Places you've never been to

[Ivo]

I thought it might be interesting to give a thread like this a try. I know some people (Mojo for instance) do this on Facebook, but otherwise has anyone ever actually given it a serious thought?

However you look at it, the largest place I have never been to, and by a country mile, is Hull. However, the next place is more interesting. If you allow anywhere in the UK, I believe Aberdeen comes 2nd EDIT: Just checked; Derby would beat it by 20K subject to one of the following criteria, but otherwise Aberdeen is correct. If you disallow Scotland (which I often do because of the distances involved once you clear the Central Belt) though, there are many possible answers. If you have to be on the ground for a place to count, the answer is Derby. If you consider suburbs to be independent, the largest would be Oldham, but Derby would override it. If you ignore both... I have no idea! In this scenario, 2nd could well go to St Helens, but I am far from certain...

And the rest of you?

 

[Mvann]

Carlisle

 

[W-on-Sea]

(All my population figures are from those of the local authorities named - although I'm not sure that is the necessarily the most appropriate way to do this, it does kind of resolve the question, officially, for now, of what counts as a "place" and its population)

Sheffield, by a long way, is the biggest settlement in the UK that I've never been to (other than to change trains). However, I do have to go there later this week, so that will then be crossed off the list.

2nd, shockingly (and in fact I am shocked also to see that it has a smaller population than Sheffield), is Manchester.

Clearly the fact that I am a Southerner (and half Scottish) is quite evident!

Although the fact that 3rd is Bristol might occlude that somewhat

Then 4th, Kirklees (i.e. Huddersfield and surrounding areas)

Then 5th (although an odd one, as clearly a collection of different towns, none of which is really dominant over the others -ie Motherwell, Airdrie), North Lanarkshire, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, etc. Have passed through Cumbernauld by coach more times than I care to count, but never felt the slightest inclination to get off and explore.

After that, Wakefield, then South Lanarkshire. It's possible that one or both of the two in West Yorkshire might get visited post-Sheffield.

 

[Liam]

Bristol, or Cardiff, not really surprising as I am from the East Coast of Scotland.

In Scotland only, If going by this list then its probably Wishaw, 26 on the list. Although it depends what you mean by visit, e.g. I've nipped into Tesco's in Irvine, but nothing other than that. Some other places, like Elgin I've passed through many times, but never actually stopped.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I could do a quick list later tonight, but I need to know what 'never been to' constitiutes, I've been to Lincoln, for example, only on the station changing trains, and through Winchester on a train, but never been to the physical town/city centre. Do we have to get off a train there or not?

 

[Yew]

Scotland, Then wales

I think going to the isle of wight before the 38 LUL stock goes is required though im sure Scotland and wales will be around for years to come, but i dont know about 73 year old trains.

 

[WestCountry]

Manchester. Quite a big place to have never been...

 

[Ivo]

I could do a quick list later tonight, but I need to know what 'never been to' constitiutes, I've been to Lincoln, for example, only on the station changing trains, and through Winchester on a train, but never been to the physical town/city centre. Do we have to get off a train there or not?

Up to you to be honest. Even I don't know the rules of this, which is half the reason it is here and not in the Quiz section (the other half being that it's not a quiz!). It's an interesting thing to think about though.

I *think* I have visited everywhere notable where I have changed trains, except for Middlesbrough on Thursday (I stayed in the station premises), but I'm not sure. It will need a check.

Actually, come to think of it I have though of a city that would trounce Derby based on its case: Leicester! In addition, I have only ever changed trains at Coventry as well.

So many variables

 

[WestCoast]

I've never been to Cardiff, or South Wales at all.

 

[Mvann]

Me neither. Been to Swansea tho.

 

[OxtedL]

Swansea. Worcester. Gloucester. Manchester (yes, I know!) Nottingham. Scotland.

And so on.

More of a France person...

 

[Class172]

Large places I've never been to:

Glasgow
Newcastle
Liverpool
Swansea
Norwich
Chester

Bearing in mind I've had 14 years of existance

 

[Pumbaa]

Using this;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_cities_by_population

Leicester
Coventry
err Dudley!
Wallsall
Southend
Ipswich
Peterborough

 

[WestCoast]

That wiki list is interesting. I would have never thought that Stoke-on-Trent was the 17th most populous place in the country, ahead of places like Nottingham.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I've been to Southampton, but never to Scunthorpe

 

[Donny Dave]

It all depends if passing through/changing trains counts or not. Personally, I would say not ....

