What places in the UK have weirded you out - part two

[Yachtinggwoman]

I have started another thread, as the topic is so interesting.

West Bay felt very weird to me. We went after watching Broadchurch. I think it’s partly the strange mix of architecture. The cliff falls are also creepy. There are signs on the beach warning you to stay away from the cliffs.

Thanks, I wanted to post but it was full.

Mine are Llandudno- I think it’s that oldy worldy stuck in the past vibe. And the dry ski slope. Gives me the heebie jeebies.

Saltburn by the sea - same vibe.

And just round the corner from Perranporth beach in Cornwall there is a rocky cove accessed by a some really steep steps. (Droskyn head? Maybe?) Got about halfway down and had to stop, and wouldn’t let the DC go any further. Really ominous and creepy.

I just checked the other thread and see it has been mentioned: Thurso.
I didn't think there was anything wrong with it but it completely freaked out my then ~10 year old dd. We were going to Orkney by ferry from Scrabster and had some time before boarding and went for a wander around Thurso. dd started crying and insisting we'd leave immediately, saying she was scared. I have never seen her like that before or since. She was fine the moment we were back by the car and queuing for the ferry.

The Fens. Particularly the area below Peterborough and above Huntingdon. DH and I drive through it a few weeks back and we both felt overwhelmingly depressed until we got back on the A1 and further south. No idea why.

Glad to see there’s another thread as I was really enjoying the last one.

All these places that weird out people has made me realise I don’t travel enough.

i grew up Near East Grinstead, Went to school there, in fact that’s another weird place. Must be to do with the Scientologists that made their home there. I always felt like I was being watched or waiting for something sinister to happen.

Although I now live in a town (well city now) in North Wales and it’s a shithole I don’t feel that same sort of oppression

Just been reading the other thread.

Agree about Machynlleth. We visited on holiday a few years ago (DH, teen DS) and had the worst argument we’ve ever had. Set off on a walk, DS started complaining, I bit his head off, DH told me to stop being a cow, actual cows were stalking us through the bracken……we drove back to the cottage in stony silence, row resumed. I ended up walking to the little chapel up the road and I sat in there just thinking “What was THAT all about???!!!”. We had a quiet evening with subdued apologies all round. Totally out of character for all of us.
Went to Uni in N Wales, have holidayed there a lot since, love the remote places, never had one of those experiences in shops or pubs people talk about - Machynlleth was something else though. DH and I returned a couple of years later on our own and we still weren’t keen.

Liverpool - have friends who love it, but I always feel uneasy. Once bailed out on a weekend with a friend in my 20s after the first night (she lived there with her dp, I didn’t just abandon her in a hotel) because I felt so creeped out. Have visited the museums and galleries since but I just go to see what I’ve gone to see then can’t wait to get back in the car.

Alnwick - seems designed to turn tourists upside down until all the money falls out their pockets then it’s Fuck Off.

Penryhn Castle - wears the fact it was built with slaver money proudly and unashamedly. I know it’s not alone in that, but there’s something about it that puts me off. The Guides and other staff are lovely.

can someone link to the last thread?

Thurso has had several mentions but I have to say I love it and can’t wait to go back there! There is beautiful scenery , wildlife tours, puffins, whales, seals , bats, castles and the nearby islands.

Wycoller is odd. Not helped by the car park being out of the village and regularly visited by car thieves, who will smash windows and have a rummage even if there is nothing in your vehicle on show. The whole place seems to resent outsiders walking through it, which isn’t a feeling we’ve ever had from other similar villages in the area (Barley, Downham, Sawley etc).

I always feel out of sorts in Keswick. Bit of an Alnwick Vibe “give us your money and fuck off” . No one moves out of anyone’s way on the pavements. The Pencil Museum is good, though.

Flodden didn’t weird me out, but I did feel sad and respectful there. I like the way the mass graves of the Scottish soldiers are deliberately kept vague. You know they are there, I’m sure the landowners know where they are, but no one else needs specifics.

I liked Killhope Lead Mine (was mentioned on the other thread) but DS hated it. Went for a quick walk round then sat in the car while I did the underground tour. If you go, make sure your wellies are long enough - I was nearly turned away because mine were mid calf height and I had to do a verbal disclaimer to the manager that I wouldn’t complain if my feet got wet The history was fascinating and the guides very knowledgeable. The lead miners were better equipped to go and find work elsewhere than coal miners because they were given quite a good level of education to enable them to do their jobs. Local people are still supposed to hand over any ‘minerals’ they find in their gardens to the Bishop Of Durham.

Sandsend near Whitby was another place DS loathed. He had to be prised out of the cottage for every excursion. Maybe he’s more MN-y than I am!

my youngest dd (aged around 9 at the time) said the the same thing about Penryhn Castle when we visited. It did have a bit of a strange vibe to it but we still enjoyed it all except dd who went very quiet and clingy and couldn’t wait to leave there . She said she just felt odd and like someone was watching her and in her head was full of.. something.

