Trip Home

[Wanderer]

Just driven Dublin to Wakey via Ferry and via my hometown Bolton, no issues but a few probs lol!

Was on the WB Yeats, nice boat, very big but I still prefer the Ulysses, I dunno why, anyway, zero checks at Dublin Port, lots of UK Border Force folks about at Holyhead, causing queues and delays, wasn't stopped this time.

Drove no issues to Bolton to collect some Carrs Pasties (Google!) and have three tyres fitted at F1, guy said 2 hours to wait so had to wander into Bolton Town Centre and kill time. My God it was AWFUL, must be 30 years since I was in town, it was bad then now it's worse. Really pains me, wasn't the greatest place on earth but it had character. Now any shop still functioning is a betting shop or 50p shop, and people all seem to be 50 but like 70, shuffling around in scruffy clothes, stooped, like totally defeated. Much as I'd like can't blame Brexit for that, it's just the general brow-beating of the working class, no work now, no class.

Couldn't stand it, went back to tyre place to wait.

Two rears on, I messed up the size on the front (one tyre already replaced after puncture a month back) - to be honest not a lot of difference so far (Pilot Sport 4S over Pirelli P-0's) but one trip only so far. F1 will sort wrong tyre for me at Leeds this week.

Rear discs and pads ready for MOT that I know will need sorting, fingers crossed, nothing else feels wrong. MOT Monday.

 

[Lozzer]

You describe a picture typical of what I see everywhere in the North, apart from the tourist places all the town's around here are dead. Aye it's grim up north.
Good luck with the mot.

 

[safrane]

Grew up in Edgerton till 76... it was far better than Accrington where we went afterwards.

Both are s h i t holes now... so glad Im in the cotswold now.

 

[Silvercat]

You describe a picture typical of what I see everywhere in the North, apart from the tourist places all the town's around here are dead. Aye it's grim up north.
Good luck with the mot.

Not like this in Kirkby Stephen!...its a thriving little farming community with local unique shops on the high street and not one which is empty. A rare sight to see these days.

 

[Lozzer]

Not like this in Kirkby Stephen!...its a thriving little farming community with local unique shops on the high street and not one which is empty. A rare sight to see these days.

You said it there, it's a little community, town's however.....I'm lucky I live in a village on the outskirts of Cockermouth but even so I can see the community dying in front of my eyes , don't know anyone anymore and the people that move here don't mingle with the local folk, guess what the next best thing to do is when you can't afford a holiday home in Cockermouth ? Yep buy one here!

 

[Silvercat]

You said it there, it's a little community, town's however.....I'm lucky I live in a village on the outskirts of Cockermouth but even so I can see the community dying in front of my eyes , don't know anyone anymore and the people that move here don't mingle with the local folk, guess what the next best thing to do is when you can't afford a holiday home in Cockermouth ? Yep buy one here!

I've been in this neck of the woods for nearly 8 years now and I know and talk to all the farmers around me (7 farms) on first name terms. They all stop their quad bikes for a chat when out walking the dog and always help if you need a favour and visa versa
I once had a big problem with my septic tank drain field and a company in Penrith wanted to charge me £5k to fix it. Through the farmers around me they knew some local chaps to do the work and it cost £1600. I've also helped them out with their sheep when weve had heavy snow and when weve had floods so I think on balance the community certainly in my local area seems to work quite well.

 

[FF1078]

My wife and I stayed in Tamworth last Wednesday a night before going to Crufts the day after. My good what you described above is exaclty the same as Tamworth. All frozen food shops, pound shops or charity shops and the people just looked knackered. I dont know what is happening to The North?

 

[Silvercat]

My wife and I stayed in Tamworth last Wednesday a night before going to Crufts the day after. My good what you described above is exaclty the same as Tamworth. All frozen food shops, pound shops or charity shops and the people just looked knackered. I dont know what is happening to The North?

I think it's towns generally ( North, South East or West) where there has been a historical dependency on the big chain shops, which have been decimated by online shopping. I live in a rural area where the big chains would never venture ( not enough footfall) so we have evolved locally owned small specialist shops which seem to do rather well. With the exception of one - "Mad About Mountains" (which is one of the best climbing shops in the UK) most don't sell on line. We dont have a single high street shop which is vacant and there is only one mainstream shop 'Costa Coffee' in existence plus 3 other local coffee shops which all co exist quite well. So 'going local' seems to work and it brings more of a unique aspect to our small high street. Maybe more smalls towns need to follow the same approach.

 

[Wanderer]

I think it's towns generally ( North, South East or West) where there has been a historical dependency on the big chain shops, which have been decimated by online shopping. I live in a rural area where the big chains would never venture ( not enough footfall) so we have evolved locally owned small specialist shops which seem to do rather well. With the exception of one - "Mad About Mountains" (which is one of the best climbing shops in the UK) most don't sell on line. We dont have a single high street shop which is vacant and there is only one mainstream shop 'Costa Coffee' in existence plus 3 other local coffee shops which all co exist quite well. So 'going local' seems to work and it brings more of a unique aspect to our small high street. Maybe more smalls towns need to follow the same approach.

Bolton has a population of about 250,000 so it's not small beer. it's just too close to Manchester and the Trafford Centre. Additionally seems to populated to by what I call pseudo-tories, a Brexit town despite the way the tories have treated the very towns that powered the Empire in a way.

Need some serious reinventing, but the council seem to lack any vision at all. There's a £100m 'pot' to re-energise the town, seen the photoshopped images today, it's all housing and town centre flats despite no one wanting the live there.

One thing I did notice, no shortage of 20-plate Audi Q7's et al on the streets and the sheer number of high (ish) end car showrooms, Audi, BMW, etc, where is the money coming from?

 

[allandwf]

I was the same last month, had an hour and a half to kill while waiting for a new windscreen to be fitted. Wandered into Dundee town centre, how depressing.! Same as above, cheap shops, betting shops and the other 50% to let. ( I suppose I am partly to blame as do half my shopping on line :/ )

 

[D Walker]

What you describe is why we moved to Thirsk. Redcar is depressing/ even though the village we lived in was actually quite nice. Really like Thirsk tho.