# What do you know about UK cities/towns...other than London?



## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

isakres said:


> lol. Haberdashers' Aske's Schools.
> 
> Must say besides the schools, the towns are veeerry quiet and calm.


I see, my school was a state school not private but it had links with the Drapers' Company who would finance various stuff. These old London trade companies do a lot of that stuff

http://thedrapershall.co.uk/


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

Typically people only really know about tourist destinations in any country, unless that city is exceptionally famous for something.

Most of the bigger cities in England are industrial and aren't tourist destinations, and aren't particularly attractive. The attractive cities tend to be much smaller, and are places that were prominent before the industrial revolution, such as York, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath.

It's hardly surprising most people from overseas can't really picture Leeds. Most in the UK have no idea what Leeds looks like either.

It can be interesting looking at a tourists pictures though, to see what catches their eye. I remember we had some co-workers over from India, and they took pictures of things that to people from the UK would seem mundane, but would be really unusual to someone from India - terraced street houses with bay windows, for example.


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## Johnoo1 (Oct 21, 2011)

NordikNerd said:


> Actually besides London, the only UK city I saw was Ashford from the window of the train when the Eurostar stopped for a couple of minutes.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Based on what you have seen they lookalike - that's rich coming from a Swede with the dull boring clones of towns from Ostersund to Uddevalla with their historic centres ripped out and cloned buildings all over the place.


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## Johnoo1 (Oct 21, 2011)

Jonesy55 said:


> :? How on earth have you heard of these small towns??


film industry?


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Johnoo1 said:


> film industry?


Possible, but still I doubt that many people halfway around the world would know that.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Johnoo1 said:


> Based on what you have seen they lookalike - that's rich coming from a Swede with the dull boring clones of towns from Ostersund to Uddevalla with their historic centres ripped out and cloned buildings all over the place.


:lol: Chill out! It's quite normal if you don't know a country very well to not have a distinct impression of each individual city. 

How many British people do you think have a clear view of how various Brazilian or Japanese or Turkish cities differ from each other?


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## Acosta (Jan 15, 2012)

Steel City Suburb said:


> For those wanting to learn more, a member of these forums did a brilliant trip and photo journal on this thread.
> 
> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1455347


OMG, Liverpool is gorgeous. :drool:

Brilliant photothread.


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## erka (Apr 26, 2003)

The connection between Netherlands and UK is quite tight, I think. From Amsterdam Airport you can fly nonstop to basically every city in the UK, there is lots of football on TV, many other TV-series and documentaries. Because it's so easy to get there and the general view of the British is quite positive, most cities are relatively well known. Of course, for small towns like Nuneaton, Barnsley, Skipton or Newark it's a different story.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

I've been to England about 15 times to visit family in the last 24 years. I know their town, Tunbridge Wells, and of course nearby London, where they used to live (Hammersmith, then East Twickenham) and which remains a key part of any trip. Otherwise, it's a series of smaller cities that we've visited together or that I've gone to myself, like Hastings, Brighton, Bath, St. Ives, and Cambridge. 

I've heard of the other cities and know a few things about them mostly from SSC. Otherwise I know the Beatles are from Liverpool and passenger ships have historically taken off from Southhampton. I had no idea that Birmingham was so large until hearing about it here. London really does suck up all the attention. 

Tunbridge Wells is nearly ideal as a big town. It doesn't have a single major road, making it great to walk in. There's no major industry other than sending office workers to central London...that's not good overall, but it makes for a good place to visit. It's surprisingly middle class, given the hoity toity reputation -- a big reason it does well is that it's half the price of central London. Several major streets are lined with great retail. There's a Starbucks (sorry, homer here). The major negatives are the one hour train ride to London every 30 minutes (a little quicker at rush hour), and the shops mostly keeping bank hours. And it's a pain to get to from Heathrow.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Isn't Gatwick the more convenient airport from TW?

I have to say that TW has the image in the UK of being the archetypal conservative, prosperous middle/upper-middle class commuter town and is often gently mocked for that


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## isakres (May 13, 2009)

Jonesy55 said:


> I see, my school was a state school not private but it had links with the Drapers' Company who would finance various stuff. These old London trade companies do a lot of that stuff
> 
> http://thedrapershall.co.uk/


Yeah Ive heard about such Companies as Drapers. Its nice to see companies getting stronger philantropic roles kay:


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## isakres (May 13, 2009)

So which British City would you locals recommend to visit besides London?, Ive seen some good pointings about Leeds.