Interesting that Machynlleth has got a few mentions... I used to live on the north wales border and have visited most parts of the area, never had any woo experiences. During Covid DP and I decided to go on holiday in the UK as couldn't go abroad. We'd spent a few nice days in Aberdovey. DP fancied Machynlleth and I hadn't been so we booked an air bnb flat.
The minute I stepped foot in that flat o knew we'd made a mistake. Aside from the fact it was a little bit grotty and not like the advertised pictures, I got really bad vibes in there, just a feeling of awful despair and like I 'knew' something bad had happened there. I think DP was feeling similar but didn't want to say, we spent about 10 minutes in there before getting straight back in the car and driving home.
It felt like forever driving away from there.. all the time I was fighting back tears/a panic attack. Once we were out I started to feel better but it took a few days to feel normal again.
I'd forgotten about the murder of that little girl, but maybe it had something to do with that. Horrible thing to happen in such a small close knit community

Danes Dyke near Flamborough on the east coast. There's something very wrong there. Especially coming from the main road, dropping down the hill to the car park. 7 of us went at night in two cars on an investigation. All of us got an instant pounding headache and horrible nausea as soon as we turned down there and as we passed the end of the road!

There's a road in the city next to mine. Gives off absolutely horrific vibes! Went down once as a cut through and ended up in a complete panic. As the road narrowed and the walls got higher, I'd passed the point of no return, couldn't turn round and had to carry on. I've only been truly terrifed a handful of times and that was one of them! It's gated off now... I wonder why!

Once stayed in a farm lodge on a cottage holiday in Wales as a 7 year old kid. Me, the dog and my mum were petrified of one "none" room in the house. You had to pass through it to get to the kitchen and bathroom. It was absolutely awful. Stone floor, fireplace, one small table and a chair. The whole room felt evil. Didn't seem to bother my dad, but it did us!

And to add, I'm so glad we've got a second thread! I devoured the first one and was sad when I got to the end! So thank you! 🌷

The Mumsnet forums.

Flodden didn't make me feel anything much, I had wondered whether I would (ancestors from both sides of borders,and a lot of history there). It just seemed so pleasant, tucked away on the Ford and Etal estate.

That said I actually have an opposite vibe to feeling creepy or distressed most anywhere in Northumberland. I love most of it , included places mentioned on these two threads: Lindisfarne, Alnwick, Bamburgh, Bellingham, Kielder! Parts of Newcastle are a bit rough (Byker, Elswick, Walker) but I don't feel a bad vibe there as such. That said I haven't been to Chillingham castle yet, nor have I ventured into the Bigg Market on a Friday night! 😁😁😁

Not weird but I always feel strangely overwhelmed when looking out to Bardsey Island at the end of the Llyn peninsula.

Regarding Stoke on Trent I forgot to add I did feel a creepy vibe around Hanley Bus station, but that might be because it is minging. And the rats around that end of Hanley are huge! I'm not exaggerating when I say large guinea pig size excluding the tail! Not to mention that horrible Unity House, urghh. But more because just ugly than any vibes.

My favourite sort of thread!

Sandhurst was mentioned in a previous thread, which I do agree with. I had a job interview at Princess Barracks about 10 years ago, and arrived to really thick fog. You could hear gunshots being fired in the distance (assuming a training exercise) but not work out which direction it was in, and recalling the history of Deepcut Barracks as well just sent shivers down my spine. My parents' friend who dropped me off actually didn't want to leave me there, she said it just felt so "off".

Have a weird feeling in Windsor and Runnymede area, I can't think why.

Newport in Wales. Such an angry oppressive vibe. I know South/ West Wales struggles greatly these days but I don't feel this way in Swansea or Cardiff or Carmarthen. I love Pembrokeshire especially Saundersfoot and the Gower. St Davids, I liked the vibe there but I did notice that cold bit in the cathedral.didn't feel any bad vibes but I noticed the cold (hot sunny August day). Very sad to read about Caldey Island, I haven't been there , I noticed when I was in Tenby that there are ferries to it and I saw the chocolate produced there in the shops but had no idea of the abuse history and one of the abuse victims drowning as a child.

Parts of Bristol for me have a sad and heavy vibe. Particularly the road from Cotham to the Highbury Vaults, I was quite happy one day on my way to meet a friend for lunch at the pub there and was almost knocked sideways by an intense feeling of sadness and grief. There is a lot of history there .

The Avon gorge and suspension bridge area also and Leigh Woods have a creepy vibe too. I have heard that as the slave ships came to dock into Bristol that they threw the sick or dead slaves into the Avon river, so in a way it's not surprising . There are some parts of Bristol and things about Bristol I love but there is a very evil past there.

Yes to Llandudno, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The Great Orme seemed very forbidding and oppressive . I went there on a sunny day in summer, and I can imagine how forbidding it might seem on a misty day in winter.

Hatfield, specifically the Galleria. Can't explain it, just feels suffocating and as soon as I go in there, I have to get out again

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5314708-what-places-in-the-uk-have-weirded-you-out

there you go

Whitby. Really seedy down by the front and I just got a very bad vibe from the place. Kept tight hold of the kids and couldn't wait to get out of there.

Oakdene caravan park near Ferndown. Our caravan backed onto a forest. Really eerie feeling in it. Youngest had nightmares about men peering in and things went missing. Couldn’t wait to leave.

Canterbury gave me a heavy feeling like I couldn't breathe freely. The Thanet coast I was fine with, even enjoyed Margate, run down and a bit crap though it is. Canterbury though. Urgh.

Worthing I felt depressed and heavy but that might be because it was a dump when I visited (2003 ish).