What's the worst place you've ever been in the UK?

[In2mindsss]

Ill go first.

Morecambe. Nice views but proper creepy.

Nope. Surrounding areas are worse though (vange is really depressing) so it improves by comparison.

I'm a southerner. I think a lot of places are listed are places people visit and expect to be ok (e.g. Blackpool and Brighton). Here are some grotty places in the south to avoid that people might not know about/aren't obvious destinations:
Burnham on Sea in Somerset (like Weston super Mare but worse)
Bridgwater in Somerset
Portland (as of Portland Bill)
Chatham in Kent
Cwmbran and Newport in South Wales (go to nearby lovely Caerleon instead)
Hastings
Coventry
Bognor Regis
Littlehampton (worse than Bognor but not well-known)

That doesn’t make sense

Blackpool. Was 20 year ago now but I feel like it will only have got worse?
Also Brighton in some areas. But positively oozing with class and culture compared to Blackpool.

This thread is making me want to visit Blackpool just to see if it really is that bad

We were staying in Galloway and went to Stranraer on the train for the day. On arrival the tourist information person seemed surprised we thought that was a good idea, and recommended we immediately get on a bus to a pretty fishing village called Portpatrick.

We walked round the town for a bit and decided to follow her advice!

There are plenty of awful parts of London. Everywhere has iffy parts.

Blackburn. Was driving through for work, daytime on a mid week day. Plenty of men milling around but not a woman in sight. Seriously odd.

I second Kilmarnock. I really, really dislike it and I don’t know why.

My local town- also in a recent BBC programme as you can buy cocaine in the shops!
The News has this year reported on claims of human trafficking, slavery, scavenging, threatening behaviour, theft and a hepatitis outbreak in Lye – with much alleged to centre around a growing Roma community.

Disagree with Belfast, Glasgow and York - all great cities IMO

I was bought up in Stratford. Apparently, according to GransNet it’s now gentrified! It’s a dreadful place and on visits back I can’t wait to leave. I don’t find it intimidating but it’s a sad place where failure is written in people’s eyes. Strange thing is just down the road in Forest Gate, the school there a couple of years ago had the most number of students going on to uni, or maybe Oxbridge, or some such accolade.

Kilburn and Willesden had shops where you could get Nash's lemonade , Jacobs Kimberley biscuits etc! Irish banks and travel agents even. The London Irish population has aged out now though.
Didn't know the area too well but it always seemed safe enough. Same with Archway , Highbury etc.

I always found Stratford the scariest part of London. Recently I passed through it again, my first time since the new mega shopping centre , Euro rail terminal and other ' improvements'. Sorry but it is still a howling wilderness. Seems to have its own antisocial force field. The rest of the borough of Newham not far behind tbh....

I am old but my memories of Wick include Fred Shearer's department store with the huge teddy that used to stand on the stairs and Cabrelli's cafe where mum used to take us for a treat.
Both sadly gone now.

The city of culture status is awarded to places that desperately need an uplift. Its not an aknowledgement of existing quality . A city near me was in the running and up against Hull where my SIL lives. I was sad that we didn't get it. Then I went to Hull and I realised that we arw were actually a little corner of paradise compared to there.

Sorry @Bertiebiscuit I missed your post. But we seem to have similar experiences of Stratford as @Pushmepullu . So it's not just me then !

Perth in Scotland. It's not ugly but there is absolutely nothing going on and there's something vaguely depressing about it. Makes Dundee look a throbbing metropolis.

In terms of creepy vibes, for me it’s Stroud. Something about it is stale and dead. It’s all lentil burgers and bored teenagers. Couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Parts of Croydon felt pretty edgy. Other parts are nicer.

Wolverhampton
Blackpool
Rotherham
Stoke
Small Heath in Birmingham
Wigan
Oldham

All very unpleasant places.

People saying Belfast, have you been in the last 20 years?. It's really improved since I used to go there as a child pre GFA.

I think Stratford is fine too, definitely the Olympic park area but other bits like Hackney Wick that someone mentioned up thread. All areas of London have good and bad parts side by side, including places like Chelsea. I do agree that Edmonton and Tottenham don't have much to recommend them though.

I think it also encourages every town that’s bidding, council included, to pull together to make an effort for spruce up. Though, if you’re right, perhaps they should do the opposite.

Luton. I went to University there. I absolutely hated it. I still remember the feeling of relief when my parents came to collect me from there for the last ever time.

Weirdly it went from lovely to horrible so quickly too. Was there for a few days in 2021 and 2022 and it was lovely. By summer 2023 it was scary. It was like I'd somehow missed 20years of decline in 12months.

We went to Blackpool as a family a few years ago, the tower, winter gardens, Madame Tussaud’s and the sea front are all amazing however if you leave the promenade area it’s extremely run down, windows boarded up and just doesn’t look very loved at all.

However, we had a great time.

we have been to Morecame and it was a sad place, even the promenade is run down, shops boarded up a bit of a dive actually. We stayed for an hour and left.