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## DiggerD21 (Apr 22, 2004)

Jonesy55 said:


> To be honest there isn't much dirty industry left in any of those cities, its long since moved to cheaper countries which has both benefits and drawbacks. Many of the old brick mills and warehouses in cities like Manchester and Leeds are now loft apartments or used for retail and other leisure purposes.


Well, I am not up to date what happens in the other major british cities, so my knowledge/clichés are outdated.  But at the same time it could indicate to an image problem of all these cities, as you rarely hear anything about them (apart of football) outside the UK.


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## Galro (Aug 9, 2010)

I've heard about Birmingham, although it is mostly negative things. Like it is a '60s planning mess filled with immigrants. Not sure how true it is though as I have never been there.

I have also heard about Liverpool and Manchester due to their football teams. Liverpool also have the Beatles of course. 

Both Glasgow and Edinburgh are well known. Edinburgh for its beauty.


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## Blackpool88 (Nov 15, 2007)

DiggerD21 said:


> Well, I am not up to date what happens in the other major british cities, so my knowledge/clichés are outdated.  But at the same time it could indicate to an image problem of all these cities, as you rarely hear anything about them (apart of football) outside the UK.


Possibly true, but by the exact same token most people know nothing of similar sized European cities. Ask a typical european about Lyons, Lille, Turin, Stuttgart, Hamburg etc they wouldn't know much about them (maybe their football team!). There are just certain cities that grab the headlines.

In my personal opinion when I've travelled I have always opted to visit the more functional cities away from the tourist capital to get a better perspective on the reality of a county's society. In England this would likely be a choice of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds or Birmingham all of which are great cities that most foreign visitors would never visit.


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

Galro said:


> I've heard about Birmingham, although it is mostly negative things. Like it is a '60s planning mess filled with immigrants. Not sure how true it is though as I have never been there.


Birmingham is does have a lot of immigrants, mostly south Asian. Not too sure about the 60s planning mess though. Its better than it was. Most of the inner ring road has gone, and the old Bullring etc. There are a lot of motorways around the city though, more than others which all came in the 60s


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

DiggerD21 said:


> Well, I am not up to date what happens in the other major british cities, so my knowledge/clichés are outdated.  But at the same time it could indicate to an image problem of all these cities, as you rarely hear anything about them (apart of football) outside the UK.


Oh yes, there is certainly an image problem. London attracts so much attention that other places get overlooked and are not generally well known for cities of their size.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Galro said:


> I've heard about Birmingham, although it is mostly negative things. Like it is a '60s planning mess filled with immigrants. Not sure how true it is though as I have never been there.


Most cities in Western Europe have plenty of immigrants and children of immigrants these days but its not as if that is a bad thing per se.

There are some pretty terrible 1960s buildings but the city centre is mostly quite pleasant and there are some nice green suburbs (as well as some not so nice ones)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=994681


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## Mr_Dru (Dec 15, 2008)

*Ipswich-*
I was an exchange student at the Ipswich Uni. for 3 weeks. The city was nothing special, but I like the waterfront area.

*Swindon-*
Visited friends. The city looks very poor. The only attraction I like was the famous roundabout  

*Bristol-*
Visited friends. To compare with Ipswich and Swindon, Bristol is a very beautifully city.

But anyway the England countryside is very beautifull!!


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Swindon isn't poor at all, its just not particularly interesting or attractive (imo). The local economy is actually quite good.


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## Galro (Aug 9, 2010)

Jonesy55 said:


> Most cities in Western Europe have plenty of immigrants and children of immigrants these days but its not as if that is a bad thing per se.


Yes, I agree with that. What I meant is that Birmingham appears to have very bad image from what I've seen on the internet and talked with Brits. Neither immigrants or '60s designs is necessarily a bad thing (just take a look at the John F. Kennedy airport by Eero Saarinen), but many consider Birminghams mix of them to bad combination as far as I gathered. And this is basically all that I have heard about Birmingham. But like I said, I have no idea if the city deserve it. 



Jonesy55 said:


> There are some pretty terrible 1960s buildings but the city centre is mostly quite pleasant and there are some nice green suburbs (as well as some not so nice ones)
> 
> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=994681


Many lovely historic buildings there, but some of the '60s stuff like this isn't exactly my taste:









How much of the city consist of historic buildings?


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

^^ That's the central library, it's quite brutalist but it is going to be demolished soon.

The replacement is currently under construction.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Birmingham

It depends what you consider historic but there are now a lot more recent buildings than 50s-70s buildings in the city centre while many of the residential suburbs are 19th century.

There is also a lot of functional, uninspiring 20th century housing and commercial stuff of course in the areas outside the centre. The urban area is large, some 750km2 and 2.3m residents.


