Ever visited somewhere for the day and been really disappointed?

[Summerhouse2013]

We travelled to Yeovil in Somerset yesterday for the day, wow, we were so disappointed.

It was like a ghost town. Most of the shops were shut, only a handful were open. And towards the bottom area of the town most of the shops were completely closed down.

I'd always got the impression there was a lot more to Yeovil.

We left after an hour as there was nothing to do.

Oh, that’s so sad. And I can definitely see why things are not looking great for Bath.

@Elphame
Regarding “creepy” Tredegar House -
I am so pleased to know what you have shared. Thank you so much.
My mother instinctively picks up “vibes” but I never have but at Tredegar House I most definitely did. It was overwhelming and such a shame as I had been really looking fwd to ticking the property off my list. I couldn’t wait to get out and away.

What station was that? Did you offer to help her?

Paris is overrated.

@Itakecreaminmycoffee

To be fair, the covered market is struggling nowadays. As you'll probably be going back at some point, can I suggest a few places for lunch...
Next to the RadCam is The Vaults, underneath the church there.

Then Handel Bar - St Michael's st, not far from The Union,
in Jericho, The Jericho Cafe,Wilding Oxford,
Or more formal stuff - Ashmoleam cafe, The Alice at The Randolf, Gee's,
Or try Cowley road - Cafe Coco, loads of cafes down there,
Opposite Head of the River not far from the shopping centre, is a lovely cafe called the Paper Boat.
Victors at the top of the Westgate is nice too.

Honestly, I'm really surprised you can't find somewhere nice for lunch. PM me if you like.

Me too!!

I was just coming on to say that there are some places listed here that I know quite well that I’d be underwhelmed by or overly stressed by if just visiting for a day.

Bath for example - arrive by train and spend at least a couple of days - very different to arriving by car and just visiting for a day (especially Saturday).

People who already know Bath love coming for the day.

During the last Christmas market two women asked me directions - they’d just arrived and wanted brunch before going to the market. I walked them to a really nice square away from the hordes on the main drag. They were really happy with that.

Waddesdon Christmas Market has definitely gone down hill over the years. Not worth the entrance fee and it is shockingly expensive as a seller too.

My friend was really disappointed in Ross on Wye.
Mind you she’d got confused and thought she was in Hay on Wye. The bookshops were a real let down.

Not a town, but Strawberry Fields mosaic in Central Park extremely underwhelming. The park is stunning though.

Believe me even if you’d visited Yeovil on a weekday when all shops are open you’d have been very underwhelmed. So many have closed down over the past few years. If M and S ever closed that would be the final death knell for a town that was once quite a lively market town, although never the prettiest. It’s so sad what has happened to it and the Town Council’s idea of rejuvenation is to dig up the old pavements to replace them with wider ones. This is taking forever and not helping with attracting custom - the bottom end looks like carnage.

I was underwhelmed by Ross on Wye, even without confusing it with Hay on Wye. But you aren’t far, as compensation, from the lovely Arts & Crafts All Saints’ Church at Brockhampton.

The only really underwhelming place I remember is The Baths of Aphrodite in Cyprus- nothing but a stinking green pool surrounded by shitting pigeons!

Actually, I was disappointed in the bookshops in Hay.

This. It felt like an overpriced McDonald's with a neglected garden centre attached. We were looking forward to it as a highlight of our Cornwall trip but it felt a complete waste of time and money.

St Austell

We stayed at a place close by called Almerimar and they really didn't have anything - it was a new development around a Marina but there had been a financial crash and it was incomplete with empty shop fronts and unlet apartments (I think we visited 2012). I thought Rocquetas De Mar was OK in comparison . We visited a little place called San Jose which was lovely.

Truro
Whitstable

I'm not keen on Warwick - not much going on in the town except for the Castle.
I didn't like Brighton much either - looked quite scruffy and was very expensive.

Folkestone

I also don't feel at ease in Glastonbury. Even as a teenager, I found the vibes really strange.
Lots of huge egos on all those new age shops.
Really tried to like it, but just not for me.

Most people don’t realise that the city is right next to the pyramids, because they are always photographed with the city behind the camera! This picture shows the proximity. I think in the collective Western imagination everyone visualises them in the middle of a desert. If you go expecting it to be a bit like finding Stonehenge in the middle of Piccadilly Circus then you won’t go far wrong

@JamieCH I understand Folkestone is pretty trendy these days but as a Kent coast born person I can't shake the image of Folkestone as a place for cheap leggings, second hand white goods (my dad would drags us round ratty second hand places in Folkestone for hours searching for cheap white goods) and grotty nightclubs.

suprised at the all the people that didn’t like Warwick castle, I love it! We have spent the night there a few times and they put on evening entertainment for the kids. Love the birds of prey and all of the history and the dc really enjoyed the play ground. It’s possibly one of my favourite places to stay for a short break that isn’t in Cornwall.

I think in the collective Western imagination everyone visualises them in the middle of a desert
That's true, I'm afraid

Think it really depends on what you want to do in a place...

Seen people rubbish Ludlow - but I thought it had excellent 14th century pubs, really nice restaurants and loads of walks in the Shropshire Hills. Even saw wild ponies! And they had their very own micro brewery which was a very cool venue - old rail station. But if you're not a foodie, or a big drinker or a lover of the outdoors - it would be very boring.

Not sure why you picked Yeovil or what sort of things you like to do - but I've never heard of it as an interesting town.

San Francisco was a let down! The amount of meth heads/druggies/homeless setting up large camps all through the downtown area made it un-walkable and unsafe. Even the theatre district was like dodging a mine field of these camps, and all the shops had armed police to protect from them. It was ridiculously expensive for the most basic things. We tried restaurants in China Town and thought London China Town was much better. It had lovely outdoor spaces/parks and Golden gate Bridge was fab but the rest of the city just didn't have as much to see/do as I would expect from somewhere so big.