To nominate as the country's worst town centre....

[moogster1a]

...Rochdale.
Good God it's a god forsaken place. There appears to be half a dozen payday loan shos, a few poundland things and some mobile 'phone shops.
It's got so bad that even maccy d's has shut down.
It's only redeeming feature is that Gabbots farm is still clinging on.

but Melrose has Burt's Hotel
sigh

Did someone put Edinburgh on this list? If that is a crap town you really haven't been to many places!

Someone mentioned Solihull AGAIN! It's one of the nicest towns with all the shops you could ever need, great nightlife, a huge mall, all the coffee shops you could ever desire, great restaurants... just what makes it so bad?

Yes I put Edinburgh in

Unless you go on foot it is awful
really bad
The main road has been closed due to tram works
even buses cant go along Princes ST

also the 2nd and 3rd roads
varies day to day if the bus can go along George St /Queen st

rest is tartan tat

And they're talking about banning taxis from the station at Waverley ( in case of terrorism)

Some people have an odd idea of what makes a town crap though. For me it is exactly as Spuddy said:

'I think for me the 'worst' place not only must have ugly architecture, dreadful shops/pubs/restaurants, the feeling of total failure and pointlessness, desolation, despair and despondency but to be the worst, to really push it into the ranks of worst it must have a feeling of violence and danger at every turn.'

For others they seem to think a town being 'boring' and full of crusty middle aged DM readers is enough to condemn it, or the fact that the one way system is annoying.

Defending Stevenage as it may not be historical etc but it does have shops, a nice old part and a big leisure park with bowling, cinema etc

Piles of vomit on the pavement is a good way to judge a town. You might some in any big town on any given Sunday morning but Colchester manages to have vomit hopscotch on Wednesday lunchtimes.

Apparently in Chicago in the early hours of the morning the streets are washed. Not just swept but hot water and detergent. I'd vote for that here.

But Stevenage saps the life out of you. Old Stevenage is a bit more scenic but really Stevenage is not somewhere that is wonderful.

@witsend West Croydon isn't a town centre though.

Stafford! Born and grew up there. Left at the earliest opportunity. Feel quite suicidal when I have to visit. My daughter is 5 and she thinks it's crap.

What's wrong with Swindon? not pretty but has a fair few shops! I give you Woking not that's crap!!

Lol @ vomit hopscotch!

dontaskwhereilive I haven't even heard of some of those shops you mentioned!!! I've only lived on the Yorkshire coast for 9 years!! There is a great Designer Outlet Mall outside York....we go there regularly. Takes just under an hour to get there from Brid.,probably the same from Scarborough...fairly wheelchair user friendly,I would say, and a nice kids play area.Its got a GAP

jamdonut - which haven't you heard of? Are tehy not all pretty mainstream shops? I thought they were tbh.

Will pick your brains further dc's want to know if the ToysRUs is good and if there is a Zara?

I know the out of town place you mean - that would be a major undertaking for us with the travel sick issues we have. It must be a good 100 mile round trip? Oh well. I'll have to get used to it.

To be fair...I 've never heard of Neals Yard...but I can't say I've ever seen a Monsoon anywhere, or a Zara Toys r us is York or Hull...gotta say..never been in either .I think Laura Ashley is in York, H+M..I'm not sure..

To be honest,since moving , I have learned that if something is "just up the road" it will be at least 20 miles away!! That is almost the standard distance between all the "big" towns, or almost 40 miles to a city! (Again , in my case, York or Hull). Having lived the first 39 years of my life no more than 25 miles from the centre of London,and an easy tube or train ride away,it was a shock at first! But I've got used to it, and now I just travel to where the shops I need are. My kids don't really know any better, and make do with what's around them,or, my 15 year old daughter goes with friends on the train to Scarborough or Hull.
However, when all is said and done, I prefer my new surroundings to my old...I would never go and live back "down south".

catford...it makes my eyes sad.

shirebrook near mansfield as well, don't know if anyone knows it? It is one of the most desolate, boring, soul destroying places I have ever been.

Oh PeppyNephrine, we are as one in the hatred of Blackburn. Though when I went back at Christmas the new centre looked OK. In the 90s there was nowhere to buy decent clothes and shoes if you didn't want to look like a baby hooker, and nowhere to eat out if you didn't like takeaway pizza and formica.

I would have said Stevenage or Luton.

Until I went to Bedford.

Dontask There is a Monsoon, Zara, Laura Ashley and H&M in York. H&M, Monsoon and Laura Ashley are in York city centre and Monks Cross on the outskirts.

Toys R Us is at Clifton Moor.

I reckon it takes about an hour to York from Scarborough.

Not sure about Neals Yard stuff though.

Neal's Yard just opened shop in York.

I am not a fan of Scarborough but the area is great. The North York Moors are beautiful.

I'm surprised LUTON isn't listed in every single post

Warrington
Swindon
Weston Super Mare
Bracknell
Hatfield
Yate

I flipping love Scarborough especially tricolos

Northfields Birmingham.Scary place.
Great Yarmouth,DH said that if that was Great Yarmouth,he'd hate to se Shit Yarmouth.
Can't belive no one has mentioned Skegness,or Skegvegas as we know it.