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## Johnoo1 (Oct 21, 2011)

Jonesy55 said:


> :lol: Chill out! It's quite normal if you don't know a country very well to not have a distinct impression of each individual city.
> 
> How many British people do you think have a clear view of how various Brazilian or Japanese or Turkish cities differ from each other?


If you don't live in Sweden you miss the irony of my point. He says they look the same from Tv but lives in a country where many of the towns particularly the centres you can hardly tell apart.


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## Johnoo1 (Oct 21, 2011)

Galro said:


> Yes, I agree with that. What I meant is that Birmingham appears to have very bad image from what I've seen on the internet and talked with Brits. Neither immigrants or '60s designs is necessarily a bad thing (just take a look at the John F. Kennedy airport by Eero Saarinen), but many consider Birminghams mix of them to bad combination as far as I gathered. And this is basically all that I have heard about Birmingham. But like I said, I have no idea if the city deserve it.
> 
> 
> Many lovely historic buildings there, but some of the '60s stuff like this isn't exactly my taste:
> ...


Isn't the usual quote Birmingham has more miles (kms) of canals than Venice?


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

Johnoo1 said:


> Isn't the usual quote Birmingham has more miles (kms) of canals than Venice?


and the reply is usually "yes, but the ones in Venice don't have shopping trolleys in them"


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## Mr_Dru (Dec 15, 2008)

Jonesy55 said:


> Swindon isn't poor at all, its just not particularly interesting or attractive (imo). The local economy is actually quite good.


Yes the Swindon Old town wasn't special and the centre wasn't crowded. But I like the outlet center. I think it was an old locomotive rail-yard. Maybe because of this outlet center, people don't go to the city centre to go for shopping.


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## sarimanok (May 3, 2011)

never been to UK but I know some cities,

Liverpool because of the Beatles
Cardiff because of a fellow countryman won in a WPA championship event there

wait, what?! Oh I can recall only 2.. I'm frustrated. :wink2::weird:


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Mr_Dru said:


> Yes the Swindon Old town wasn't special and the centre wasn't crowded. But I like the outlet center. I think it was an old locomotive rail-yard. Maybe because of this outlet center, people don't go to the city centre to go for shopping.


It's a fairly new town, or at least most growth was after WWII in the car era, so there isn't much old in the centre for a city of that size.


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## HMMS (Mar 10, 2010)

In Brazil, we know only Liverpool, because of the Beatles!!!!!!!!!!!:colgate:


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## RaySthlm (Dec 24, 2010)

..............


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## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

Most people form the UK dont know much about Britian other than London, so how do we expect foreigners to know much about it. i have been systematically working my way around the UK. Some of my Photo threads from the UK

Cardiff Capital of Wales, very large photo collection of the city. Very big mix of very modern and very old architecture in a pretty natural location.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1369693&highlight=

Birmingham, very good tour of the city center, mix of all styles of architecture, big city.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1464166&highlight=

Portsmouth, mix of city, seaside resort, naval base/naval museums. A few introductory pictures

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=323692&highlight=

Bath, very historic/uniform and beautiful Georgian city with Roman baths. Good tour of the city 

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1228153&highlight=

Leeds (large city), Castle Howard (Huge Country Mansion), York (historic walled cathedral city), Scarborough (stunning victorian and georgian seaside resort), Whitby (historic seaside town), Newcastle (beautiful uniform city center), Durham (stunning cathedral city), Bamburgh and Alnwick castles, Edinburgh (stunning medieval and Georgian city). 

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1187539&highlight=

Winchester (First capital of England, cathedral city), Bournemouth (Seaside resort), Poole (Uber rich seaside town), Weymouth (beautiful seaside resort)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1354089&highlight=

Southampton (mix of medieval and victorian fragments, with HUGE cruise ships), London

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1147353&highlight=

Gloucester (beauitful cathedral city)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1242285&highlight=

Saundersfoot, Tenby (beauitful seaside resorts in Wales)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1213217&highlight=

Stratford Upon Avon (medieval town, Shakespears birth place), Warwick (large family Castle)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=886940&highlight=

Old Severn Bridge

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=713238&highlight=

Chester (Victorian pastich of Medieval city, very beautiful!)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=510612&highlight=

Blackpool (dire seaside resort thats worth missing, sorry!).

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=458297&highlight=


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## Golden Age (Dec 26, 2006)

^^A really impressive collection of pictures, cardiff. Most of the towns were new to me, thanks a lot for posting them.