The big 5 places that I haven't been to are, Aberdeen, Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton and perhaps a bit surprisingly, Stirling (been through 3 times on the Highland Chieftain and passed by on the A9 twice in the last week). Hereford and Newport are other notable exceptions, which is surprising considering I have been around a fair bit both on the railways and the roads ....

EDIT ::

I've been to Southampton, but never to Scunthorpe

Your not missing much!

 

[OxtedL]

That wiki list is quite revealing... I've done stuff in the top two, but besides that, there are only two others in the top 20 that I have visited in any substantial way.

Time to go travelling, I think. Travelodges of Great Britain, here I come...

 

[317 forever]

The 3 largest areas of Britain I have never been to could all be summed up as beginning with B: Barnard Castle, Barnstaple and Brecon!

I have explored most of Scotland but not been to Northern Ireland though. Within the Republic I have not been to the south eastern corner ie south of Dublin to Rosslare and Waterford, and along the coast to Cork. I have been to Cork though.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Time to go travelling, I think. Travelodges of Great Britain, here I come...

<Shudder> Horrid. Vastly inferior to Premier Inns.

Been to to get off at (and look around)/stayed overnight in:
London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Bristol, Leicester, Cardiff, Coventry, Bradford, Newcastle, Stoke, Wolves, Nottingham, Plymouth, Soton, Reading, Derby, Salford (walked through), Aberdeen, Pompey, Luton, Preston, Milton Keynes, Sunderland, Bournemouth, Southend, Swindon, Dundee, Huddersfield, Oxford, Middlesbrough, Blackpool, Bolton, York, West Bromwich, Peterborough, Stockport, Brighton, Newport, Gloucester, Watford, Cheltenham, Exeter, blackburn (I've lived here 16 years!).

Been on station (in addition to above):
Norwich, Walsall, Ipswich, Cambridge, Eastbourne, Colchester, Oldham.

Been through on train (in addition to above):
Dudley, Northampton, Poole, Telford, Slough, Rotherham, Sutton Coldfield, St Helens, Crawley.

Not been to at all:
Belfast, Swansea.

NB - In summer I do plan on going to Belfast (as part of bashing all of Northern Ireland) and Swansea (doing the HoW in full), so basically:

I have been to all other places in Britain with a population of over 100,000 people.

 

[Ivo]

Right then; a definitive list for me based on that Wiki page (it didn't occur to me to use it; I've read enough!). Places are shown if I have never set foot in them, not including the station area. Those marked * are ones that I have at least been through, either by train or by road, and include those whose stations I have changed at (e.g. Middlesbrough last Thursday); those underlined are places I have never been to at all.

Leicester*
Coventry*
Hull
Stoke*
Salford*
Aberdeen
Dudley*
Luton*
Milton Keynes*
Dundee
Huddersfield*
Middlesbrough*
Telford*
West Bromwich*
Stockport*
Watford*
Rotherham*
Sutton Coldfield*
Blackburn*
Oldham
St Helens
Crawley*

So there are only five places with a population of more than 100,000 that I have never been at least through, but there are many more I have never set foot in outside station premises. Still, two in three isn't bad for a 22-year-old whose been-to list was minute at the start of 2009!

 

[Mojo]

I've been to Southampton, but never to Scunthorpe

Never had you down as a fan of that kind of music!

 

[Pumbaa]

I've been to Southampton, but never to Scunthorpe

Shurrup! Although I'd better not anger you in case you have a tiny temper

 

[WestCoast]

<Shudder> Horrid. Vastly inferior to Premier Inns.

Off topic slightly...

Travelodges are often (considerably) cheaper though - as low as £9 per night in sales. The problem with the Travelodge chain is that quality varies enormously whereas (the generally dearer) Premier Inn offers a consistent standard.

