09 August 2005

Hull, Hell and Huddersfield.


Although the weather was poor when we were on our trip it did not ruin the holiday. Even in the rain the hills were so beautiful and when the sun did come out the variation of the light on the hills constantly highlighted different features of them. I could have sat watching them change for hours.

Being up in the lake district made me feel homesick for the North, even if we were on the wrong side of the Pennines. I miss the hills I miss the moors, the pints with a decent head on them. When I lived in Sheffield I liked it that in certain parts of the city centre I could look up above the buildings and see the moors. Here I look above the buildings and see only sky. Yes we have "big skies" here in East Anglia but when it rains the landscape just looks soggy. The moors, in the rain, look threatening, majestic, intimidating choose your adjective. I can understand how the Brontes were influenced by them and how the moors run through some of their most read books.

It's not that all of East Anglia is uninspiring, there are parts of Norfolk that are really nice and Norwich is a lovely city, it is just it isn't Yorkshire.

The title to this post was inspired by watching C4's 10 Best And Worst Places In Britian and Hull once again is Britian's numero uno most awful place.

8 comments:

  1. Maybe Hull is voted Britain's worst place, because it has an active TG nightlife? Just a thought.

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  2. Rachel - I didn't know that it had an active TG nightlife. No they gave Hull a drubbing because of the crime, poor schools, weight problems, unemployment etc. Mind you an old boyfriend of mine grew up there and he loved the place. The programme also gave Nottingham a drubbing and I really like Nottingham.

    My old hometown Harrogate came 3rd in the best places to live but it can be extremely unfriendly and when I lived there when I couldn't wait to get out.

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  3. These places are only voted as the "worst" because of their relatively small size. Birmingham on the other hand is quite a sprawl, second only to London. Most visitors are seduced by the massive central investment covering an area the size of a postage stamp. Closer inspection of its outlying areas would reveal it to be the shit-hole of all shit-holes. Nevertheless, it's my hometown and I love it. Here's a shameless plug for a post on my own weblog:-

    http://donswift.blogspot.com/2005/04/no-rhythm-no-blues.html

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  4. Nottingham city centre is lovely, but it has some well dodgy subburbs that you really wouldn't want to stray into

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  5. As you have mentioned the Bronte's, I feel it my duty to warn your readers not to go to Haworth as they have some of the worst car clampers in the country. Believe me the cream teas do not seem quite so tasty when you return to your car and find a shaved monkey demanding £50 for the slightest parking infringement.

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  6. I like Hull ! I have to go there at least every other month because the company I work for has north and south head office. Hull is the registered office.

    I think half the problem is that people in Hull always go on about how crap it is rather then the good bits !

    Scummy footy fans though after their chants on Saturday about the London bombings.

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  7. I've never been to Hull, although my hsuband assures me it deserves its place in the worst towns. I like places that are 'craptowns'. For instance, whenever we go back to Wales (my husband is Welsh) I love going to 'the Valleys' where his dad is from. So industrial and fascinating and dreadful what happened after the mines closed. Beautiful Decay.

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  8. Em, I'm with you I like industrial decay as well. Well when it is beautiful it's better for the workers of course if it is ugly and operating industrial architecture.

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