As for UK cities, I really enjoyed the Southern coastal towns St. Ives (Cornwall), Brighton, Chichester or Rye.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Jonesy55 said:


> Isn't Gatwick the more convenient airport from TW?
> 
> I have to say that TW has the image in the UK of being the archetypal conservative, prosperous middle/upper-middle class commuter town and is often gently mocked for that


Gatwick is easier, but even then it's not direct. And all the Seattle flights (max three per day) go to Heathrow.


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## Galro (Aug 9, 2010)

Jonesy55 said:


> ^^ That's the central library, it's quite brutalist but it is going to be demolished soon.
> 
> The replacement is currently under construction.
> 
> ...


I took a look at Birmingham in Google Street view. My impression:

Some gorgeous street and buildings: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Birmi..._iMVlt3vOKPbhfA4eX1Ag&cbp=12,203.59,,0,-17.81 

But some awful too: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Birmi...=Ph6xZe1LnAN0CfKBf3ITug&cbp=12,181.1,,0,-1.66

But what stands out most is just how broken up the city looks from above. Many places have dense traditional street grids that are interrupted by commie hoods, freeway junction and sometimes just open greenland like here. I guess this may be due to bombings during the war?

And the library had one awful base! God damn, what was the architect thinking of?


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

Galro said:


> freeway junction and sometimes just open greenland like here. I guess this may be due to bombings during the war?


The part of the city has seen a lot of demolition, the Inner Ring Road (Queensway) used to have a grade separated junction there that has been removed and a lot of the run down buildings around it. I think its waiting redevelopment etc

This is how it used to look...


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## SkyscraperSuperman (Nov 1, 2008)

Here's another thread for Portsmouth by one of the UK forum members, with a lot more pictures in it:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=827138&highlight=
As well as being Europe's largest naval base and one of the UK's biggest ports, it's the birthplace of famous authors Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, David Copperfield etc.) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes). It's not as big as other UK cities, but is a great place to visit - along with some other south coast cities, it receives more sun per year than the rest of UK and its southern section is a popular resort, known as Southsea.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Ironically, I found out about a lot of many English cities because like 90% of the towns in my US state (Connecticut) are named after them.


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## haikiller11 (Aug 11, 2009)

Liverpool - The Beatles, Titanic, major industrial city in the past, Liverpool football club.
Manchester - ManU
York - Emperor Constantine the Great, largest city in northern medieval England (from brave heart )
Edinburgh - Castle town
GLassgow - just a city in Scotland
Stirling - a nice town in Scotland
Oxford, Cambridge - Uni town
Bath - spa town
Birmingham - second city
Nottingham - Robin Hood :lol:
Leeds, Southampton - I don't know how did I know it :\
Coventry - same ^^
Bristol - small and great city that has a nice bridge 
Windsor - There's a castle in town
Newcastle - I like their accent 
Cardiff - capital of Wales
Caernarfon, Innsbruck I think that these towns are from the middle age
Belfast - IRA
Gloucestershire, Windchester - beautiful towns with beautiful churches
Portsmouth - port town of London, warships
Sheffield, Norwich, blah blah blah


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Galro said:


> But what stands out most is just how broken up the city looks from above. Many places have dense traditional street grids that are interrupted by commie hoods, freeway junction and sometimes just open greenland like here. I guess this may be due to bombings during the war?
> 
> And the library had one awful base! God damn, what was the architect thinking of?


Yeah, I guess a lot of the discontinuity is due to rebuilding after war damage, then rebuilding again after the postwar crap has been demolished.

That last link is a piece of land which used to be a railway station and has been unoccupied since the building was demolished and the lines removed. It will be used for the Birmingham terminal of the HSR project to London.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curzon_Street_railway_station 

The library was apparently influenced by the City Hall in Boston, MA, USA.


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## KingNick (Sep 23, 2010)

Rev Stickleback said:


> and the reply is usually "yes, but the ones in Venice don't have shopping trolleys in them"


:lol:


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Birmingham is a much bigger city than Venice, so while it may have more canals they are far less important to the life and appearance of the City. There are a few stretches near to the City centre though which have nice waterfront cafes, bars, apartments etc.


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

Galro said:


> I took a look at Birmingham in Google Street view.
> ...what stands out most is just how broken up the city looks from above. Many places have dense traditional street grids that are interrupted by commie hoods, freeway junction and sometimes just open greenland like here. I guess this may be due to bombings during the war?
> 
> And the library had one awful base! God damn, what was the architect thinking of?



Telly Savalas did a small series of films in 1981 (looks at least 10 years earlier) promoting some British cities. They are so terrible that they are brilliant, particularly the way hideous boxy office blocks get talked about as if describing the Hanging Garden of Babylon.

