To ask what you consider “The North”?

[Hairbrush123]

Just a post about being a Northerner/Southerner which made me think - what do you consider as “The North”? I’ve never had a solid answer for this and just wanted to know the general census on this.

@RaraRachael

It depends if you're referring to the north of England or the north of Britain - there is a difference!

19 pages in and people still think they’re making a fresh point with this...

DH is a Yorkshireman and regards the North of England to start at Sheffield. Technically so do I but in my heart I am at home south of the Thames.

Our best friends are reversed and I suspect we have remained so close because of the comfort and gentle teasing we maintain about the north/south divide.

As a child I used to think it was pretty much anything north of the M4. Over time I was persuaded this was unreasonable and now designate anything from the North London to Birmingham as 'the midlands' and anything north of Birmingham as 'the north'. Wales and Scotland are not involved in the bias against the North as they are different countries. (As a child resident parent was from the South and absent parent from the North so some fairly irrational emotions involved!)

Durham up to the scottish border. Really pisses me off when they talk on the news about something and say "the north" and mean Birmingham or Nottingham or Manchester. My ears might prick up yet it will something totally irrelevant to me as a northumbrian

Potters bar! 😂

Anything beyond Royston I consider up north so I guess I’m just as bad!!

In reality though I think anything above derby is midlands and Scotland is the north

Brae, Mossbank, Hillswick, Yell, Fetlar Unst.

I appreciate that I'm not typical in terms of 'northness' though.

I don't think you can have a south Midlands. . Surely Oxfordshire is south.

I'm a born and bred Essex girl so anything north of the Watford Gap

I'm in London but originally from the north. Considering Birmingham is the midlands, anything north of that is 'the north' from where I am currently. If I was still living in the north, anything sound from Birmingham would be 'the south!' HTH

I'm from the midlands and have been called northern by lots of southern people.

I once dated a guy from Sheffield, and he constantly banged on about being northern and being a proper Yorkshire lad and salt of the earth etc. He used to call me southern even though I'm not that far from Sheffield! I consider Sheffield to be northern in terms of geography... but not northern enough to constantly brag about your northerness!

I’m from Coventry and have never been called a northerner or a southerner. I live a 5 minute drive from the statue that represents the centre of England.

Doesn’t matter whereabouts I go in the UK no one can guess whereabouts I come from. I think the accent is very generic to be honest.

I think of the North as places like Manchester/Leeds/Yorkshire etc.

I grew up on the south coast, so view anywhere north of the M4 with suspicion.

If pushed, I reckon it's anywhere north of the top of Wales. (So Liverpool and Hull are 'up north')

Yorkshire, Lancashire ,and above to me.

@superduster

As a child I used to think it was pretty much anything north of the M4. Over time I was persuaded this was unreasonable and now designate anything from the North London to Birmingham as 'the midlands' and anything north of Birmingham as 'the north'. Wales and Scotland are not involved in the bias against the North as they are different countries. (As a child resident parent was from the South and absent parent from the North so some fairly irrational emotions involved!)

You're still unreasonable. North London isn't the Midlands.

@sluj

It would be a whole lot easier to define the Midlands then the rest would fall into place 🤣

Quite, but I suspect a lot of people would stare blankly and ask what the Midlands is based on this thread.

[quote minniemomo]@SleepingStandingUp

Depends where in the Midlands. In Leicestershire lots of people commute to London and youngsters often don't have midlands accents these days, my two sound distinctly Home Counties as do their friends (state school), changes a lot by the time you drive the 30 miles to Derby, quite a different feel and accents.

The greggs pie chart has the north south line going through Loughborough which fits ... tongue in cheek but I think quite accurate![/quote]
I always think Leicester folk sound VERY Midlands. Much stronger than the Derby accent.

Manchester and up. Midlands aren't north, they're the middle.

Sorry I don't have time to read 19 pages worth of posts

So why add to them? Why assume your contribution is so vital?

Anything above Watford Gap 😆

@audweb

Cairngorms and above. Aberdeen, Inverness etc and above.

This.

I am from Yorkshire, but I have spent a lot of time in the Highlands and was very much put right when I mentioned in passing that I was from ‘the north’ up there.

I like to think of 'the north' as a state of mine rather than a geographical area. I say that as a southerner now living in 'the north' where people are generally quite friendly and like a good chit chat. I'd say that state of mind starts somewhere around Birmingham.

The north of England means Yorkshire and Lancashire and upwards. York was recognised as the northern capital . It housed the Council of the North from Henry VIII to Charles I. Midlands goes up to Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire etc So Sheffield is the most southerly of the northern English cities. I’m not sure how to classify Cheshire though. It’s south of the Mersey but the diocese of Chester is a northern diocese. So there is probably no absolute clear-cut definition.

@StillCoughingandLaughing

So why add to them? Why assume your contribution is so vital?

I don't think my contribution is any more vital than anyone else's but I'm allowed to make it even though you don't agree