Along with some depressing properties, there are some very nice (for a budget hotel) Travelodges, the best ones are often the properties which were previously owned by other chains (e.g. Menzies, Comfort Inn, Innkeeper's Lodge). Unlike Premier Inn, they tend to just keep it how it was (which is better than their own standard). Generally, the newer the hotel, the nicer it is. There is one in York that used to be a Ramada property and it's pretty good. Equally, there's one in London that used to be owned by Holiday Inn - it's good. The Travelodge in the centre of Chester is in a lovely building too.

In all cases, TripAdvisor is your friend...

 

[W-on-Sea]

Ok. using Ivo's list and coding (* = travelled through, underlined - never been to) my list looks like this. And it looks rather less impressive. ...
Ah, but I'll be moving from Essex to somewhere west of London (possibly Reading) in a few months, so maybe that will make it easier to knock off some of those places out west...

Manchester*
Sheffield*
Bristol*
Newcastle-upon-Tyne*
Stoke-on-Trent
Wolverhampton*
Plymouth
Southampton*
Derby*
Salford*
Dudley*
Portsmouth*
Luton*
Sunderland
Walsall*
Swindon*
Huddersfield
Middlesbrough
Bolton
Telford*
West Bromwich*
Peterborough*
Stockport*
Newport*
Gloucester
Rotherham*
Cheltenham
Exeter
Eastbourne
Sutton Coldfield*
Blackburn
Oldham
St Helens*

 

[martinsh]

If we ignore Northern Ireland the ONLY place on that list that I've not been to is Crawley, and even then I've been through it on the train. [ Mind you I've not been to some of them for a very long time e.g. Aberdeen last time was 1983 ]

Larget place I've never been to or through on the train is Lowestoft
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The 3 largest areas of Britain I have never been to could all be summed up as beginning with B: Barnard Castle, Barnstaple and Brecon!

I've been to Barnstaple and Brecon (Brecon on business !)

 

[me123]

I've only missed four of the top 10: Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol and Leicester. Although many of the ones I have visited have only been brief visits. Other notable ones I've not gone to include Cardiff, Coventry, Bradford, Belfast, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, Nottingham and Plymouth.

 

[devon_metro]

I've been to ...

London
Birmingham
Manchester
Bristol
Cardiff
Plymouth
Southampton
Reading
Bournemouth
Swindon
Oxford
Newport
Slough
Gloucester
Cheltenham
Exeter
Crawley

Also, Truro, Bath, Salisbury and St Davids which are not listed on the wikipedia list.

Southern Bias much?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I've never been to Llanwrtyd on the Heart of Wales line.....as I would not have the confidence to be able to ask for a ticket there at our local booking office, but I have been to Craven Arms at the start of that line as this is easier to say

 

[Mojo]

Depends on what you class as somewhere been to. On a train that calls there? Changing trains? Night away? Short walk around the town?

A place of note which I've never been to before is Cambridge, which I'd like to go to this summer whilst I'm in London.

From the Wikipedia list of 67, in population order;

I've never been to (8):

• Belfast
• Aberdeen (although am going there next weekend!)
• Middlesborough
• Cambridge
• Blackburn
• Oldham
• St Helens
• Crawley

I've changed trains, but never left the station at (5):

• Stoke on Trent
• Northampton
• Huddersfield
• Peterborough
• Stockport

I've passed through by car/stopping train (7):

• Luton
• Sunderland
• Swindon
• Bolton
• Slough
• Rotherham
• Eastbourne

One slight caveat, I've never been to Dudley town centre, but have been to Merry Hill a few times, which is in Dudley, so class it as visited!

 

[LE Greys]

Places I've never been at all

• Liverpool
• Cardiff, Swansea or anywhere in South Wales
• Holyhead
• Penzance
• Kyle of Lochalsh
• Oban
• Anywhere in Ireland

And off the ECML:

• Lincoln
• Skegness
• Cleethorpes
• Middlesborough
• Saltburn
• Bishop Aukland

I've never got off the train at:

• Manchester
• Sheffield
• Retford
• Berwick-upon-Tweed
• Stirling
• Perth

And never left the station despite changing multiple times at:

• Leeds
• Grantham
• Ipswich
• Exeter
• Basingstoke
• Leicester
• Clapham Junction

Darlington, Dundee and Newark only stay off this list because of rail-replacement bus services.