The Birmingham one is the best.

Birmingham





Portsmouth





Aberdeen


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## PadArch (Apr 1, 2010)

isakres said:


> So which British City would you locals recommend to visit besides London?, Ive seen some good pointings about Leeds.


I would have to say Edinburgh


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

No, obviously Shrewsbury.


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## Blackpool88 (Nov 15, 2007)

Probably Blackpool but I'll warn you, you visit here once and you'll immediately want to permanently relocate here...


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## yuriml4 (May 29, 2011)

Birmingham will probably be the first city in England in which the major population will be muslims!


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

yuriml4 said:


> Birmingham will probably be the first city in England in which the major population will be muslims!


Leicester more like lol
I'm sure both are like 30% Muslim anyway which is more than London.


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## conejo1979 (Apr 9, 2007)

poshbakerloo said:


> Leicester more like lol
> I'm sure both are like 30% Muslim anyway which is more than London.


Leicester the smell of curry is in the air... horrible place. Rutlan is Nice


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

poshbakerloo said:


> Leicester more like lol
> I'm sure both are like 30% Muslim anyway which is more than London.


Leicester is about 30% South Asian by ethnicity but they are split roughly equally between Muslim and Hindu with a substantial Sikh presence too.



> In terms of districts by ethnic diversity, the City of Leicester is ranked 11th in England. According to 2006 estimates, 58.3% of residents are white British (just under 170,000 people), 3.7% other white (around 10,000 people), 29.4% Asian or Asian British (some 84,000 people), 4.6% black or black British (some 9,000 people), 2.6% mixed race (approximately 6,000 individuals) and 1.5% Chinese or other ethnic group (over 2,000 people). Amongst some of Leicester's emerging ethnic groups are the Poles who now number an estimates 30,000 in the city.
> 
> Christianity is the predominant faith in Leicester. There are also approximately 41,000 Hindus, 31,000 Muslims,and 12,000 Sikhs. There are three active synagogues inthe city, one Progressive, one Orthodox and one Messianic.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

yuriml4 said:


> Birmingham will probably be the first city in England in which the major population will be muslims!


Perhaps, but that's a long way off.

Figures for the city of Birmingham only (pop 1m)

Ethnicity Population 
White 

British 627,300 
Irish 24,400 
Other White 22,200 
Gypsy and Traveller 54,554 

Mixed 

White and Black Caribbean 16,500 
White and Black African 2,000 
White and Asian 8,400 
Other mixed 5,800 

Asian or Asian British 

Indian 61,300 
Pakistani 113,000 
Bangladeshi 23,700 
Other Asian 13,800 
Black or Black British 

Black Caribbean 44,700 
Black African 17,100 
Other Black 5,700 

Chinese or other 

Chinese 12,300 
Other Ethnicity 12,100

The wider Birmingham/West Midlands urban area (pop 2.6m) is somewhat less diverse.


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## FAAN (Jun 24, 2011)

Little. I know some names like: birmingham, leeds, edinburgh, manchester but only by name and population. I have an aunt who lives in a seaside town in eastern Norfolk, called Great Yarmouth.


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## megacity30 (Oct 8, 2011)

Jonesy55 said:


> Perhaps, but that's a long way off.
> 
> Figures for the city of Birmingham only (pop 1m)
> 
> ...


 :nuts: wow, the ethnic diversity of the city of Birmingham is incredible. 

I guess it's the fruit of colonialism spanning centuries.


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## gabrielbabb (Aug 11, 2006)

Cambridge - Oxford = Universities
Manchester = a world known team
Glasgow = a song of ABBA?
Liverpool = A big maritime port


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## BringMe (May 7, 2011)

Well I don't really know much about other cities just their names York,Oxford, Bristol (Skins),Manchester,Birmingham,Cambridge,Liverpool,Port Stanley


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

gabrielbabb said:


> Glasgow = a song of ABBA?


:laugh: Yes, it gets a name-check in Super Trouper.


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## Tiaren (Jan 29, 2006)

There are towns and cities other than London? :O


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## briker (Aug 21, 2008)

Southampton, great port city, where all major cruiseliners depart from. Brighton- former summer residence of the Royals. Blackpool- the Cannes of England.


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## Harry (Nov 8, 2002)

briker said:


> Southampton, great port city, where all major cruiseliners depart from. Brighton- former summer residence of the Royals. *Blackpool- the Cannes of England*.



Someone has a wicked sense of humour.


