There is still the walk from the Gardeners Arms to Moston railway station, with the local feral youths attracted to that area that another thread contributor made mention of earlier in this thread.
Tiverton Parkway is literally a massive car park in the middle of nowhere and notably right next to the M5 services, so I'm going to guess - since it doesn't say what type of crimes - that it's thefts of/from vehicles. So perhaps it may not be "least desirable place to wait" but "least desirable place if you want to return to a vehicle with intact windows".
Would you normally ever have to wait all that long (60 minutes +) at somewhere like Essex Road for the next train out of there?
29 mins would be the longest typical wait at Essex Road. Not sure what people find undesirable about it though, for those of us who are very much *not* people persons it sounds like just my kind of place. (I know what it’s like, have never waited too long there though).
It wasn't 20 years ago when I supped in there, I had my phone nicked on a packed new years eve. I suppose places change though, Ill pop in there sometime if the trains late.
It's definitely better than it was, but it still isn't somewhere you'd choose to hang out on a cold wet evening (unless there were some very rare moves going on). There's plenty of stations in this thread that aren't bad during the day, but that isn't what the OP asked for. Put it this way: if Leeds is eligible because of a few (or a few hundred) rowdy drinkers (post #2) then Wakey Kakey definitely is!
The bottom end of Wakefield has a serious "roadman" infestation. Kirkgate station used to be an absolute hole, now it's still far from perfect but it's an oasis of calm compared to the surroundings!
As far as I know, there's nowhere near to the station to go to!
I pass through fairly regularly and interchange onto the bus on the main road, and only once have I encountered some youths smoking green, but they left me alone. There’s a couple of unassuming but nice businesses that have sprung up there including a pizzeria and a pleasant pub to wait in. Some of the buildings have seen better days but I don’t feel threatened in that area- it’s well patrolled by police vehicles too.
On my visit (with friends doing the St Phillips Marsh diversions) about 10 hand pumps were noted. Eight looked very unused and the two in use appeared to be connected to barrels of vinegar. It might have improved since then.
The shopping area surrounding Stevenage station isn’t any better either…!
Another vote for Wakefield Kirkgate. It might be a bit less dodgy than its surroundings, but that's not saying much.
Ah, thanks ... worth knowing about!
I wonder, do these crime stats also include things like trespass/level crossing misuse being attributed to the nearest station, and onboard crime being attributed to the station where the police meet the train?
Think you're likely to then be walking the 3 or so miles alongside the A85 to Loch Awe station, or maybe getting a taxi to Oban, if you've got signal, rather than waiting. The OP was contemplating stations where there'd only be around a 60 minute wait, to be fair.
Any station where you get to feel the visceral thrill of fast trains shooting past just a few feet away from you can't be all bad. And if you're going to be anywhere in Stevenage, the place where you can quickly get a train out of the town is probably the best!
I've been in a pub like this and thought that the unused ones should be painted white, like signal levers
I've been in a pub like this and thought that the unused ones should be painted white, like signal levers
