To ask for your experiences with Bath/strange atmospheres

The place I hate and can't wait to get out of is Brighton. It's so sinister and dirty and urgh. I am always so glad to get on the M23 heading north out of there.

I also dislike Hastings for the same reasons.

i once had a flatmate from Banbury. Seemed nice enough until one night he got a cab home after a night out. He had no money - just a bottle of tequila.

Any guesses as to what he did when he realised he couldn't pay the fare? Did he offer the cabby the bottle as payment? No. He "lamped him round the head with it and legged it".

And then, of course, he came home to relay the story to me with a cheeky grin as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

@CatherineOfAragonsPomegranate I grew up near Banbury, it was one of the nearest shopping towns to our village and I had school friends who lived there. It wasn't a great place to live back then (we're talking 20+ years ago) as there was a big drugs and gang problem but I never felt any bad vibes or atmosphere at all when I was there. I drive through it now when I go back to visit my parents and don't feel it has any negative energy. This thread is really interesting though!

I lived in Bath for two years and loved it and never heard of anyone saying this

Love Cornwall!

This is off the Woo track (and I'm more of the Radon being a factor), but following on from a pp I wonder if any of these places are associated with celtic rituals, druid sacrifice or just some horrible bloody events. Romans weren't known for being gentle. Just a thought. When I was in Bath I almost wanted to shout into air: please stop crying.

And what's with Plymouth?

And Banbury is smack bang in concentrated Radon centre so I wonder what anyone living there thinks.

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I work in Bath...it's fine.
Visit Glastonbury a lot to see friends...batshit.

Bath is basically in a bowl, which I think has a lot to do with it feeling weird. I still like it, though.

Portland is weird because it's an island, has virtually no trees, has the Verne and used to have the naval base and underwater weapons establishment. I quite like visiting and we had some great times visiting friends down Chiswell as children, but I wouldn't want to live there.

I haven’t been to the Isle of Wight, despite having lived in sight of it for some years and every NHS letter I get reminding me Hampshire is very close to it. I even had a colleague who got the ferry over every day when I worked in Southampton. Not been to Hastings or Glastonbury, either.

I think geology can play its part in how you feel about a place. I prefer living on chalk rather than heathy soils. I can also believe we won't all have the same sensitivities, in the same way some people like broccoli or fish and others don't. So it's no surprise some people feel weird about certain places and others don't.

Agree about Harrogate being weirdly soulless. I get the same feeling in Ilkley...there seems to be a lot of spa towns being mentioned. Also stayed overnight in a pub in Glastonbury once and just couldn't sleep. Like heightened senses, hackles up and raging anxiety (which I've never had before or since) all night. Was fine in the LGI maternity ward (pp) but then I was rather preoccupied and quite heavily drugged every time I've been in there!

I think a lot of people find seaside towns quite depressing. They are often old and weather beaten, packed with relics of a once great bygone era. Also, they are the end of the road for a lot of people, so homelessness, drugs and other social problems are common and give an air of sadness and desperation.

I live in Hastings and I love it, but it’s a weird place. But then, I’m weird.

My family live in Brighton and while I don’t feel a sense of impending doom there, I don’t get the appeal.

I spent some time living in a couple of towns on the Surrey commuter belt and hated them. Lacked personality and everyone seemed disinterested in general, but everyone I knew thought they were lovely places to live! I guess we all belong somewhere and what suits one will not suit the other.

As I’ve said previously, Isle of Wight is the only place I felt things weren’t quite right. The whole place was covered in thick fog the whole time I was there as well, which didn’t help. Also I visited this horrid little wax works that was terrifying, so maybe that’s tainted my view...

Cornwall does feel depressing at times.

I'm the opposite, Bath is my happy place. Glastonbury on the other hand gives me the creeps...

Me and DH went to Bath last year and loved it. Didn't feel strange at all.

However (and apologies in advance to anyone who lives there) I cannot stand Cornwall. I visited several times when my late SiL lived there and every single time I felt so depressed and couldn't wait to go home. Can't put my finger on what caused it - it just all seemed so grey and miserable, even when the sun was out. My mood changed as soon as we crossed the border into Devon. I've never felt like that anywhere else that I've been.

Great Yarmouth is a strange one. I was on a course once and we all had to name our favourite place in Norfolk. I (as an incomer) said somewhere i thought was picturesque - everyone else in my group (native Norfolkers) said Yarmouth. It was weird - especially because, like pps, whenever i go anywhere near there i want to run away screaming. I was thinking "you live in one of the most unspoilt counties in England and you choose that shithole as your favourite?!"

My mother & I adored Bath, but my father didn't like it one bit. He reckoned it was due to the fact it's in a dip surrounded by hills.

My parents went to Great Yarmouth once and also said they hated it, my DM also really disliked Newquay.

Ive never been to Bath but actually really want to go now after reading this thread, just to see if I get any similar vibes from it.

I don't like great yarmouth either. Some places make me feel weird. It's not the surroundings but more of an aura in the area that I do not like. I HATE Plymouth!

I had the same feeling in Great Yarmouth, just overwhelming feeling of despair and sadness, me and oh went to Eyam, very weird and the streets were totally empty, just really creepy, it was like the place had really closed down, very eerie,

I start feeling free once you get to the top of Dartmoor heading west. Yes, it's harsh, yes, it's damp, but the bleakness and desolation and sense of millennia relaxes me and I can breathe properly. And when the sun is out and the wildflowers are blooming, it's absolutely beautiful.

I agree, @MitziK. On the other hand, my husband has been known to say 'This is like Mordor'.

Gosh some quite strong feelings about bath! I live here with my 4yo and 1yo. We have a normal life, work, school run, toddler groups, friends etc. I can't say that I've ever heard anyone here saying that they feel the city is draining them, feels melancholy, etc. It's just a place to live. Perhaps all the people that feel bad here have left tho so I've not met them?! Same as anywhere, in that sense.

I don't think all the initiatives here fail, as per a pp. What are you thinking of specifically?! It seems a pretty forward thinking and ok community to me.

I love Aylesbury and High Wycombe!

Hastings and Exeter seem to be very common themes 😳

On the contrary @whiteroseredrose to me, Venice felt far too alive - with the past. Especially at night. Love it but i don't think the hairs on the back of my neck went down the whole time i was there. The pope died during my stay, which didn't help.

With regard to Exeter, there was apparently a big paedophile ring in that area in the 70s/80s. Not sure if that might leave a legacy in the atmosphere for some people.

What about Venice? I've been there a couple of times and there's a deadness about it.

I used to live in the old town part of Hastings and I moved away only because of commuting issues so I didn't find it oppressive, but DH never felt like he fitted in there without ever understanding why. I like visiting areas near Glastonbury but don't like the atmosphere in the town at all. I've felt quite upset there sometimes and also had a friend who had a huge meltdown there so now I stay away. I have only visited Bath once - I remember not enjoying it but that's all.