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## AW-d (Sep 3, 2011)

I have been to Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Magic Harry Potter's stony cities.

Inverness 










Edinburgh


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## bayviews (Mar 3, 2006)

poshbakerloo said:


> What do you know about UK cities/towns...other than London?
> 
> We all know London, and most of us love the place but people from other countries...have you ever heard of Nuneaton?
> 
> e.g. has abroad anyone heard of Sheffield? Do you think its a nice place? Ever wondered what living in Peterborough is like? etc



Usually when we hear about the UK, its just London. 

Thats why its great to finally see some of the other British cities get some exposure!


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## manrush (May 8, 2008)

I know that Liverpool is one of the most Irish cities in Britain.


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## OtAkAw (Aug 5, 2004)

I know Liverpool because of The Beatles. Edinburgh because of my English teacher. Canterbury because of Geoffrey Chaucer.


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## svicious22 (Nov 16, 2011)

All I know about Glasgow is what I saw in Trainspotting. I doubt it's really that vile but I have no intention of finding out.


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## JohnnyFive (Jul 28, 2008)

svicious22 said:


> All I know about Glasgow is what I saw in Trainspotting. I doubt it's really that vile but I have no intention of finding out.


Trainspotting was set in Edinburgh


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## ckm (Apr 7, 2006)

When I lived in London, I never been further than any of the 4 suburban airports (just Oxford and Brighton).

The problem while living in London is how ridiculously expensive, uncomfortable and inconvenient can be travelling to anywhere else in the UK. Travelling from London to Birmingham or Manchester can be easily more expensive and takes more time than taking a train to Paris or a flight to Hungary or Spain... so when going for a break it is easy what to choose


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

ckm said:


> The problem while living in London is how ridiculously expensive, uncomfortable and inconvenient can be travelling to anywhere else in the UK. Travelling from London to Birmingham or Manchester can be easily more expensive and takes more time than taking a train to Paris or a flight to Hungary or Spain... so when going for a break it is easy what to choose


It _can_ be expensive, but then flying can be expensive too if you don't get the cheap tickets when they become available.

Just do the same with the trains and it shouldn't be too bad, London-Birmingham return tickets start at £10 (11.70 Euro), London-Manchester return tickets start at £24 (28 Euro) and there are no taxes, airport fees, baggage fees etc like there are on planes


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## leverarch (Dec 24, 2006)

ckm said:


> When I lived in London, I never been further than any of the 4 suburban airports (just Oxford and Brighton).
> 
> The problem while living in London is how ridiculously expensive, uncomfortable and inconvenient can be travelling to anywhere else in the UK. Travelling from London to Birmingham or Manchester can be easily more expensive and takes more time than taking a train to Paris or a flight to Hungary or Spain... so when going for a break it is easy what to choose


You can take a train from London to Birmingham in 1hr 22mins (160km), and Manchester in 2hr 7mins (260km). This isn't so different to other European countries for comparable distances. For places on the straighter East Coast line, the journey times are even better - London to York is 1hr 50mins for a distance of 280km. 

You are right that the trains can be horrendously over-priced! But if you book in advance, then you won't break the bank.... you can get a single to Birmingham for £7.50, Manchester £18 and York £12. If you just turn up to the station to buy a ticket to travel on the same day, its another story!


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## PadArch (Apr 1, 2010)

ckm said:


> When I lived in London, I never been further than any of the 4 suburban airports (just Oxford and Brighton).
> 
> The problem while living in London is how ridiculously expensive, uncomfortable and inconvenient can be travelling to anywhere else in the UK. Travelling from London to Birmingham or Manchester can be easily more expensive and takes more time than taking a train to Paris or a flight to Hungary or Spain... so when going for a break it is easy what to choose


this is the maybe the biggest pile of rubbish i've ever read on this forum!


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

^^ To be fair, if you don't know how the system works and you just turn up at London Euston at 0900 on a Friday and ask for a return ticket to Manchester on the next train then you will be charged an extortionate price.

In many countries train fares are if not fixed, far less variable than plane tickets, while in the UK they are extremely variable for longer journeys. 

Trains on the mainlines are fairly quick, not as quick as HSR but you can expect average speeds of 130-160kmh which is not bad and trains are frequent with 2-4 per hour on each of the major intercity routes.

