strong contender but having worked in Luton for a couple of years it still gets my vote... Plus you have Houghton Regis and Dunstable just on the doorstep.... Ghastly.

Out of cities mentioned here I've lived in Chester, Sheffield, Hull, London and Coventry, loved London but maybe as I had a bit of money and lived in a fairly well off, quietish area so could get enjoy London without being in the noise. Many like that of course and choose to live in places like Soho despite the high costs. Hull and Coventry were both a bit unappealing but clubbing was quite good in Coventry when I was there. But places like Derby and Middlesbrough beat them I'm sure.

Actually - London's a truly great place to visit, just walking around is interesting with so much to see and do, don't really need money for that. Also lived in NYC for a while which was great but after the novelty of that had warn off London seemed to me the better place.

Aren't Stoke and Derby on the edge of Peak District as well?

I travel round a few cities (work and play) and i can say that the only city that I don't like is Newport. It's got to be grim if the locals agree with me when I say it's shit 😆

It was an appalling town but when it was granted city status it gained all the bad bits of a city and none of the good bits.

[quote=twonks ]Having driven through, around, into and past Stoke I'd have to say there are no redeeming features of it as a city centre so that gets my vote.

Hang on - you've just mentioned the best feature of Stoke 😉

Luton is a large town

More a wart on the ar5e of humanity!

If Rochdale's on here, Luton definitely deserves to be on here too.

Bristol City ,but am biased being a Rovers fan !

another vote for newport.

it was once the 'home of the mole wrench' now there is nothing interesting to say about it

i once asked the security guard in the passport office what he would do if he had 4 hrs to kill in newport and he replied "leave newport for 4 hrs"

Coventry suffered from some poor city centre re-development after the war damage, but I found it a friendly place, with some nice people, and it has miles of great cycling in the lanes round about.

The worst bit about Coventry is that the Germans didnt finish the church off

Can somebody who isn't working at this time of night please do a tally?

At a guess Bradford is in the lead at the moment. Speaking as someone who lives here, I'd say it's probably unfair. Somewhat.

I am voting for Slough - worked there for years and, well, [i]hideous in every respect[/i] is the only way I can describe it.

My honorable mention goes to Croydon. It says something when the only thing in the "+" column is an ikea. At least High Wycombe has a John Lewis.

Have we had Middlesbrough yet?

[url= http://www.****/money/news/article-2509330/Reading-Aberdeen-Southampton-best-quality-life-UK.html ]Want the best quality of life in the UK? Move to Reading, Aberdeen or Southampton - but avoid central London[/url]

Coventry a real shit hole.
Manchester has a lot going for it
Sheffield grim in lots of places.
London, like Paris let down by the locals.

Nice to see nobody has mentioned Newcastle, proper nice place.

Have to agree with a number of posts in this thread, Coventry is a real shit hole !!
How do I know ?.... Cus I work there!, being travelling to cov for yrs to help the inbreds that call Coventry home .

S[b] ****[/b] horpe the name says it all.

Bradford - Once one of the best cities in the country, now unfortunately a ghost city, where no one wants to go

To clarify my post above I don't think Bradford's the worst - not sure where I'd say for that, possibly sunderland - it's just the best example I can think of of a vast undeveloped hole in the city centre.

I thought someone would have said Carlisle (which I grew up in and love) by now, it usually comes up on these threads.

To clarify my post above I don't think Bradford's the worst - not sure where I'd say for that, possibly sunderland - it's just the best example I can think of of a vast undeveloped hole in the city centre.

What hole?

[img] [/img]

Most of the cities mentioned on here share the same issue that they were largely constructed/expanded in the 60's with concrete and are now dated and in dire need of regeneration. They're part of poor planning where the car was king and concrete monstrosities were allowed to flourish.
Croydon has been mentioned and it's a classic example - the town was built with the intention of a ring road surrounding the town (only 3 sides were ever built) and now that dual carriageway through the centre cuts the town in half. Living there, i'm inclined to agree that there are some bad parts but also some very nice parts - I went for a drink last night in South Croydon and the recent spending on streets and lighting has made it a vibrant, welcoming place full of nice bars and restaurants - similar to what you may find in other nicer parts of London. I hope the regeneration of the town centre has a similar effect. Unfortunately, it will cost a fortune to attempt to put right the poor planning from previous years.

