To wonder what Northampton has got going for it?

[Bluebellsinseason]

Anything? Apart from some nice villages?

Will add my 2pennoth....

Northamptonshire is a beautiful county - as has already been said. There are lovely villages across the whole county - I live in one myself. Being close to the M1 is a great bonus.

the "towns" are not great. They suffered badly in the 70'd having to take London overspill - both Northampton and Wellingborough had huge estates built which they then filled, often with those they wanted rid of. In latter years the town centres have suffered from a lack of investment. I never go into Northampton but shop in MK, Market harborough, or Cambridge instead.

I have lived in many places around the country and whilst Northampton may not be anywhere near the top it dosn't deserve some of the comments on here. (Now Wellingborough....well that is another story )

I thought Weillngborough was in Beds

I hadn't realised there was a shoe museum, is it in the town itself? I had realised it was famous for shoemaking obviously as I have a degree in fashion donchaknow

Now I wouldn't call Northampton Town "insular". I think it is far from it. It seems to have a good mix of people from all over the country. I do think Wellingborough is though - as anyone I have met who hails from there can either trace their lineage back a few generations or they arrived with the "big migration"

What's happened to the place? We lived there in the early 90's and it was ok. The town centre was like any other and we quite liked it there. There are some lovely buildings in the centre and the market square was lovely Has it got worse?

Yes, Bluebellsinseason why do you want to know? - maybe we can point you in the right direction.

Coton Manor is great for seeing Bluebells in season....

I don't think there's anything bad about northants/nshire we live here, it's perfectly fine. It's just not particularly special either.

Dr Who went to the Boys School in Northampton.

hotpinkweasel I can think of better ways to 'find out lovely things about a town' than starting a thread entitled "AIBU to wonder what Northampton has going for it". The tone of the question is very judgemental and doesn't suggest that OP is truly in search of 'lovely' things to do; just that OP wants his/her view confirmed that there is nothing going for Northampton.

If nothing else, it's quite rude and patronising to people who live in Northampton or Northants and are perfectly happy and enjoy where they live.

On television yesterday the Restaurant Inspector programme overhauled a restaurant in Northampton near the Derngate and it typified many small businesses in the region: charging London prices for an ok product and zero customer service. The owners thought they were working hard but as the restaurateur and programme showed, they spent a lot of time in the restaurant but spent most of it gossiping and showed no interest in their customers. And whilst the younger owner was full of fire in her belly and potential by the end of the programme, I did wonder if the good work was maintained as the mother's face was a picture of pursed-lipped resistance!

I'm actually very fond of my adopted home - idyllic friendly rural spot to bring up children and all that - but am not blind to its faults and have lived in many places to compare it with. It could be lovely but it lacks the grand vision to make it so.

I think I would conclude that Northants isn't sexy, like, say Chipping Norton. You ain't going to get a Northampton 'set', for example. But it is friendly, with pretty countryside and old stone buildings, and the history of the place can be very interesting. It's cheap to spend time there and easy to get to. if you like walking and riding and fishing and so on, it's particularly good. But don't think you'll get a skinny decaff cappucino in a local pub or a Hollywood wax in a local beautician, because you won't. It's about 20 years behind London in most things, and that is its charm.

I think if the replies are saying...there's lots of nice places nearby, then you have all the information you need.

Stoatie you lived in the posh bit then?

Well - feeling a tad guilty for my Northampton slaying (and lets face it I hail from an area that has the delights of Coventry ) I googled my student house - it doesn't look any different at all - which is a shame as it needed a facelift all those years ago! In fact the side of the street I lived on is exactly as it was although now got new development on the other side.

Which is a sad reflection on "student housing areas" which are neglected for decades

OK - a few more Northants gems

1 Rockingham Castle - where the Cavaliers held out against the roundheads - used to film the TV series "By the sword divided"
2 Triangular Lodge near Rushton - scene of the plotting of the gunpowder plot
3 Lyvden New Bield - a folly built by the Tresham family of gunpowder plot fame
4 Fotheringhay Castle - where Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded
5 Boughton House - home (one of)! of the Duke of Buccleuch
6 Deene Park
8 Kirby Hall
9 Kelmarsh Hall
10 Lamport Hall

These are just a a few that are within a few miles of me. Not to mention e.g. the birthplace of George Washington, the village with the oldest church in England. I could bore for England over this.....

Just try googling and you will find loads. It is a historic county and even the much maligned Kettering (which I agree has gone from being an OK market town to a total dump) was one of the centres of the anti slavery movement that grew out of non-conformism.

Don't knock it if you don't know it.

Not for nothing is is called "the county of squires and spires".

Unfortunately because of its great rail links to London it is becoming one of the counties they want to concrete over with loads of faceless housing. It is the fastest growing county with the fastest growing volume of traffic in England (unfortunately).

cheerup me too! Although I was born in the '60s...

Lyvden New Bield is possibly the dullest monument in all history. A smallish uninteresting folly in the middle of a damp field, with bugger all else all around.

In fact, if you look at a National Trust UK map, the whole of Northamptonshire is entirely devoid of interesting, accessible heritage (anything half decent is privately owned and not generally open to the public). It's like a heritage-killing bomb went off over Northants and swathed a 20 mile radius.

Ditto the map of Michelin-starred restaurants, or Good Pub Guide winners - that Chicago Rock Cafe gets a 'best restaurant' mention from an earlier poster is enuff said. The place is a gastronomic desert. Best you can hope of any restaurant is that you don't get food poisoning.

Redeeeming features.. ummmm... when I lived there it used to have quite a lot of clothing/show factory shops, where you could buy end of season lines, rejected sale items, sample goods, and other stuff that the rest of the country didn't want? It's flat, so you don't waste unnecessary petrol getting about?

See - perfectly balanced review..

aw AuntLucy you love it really

why do you think there's nothing mentioned in guidebooks?

'cos we locals don't want any intruders

Don'tcha just love it when posters are all bitter and twisted

and no-one has mentioned this world famous event

Northampton people are NOT friendly and approachable! Believe me, I can trace my family roots there back to 1546- and the true Northamptonians still talk about them 'London estates' (the estates built to house the London overspill' and them Londoners and them funny buggers from up Leicester. In fact, even people from the next village will hate each other.
And woe betide if you pronounce Cogenhoe or Duston or Weston or Towcester incorrectly. Let alone the river Nene.
In fact, I met a bloke in lowestoft who had grown up in Kingsthorpe and practically the first thing he said was 'Well, is it NEN or NEEN?'

you forgot to add Bozeat and Rothwell to the list, Mardy

and it's Neen btw

IT'S BLOODY NENN!!!!! Only people from east Anglia say NEEN!!!!! (Oh dear, my roots are showing...)

Corby is fine, it's actually getting a lot nicer here and I don't put it in the same category of shiteness that is Kettering and Northampton.

Cheap shoes ;)
That's about it, but compare it 2 Luton, and Northamptons a winner! not fro Luton at all

ah - you spotted the EA connection then

OOh yes- the Dr marten factory shop !