Regional coverage is pretty comprehensive away from the mainlines too with frequent if not particularly fast services to and from most towns and cities.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

poshbakerloo said:


> Ever wondered what living in Peterborough is like? etc


Here's a very basic problem for UK city publicity: speaking as an American who goes to England every year or so.... We don't often see the differences between English cities (the rest of UK maybe a little more), or the more unique aspects of them. In movies etc., there's simply the nice older town format, the Harry Potter's house format, and the council block format, but we might think every city has a mixture of those, vs. the much wider differences between, say, Miami, Detroit, and San Francisco. Centralized planning, similar weather (relatively), and the lack of dramatic mountain backdrops all contribute to the relative lack of "brand" differences. 

As I said before, my own impressions are limited by having only been to London and a bunch of small cities. 

PS, English cities do a lot of things way better than any US city. Not slamming anything here.


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## PadArch (Apr 1, 2010)

mhays said:


> Here's a very basic problem for UK city publicity: speaking as an American who goes to England every year or so.... We don't often see the differences between English cities (the rest of UK maybe a little more), or the more unique aspects of them. In movies etc., there's simply the nice older town format, the Harry Potter's house format, and the council block format, but we might think every city has a mixture of those, vs. the much wider differences between, say, Miami, Detroit, and San Francisco. Centralized planning, similar weather (relatively), and the lack of dramatic mountain backdrops all contribute to the relative lack of "brand" differences.
> 
> As I said before, my own impressions are limited by having only been to London and a bunch of small cities.
> 
> PS, English cities do a lot of things way better than any US city. Not slamming anything here.


ummm


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## svicious22 (Nov 16, 2011)

JohnnyFive said:


> Trainspotting was set in Edinburgh


But the majority of it was actually filmed in Glasgow.


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## Bannor (Jul 23, 2011)

Newcastle - Wet'n Wild (I've was there twice when I was a kid), and teenagers hanging out at the railway station in t-shirts when it is 5 degrees outside!

Liverpool - I don't like the people there, but The Beatles was great!

Manchester - Football football football, and O2 concert stage.

Sheffield - Used to have two ok football teams, but not any more.

Nottingham - Robin Hood.

Leeds - Football... lol?

York (or Jordvik as I would call it being a norwegian!) - Great historic city with a big cathedral and torture chambers. A must for tourists! It also has a city wall.

Scarborough - Much the same viking heritage as York, just a bit smaller. Has some casino's too at the beach (went there on a school trip once). Not far from Flamingoland amusement park.

Southampton - Titanic came from here. Largest port for the navy I think?

Brighton - not much

Bristol - not much at all

Birmingham - Its bigger than Manchester although every single manchester person refuse to admit it... lol. Big industrial city of old!

Norwich - It had a good football team nobody believed in.

Cambridge - Great city of old with lots of history, old buildings, and a good university. (I have friends living here too)

Plymouth - its in the south I believe.

Blackburn - the best football team in england.

Thats it for the English cities I recall off my head. Not adding suburbs though.


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

Bannor said:


> Blackburn - the best football team in england.


:lol:


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

PadArch said:


> ummm


Nice pictures, but they don't address my point. Those are nice old-city pictures with hills in roughly similar climates. Besides, I'm talking about what people generally hear in the US, not what's actually there.


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## Manitopiaaa (Mar 6, 2006)

Here's my American view of British cities:

London: big, beautiful, bustling, diverse and the best city for a beginner tourist. World economic hub, hosting Olympics, world-class museums, Queen lives here, Big Ben, London Eye, London Bridge is falling down, Shakespeare

for the other cities, let's see:

Aberdeen: oil and gloomy
Belfast: Irish but wants to be English
Blackpool: Victorian resort town with old English-style amusement park
Brighton: gay beach resort where Londoners go
Cambridge: where you want your kids to go
Canterbury: religious, big cathedral, Canterbury tales
Cardiff: Welsh people with welsh cultural things
Downton Abbey: big show on PBS
Edinburgh: gorgeous and has a great festival
Glasgow: industrial area trying to be hip again
Leeds: dying industrial town
Liverpool: dying Industrial Revolution megacity
Manchester: dying Industrial Revolution megacity...but not as much as Liverpool, Manchester United
Oxford: where you want your kids to go. The most recent X-Men was here
Salisbury: Stonehenge
Sheffield: Dying industrial town

and that's it

Edit: forgot Birmingham: The Detroit of England


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## Ecological (Mar 19, 2009)

This thread shows us two things about my city.

1: It's true, Brummies are to down to earth and need to start blowing their own trumpet. 
2: Because of that it's perception is pretty crap and it's about time Marketing Birmingham got their act together.

I'll do my little bit - i'm sure a lot of people would be surprised. Liverpool may have given the world Beattles but Birmingham gave the world an existence. 

*Birmingham*

Birmingham is home to Cadbury's Chocolate

Birmingham was the birth place of Heavy Metal - Black Sabbath (Ozzy) etc.