I'd be interested to know how many of those that detest London actually spend any real time there. I like to go into town every couple of weeks and while there are some horrible parts (like anywhere) there are some real hidden gems and on a summer day, I can think of very few other places that i'd rather walk around.

Carlisle.

Dont know if its the worse but Newport is pretty awful. Grew up 9 miles up the Valleys and it was the closest big town, it did have some good little spots like TJ's and the market was brilliant but it has slipped into a pool labelled giveuphopethisplaceisjustshit, what makes it worse is the wealth of somwhwere like Celtic Manor compared with the misery of Alway, Ringland or Pill.

When you meet people from Stoke and they say Newport has a reputation you know its bad.

London is an incredible city, wouldnt want to live their again but just walk around the place and look at the architecture, it is amazing.

I find Croydon a strange nomination. Firstly it's officially a town, and secondly whilst it's officially a town it's really just a district of Greater London that merges pretty seamlessly into all the other districts without any seperation. Greater London is of course not actually a city but it's what most people are thinking of when they refer to 'London' in common usage.

Thanks señor j!

All cities are a mix of good and bad. A lot of the places mentioned are indeed shitholes. But at least they've got some kind of identity. And history. You can find something of interest if you bother. You at least tend to know where you are. And theres stuff going on.

Theres infinitely worse places to live. I've had the dubious pleasure of working in various southern satellite towns within striking distance of London. I treid to keep the stays down to as mercifully short timeframe as possible. Slough, Reading, Basingstoke, Woking. and how on earth anyone lives in those places is completely beyond me. I find it utterly incomprehensible.

They're completely devoid of any kind of identity, whatsoever. You could parachute you into any one of those places, then ask you where you were, and you wouldn't have a ****ing clue. They're all identical. And dull, dull, [b]DULL!!![/b] Same identical high street, with the same chain bars and shops, same Harvester pubs, same awful featureless square architecture, same shopping centre, complete with multi-story car park, and bus station, same endless roundabouts with mile after mile of identikit rabbit hutches, with the same identical rep-mobiles in their drives.

If someone told me I had to live out the rest of my days in any of those places, then the only dilemma I'd face is whether to end it all immediately, or whether to get tooled up and go on a killing spree first, taking out as many of the local residents as possible. It'd be for their own benefit really. To spare them from the crushingly bland disappointment the rest of their lives would inevitably be.

Ooooh.... Coldplay are on Radio 2. Lovely.

Croydon is a town of two halves. Turn right out of the station = bad. Turn left = good. I loved it there.

Sorry binners- there may be an odd bar etc there thats good but I think Burys a hole.

Gloucester

In Croydon there used to be a good snooker hall with a guy selling 'erb next to the Jukebox.

Games took forever, and we never remembered who won.

Other than that, meh.

I'm also going to nominate Truro - not because I don't like it, but because if you're expecting a city in more than name, you'll be disappointed! You can walk across it in 20 minutes.

However, if [url= http://www.savetruro.co.uk/tag/prince-of-wales/ ]Charlie gets his way[/url], things may change...for the worse 🙁

Nick1962, you charmer.

I'm also going to nominate Truro - not because I don't like it, but because if you're expecting a city in more than name, you'll be disappointed! You can walk across it in 20 minutes.

Manchester is a bit like that. Was surprised how small it is, if you take the busy bit bordered by ancoats, the station/old BT building hotel and the railway line with all the arches that area just about fits inside the borders of Hyde Park that little bit of green space in london, you literally can walk across it in 20 min.

It's too broad a question really, because everyone will judge a city differently depending on what you want. As has been said, where you'd like to live and where to visit are two totally different things. Which is why London divides opinion. Also, all cities have run down areas, and horrible industrial areas, and if your experience of the city is that area then you'll hate it.