JR Tolkien was brought up within the city and wrote the famous Lord of the Rings. You can journey the Tolkien trail if you ever visit. 

The World Famous Mini was made in Birmingham.

Birmingham City Council is the biggest local authority in Europe, and employs twice as many people as the European commission.

Birmingham is the UK’s largest manufacturing and engineering centre and accounts for 25% of the country’s exports. F.W Lanchester built the first four-wheeled petrol driven car in Birmingham, hence the nickname Brum.

The Jewellery Quarter is the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe. Half of all jewellery made in the UK comes from Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, with a third of jewellery manufactured in the UK made within one mile of the city centre

St Valentine is rumoured to be located within the city boundaries given to John Newman by the Pope back in the 18th century. 

The city of Birmingham has staged more World and European Championships than any other UK city

The Belfry Golf Course, venue for some momentous Ryder Cup challenges, also houses the headquarters of the PGA

Lawn tennis was first played in Birmingham in 1865. The Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society, founded in 1860, is the oldest surviving lawn tennis club in the world

In 1888, William McGregor of Aston Villa FC invited other clubs to play regularised games of football, leading to the creation of the Football League

Famous food brands that originated in Birmingham include Typhoo tea, Bird's Custard, Blue Bird Toffee, Bournville cocoa, Cadbury chocolate and HP Sauce.

Birmingham is home to the Balti, a spicy, aromatic Kashmiri dish, with over 100 Balti houses attracting over 20,000 visitors per week.


-

Hope they weren't too boring. 

I avoided the invention marlarky as at some point in your every day life Birmingham has been involved believe it or not. 

And that's the sad thing and why the city needs to promote itself more.


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## Haddington (Apr 26, 2007)

^^^^^^

Good call - Brum never gets the credit it deserves as the birthplace of metal. 

As well as Sabbath you could also include Priest and Zep.


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## levaniX (May 16, 2009)

So, yeah.
Manchester-one of industrial centres, Metrolink, modern development, mediacityUK
York-great historical town, so pretty
Bristol-have heard a lot. Pretty good city. But dont know much as i know Liverpool and Manchester
Liverpool-The Beatles, that building reminds me of New York dont remember its name, awesome example of modem city centre reconstruction. 
Edinburgh- city with soul, i can say its a bit better than London
Newcastle- i know that bridge in the centre only 
Birmingham- mostly negative opinion, too industrial, but development in city centre changed my opinion a lot 
Leeds-just heard of
Sheffield- just heard of. 

So, thats it maybe


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## dsohfan (Jun 4, 2011)

i visited shrewsbury , chester and liverpool .

and what i can say is that i'm totally in love with shrewsbury , very calm and little size typical u.k city ....


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

^^ A man of good taste!


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## Rascar (Mar 13, 2012)

I am quite impressed some of the non UK posters know so much given the attitude of many in the country itself! Added to this, given the forum, none of the provincial cities have a particularly iconic skyline.

In Britain (and even more so England) there is a (un)natural bias against the provinces, and more specifically the northern two thirds of the country that will take a long time to dissipate. 

It would be wrong to reduce a complicated phenomena to a single cause, though de-industrialisation hasn't helped, nor the fact that even if the country as a whole is in relative decline London is sui generis and still seen as a fashionable global centre.

If you mention any city from Birmingham north to a middle class southernern there is a chance they will look at you and say "ooohhh _Sheffield/Manchester/Newcastle_" and infer that it is grim, dirty or unsophisticated in some way. Look at the fuss some BBC journalists made over relocating to Manchester, despite may of them originating from "the provinces".

As a southerner I did not visit places such as Leeds, Machester, Glasgow until my 20s. I was pleasantly surpised by these cities, not exactly blown away but they were more interesting and liveable than I had expected. To be sure though there is a slightly lawless edge to Manchester, Liverpool is pretty poor, there is a lot of work to be done. Maybe elected mayors would help?


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## dsohfan (Jun 4, 2011)

Jonesy55 said:


> ^^ A man of good taste!



i was to shrewsbury in may 2004 , but the memories are still here !
i was only 14 , and at that age i did'nt care about urbanism, architecture ....
the only thing that matters was the atmosphere, and i loved shrewsbury , especially the "little city center" mixed with big shops like virgin megastore, marks and spencer and just beside a beautiful abbey or castle , i don't remember well , with a calm garden and little typical streets .... 
i'm so impatient to have the opportunity to go back there !


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Check out the link to my photothread in my signature if you like, you may see some places you recognise!


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