I really like Manchester. Loads to do in the city, a proud history, good transport links and easy access to the hills. And I have never even given the Irwell any thought (do you like swimming or something? Who cares about some water going through the city? Not even the Thames is nice when it hits the city and that's huge and unavoidable).

Coventry gets my vote.

Years since I've been but memories of a crap center built in the 50's after the Luftwaffe tried their hardest to level the place. To make it worse, planners then surrounded the city center with a fast ring road strangling the place.

MrSmith if you walked across Manchester it'd take you quite a while.....

The funny thing about Manchester is most of the bars I used to visit back in 1990-92 are still here and exactly the same bar the Hacienda. A visit back to West Hampstead just 5yrs on shows a complete change 😯

I work in Bradford centre. Its an absolute hole full of complete scum. But... its not the worst.

High(?)lights I reckon are Cardiff, Hull but the only winner (I don't know if its even a city or not but I'm counting it as one) is:

[b]BLACKPOOL[/b]

Words cannot describe what an absolute hell hole this place is. Its like Bradford-on-Sea. Its no wonder people go there and get battered. Can you imagine it sober?

Seen Blackpool in the daylight? My great memories of Blackpool are from my childhood. Its a very very tired looking place now. Last year we went to the Pleasure beach, it was full of tall Polish-tracksuit wearing blokes and bleached-blonde burds.

Have you ever been to Rhyl? Its makes [url= http://www.dougiewallace.com/601687/stags-hens-bunnies-a-blackpool-story/ ]Blackpool[/url] look like St Tropez

hora - Member

MrSmith if you walked across Manchester it'd take you quite a while.....

Missed nearly two thirds of the centre out there.
🙂

Although you can get from the CIS to Johnny Roadhouse in under half an hour if you get a jiggle on. 😀

There's pretty much no wasted space anywhere in the centre though - there's a hell of a lot packed in.

Another vote for Newport. Now that TJs has closed there is nothing redeeming in that hole of a place.

If towns are allowed, Yeovil and Dudley have to be up there.

There's pretty much no wasted space anywhere in the centre though - there's a hell of a lot packed in.

It looked similar to king cross in London a few years ago except those old goods yards were full of business that needed the cheap space in a central location.

Hey - Davey - where are you? We should go for a ride after xmas when I have a little time/money, need to fix the bike first.

Me too hora - I remember going to the pleasure beach as a kid. The little train that took you around etc. Fond memories.

We went a couple of years back. Drove through as we'd been up the coast and had an idea of getting some fish & chips on the front. We ended up driving straight down the prom and finding the quickest way out of there!

@ lemonysam - no problem 😀
don't take it personally -
As a West Cumbrian it's bred into us.

Having lived in Cardiff and working on the edge of Newport for me while Newport is a dump it really is just a town. Sure it has city status now, but that's twaddle the cities of South Wales are Cardiff and Swansea (& maybe St David's if you want to get technical). Heck Newport doesn't even have a decent rugby team.

For me Manchester is the worst, considering how much money has been thrown at it over the last 15 years. The results of which are, flat city (as Hora noted), then a eastern block city centre at Piccadilly gardens, a mess left by the old BBC building, the awfulness of the Printworks re-development etc.

Blackpool isn't a city so doesn't come anywhere near to counting.

If Newport has city status then I think you have to count it as a city. Slough and Woking while pretty grim I don't think have city status so cannot count.

I like Newport, ive been there a few times for gigs etc. The reason i like it is that is isnt pretending to be anything it not and doesnt have ideas above its station. I go to Newport knowing what it is like and therefore i dont come away disappointed. Newport also has a very similar feel to Wolverhampton (where i grew up), which is another city metioned in this thread. If i had to live in South East Wales, i would live in Newport - house prices are cheap, a stones throw from the beacons, Cardiff and Bristol on the doorstep, but also prenty of its own shops/bars etc. So is it the worst City in the UK - judge it on your own merits.

Wales - Swansea really horriv=ble

Scotland - Everything in the central belt hinterland

England Preston - just crap
Although you could name all the cities in the England and then just remove manchester, birmingham, london, bristol and just say the rest are shite.

A lot the suggestions above aren't cities. "The central belt hinterland of Scotland" is not a city. Reading, Basingstoke and Woking are not cities.

For me the worst city I have any decent experience of is Stoke. Although it's hard to be absolute about these things, I think people's opinion in these matters is affected by what they were doing in the place and their general state of mind at the time. Binners must have been abused something rotten in Reading and Basingstoke.

just say the rest are shite.

Norwich, Bath and Canterbury are nice cities, there are probably a few others but most are grim.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/11176858/Britains-10-best-cities.html

Kettering! An absolute shithole of a place with no redeeming features whatsoever. I hate it

Binners must have been abused something rotten in Reading and Basingstoke.

Just being in Basingstoke or Reading constitutes abuse.

I remember arriving in Basingstoke, and asking in the office where theres a decent pub, as there was a Champions League game on that night, and I fancied having a pint and watching it. Like you would do if you were in somewhere inhabitable. They all laughed, and pointed out that I'd never find a decent pub in Basingstoke.

They were right.

How on earth can you live in place that doesn't even have a decent boozer in a 10 mile radius?

We have a winner. Ketamine in Northamptonshite.

Kettering! An absolute shithole of a place with no redeeming features whatsoever. I hate it

How on earth can you live in place that doesn't even have a decent boozer in a 10 mile radius?

Next time you're there, if you can find time between being angry and incredulous at your predicament, take your bike and ride to the Northbrook Arms in East Stratton. Cracking country pub and good biking around there.

In terms of the city as a place then Aberdeen is top of the list ladies and gents. Full of moaning whiny ***** and a totally inept council who turned down a £50m cheque from a successful local businessman to help regenerate the craphole city centre as they said they didn't need his money and have since done sweet fa about regenerating the city centre themselves as they're skint!

However it's plus points are it's good for work and you can be out of it and in the countryside within 10 minutes.

Cracking country pub and good biking around there.

Seriously? Define good riding? Its flatter than a witches tit round there!!!

An altogether better option...

[img] [/img]

😀

St Asaph

No binners. The North's rubbish. Right? 😉

binners - Member
Have you ever been to Rhyl? Its makes Blackpool look like St Tropez

Actually St Tropez isn't all that good either. Antibes is much nicer 😉

Fareham. I know it's not a city, but it's horrendous.

Binners, I live in Edinburgh so the whole "up north" thing doesn't really make sense, as it's all down south for me. Anyway, yes there is good mtb and road riding around Basingrad.

[quote=MrSmith ]Norwich, Bath and Canterbury are nice cities, there are probably a few others but most are grim.

Cambridge. Oxford? (have only visited the latter a couple of times, but seemed nice enough) Bristol is also OK I reckon, as is Edinburgh.

Bradford.A trip to Stoke though shows it has a bit of competition.

Stoke, god bless the A50

Find central Stockport pretty bad, as far as towns go. The sort of place that was rough as f_k 10 years ago, but still alive. It has now passed on, risen from the dead, and shambles around like a bored zombie with no shops to go to.

It's sad because it should be a fantastic place - surrounded by affluent suburbs and with a superb local geography, it should be the focal point of all of S Manchester. The situation is irretrievable, though. It would take such a colossal amount of money to put right the planning mistakes made there over the years (starting with the covering of the Mersey 80 years ago), that it will never happen in our lifetimes.

They're all identical. And dull, dull, DULL!!! Same identical high street, with the same chain bars and shops

That bl**dy Greggs gets everywhere eh! At least 3 of 'em in central Reading alone

If you venture out of the 1960s/70s 'development' zone there are some decent pubs.

Went to university in Stoke - horrible place but full of nice people

good riding near by too

we did self anaesthetise for 3 years though so that probably helped

Another vote for Stoke. Its awful.

Has anyone mentioned Wolverhampton. Equally as awful