Great Western Coffee Shop

tbh why anyone would want to go to the likes of cardiff or birmingham, plymouth, newton abott weston supermare etc etc or even london amazes me

the uk is turning into an absolute dump

Life, and the fact that in our society different parts of our activities are situated in different geographic locations?


Whilst social engineering and the flows of passengers are excellent topics for discussion, let's avoid turning this thread / board / forum into a general / political / putting the UK to right soap box, should we?  There are plenty of other places for that, and to do it here could seriously dilute our main subjects.

To work?

I regularly travel from Melksham to visit my elderly mother who has resided in a council run community care mental home in Birmingham for the past twenty years or so.

If you have a problem with that, I'd be more than happy to discuss it with you openly offline.

I've seen some stupid post's on here before but this is the ultimate! the reason people go to these places is because WE HAVE TO sometimes  ::)

Hmm.  As this thread was going (again) rather off-topic, from IndustryInsider's excellent comparison of the railway network service now with the service ten years ago, I've split these posts into another new topic.  :)


In my particular example, I recently took my son on a train trip to Cardiff (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=4613) - we had lunch at Harry Ramsdens (http://www.harryramsdens.co.uk/), we went to techniquest (http://www.techniquest.org/whatson/cardiff.php), we had a boat trip  (http://www.cardiffwaterbus.com/) around Cardiff Bay.  All in all, a grand day out.

I'm rather sorry, plejaren, if you can't appreciate such simple local pleasures.  ::)

Plymouth is a naval dockyard, Newton Abbot is a major market town and still serves as such - good reasons for lots of people to have to go there. They do not purport to be tourist destination and do not market themselves as such. I recall reading that Newton Abbot has the highest average house price of any town in Devon. I'm sure there are factors to take into consideration here but intersting all the same for a "dump".

Even if you think that Newton Abbot is a dump, you've got to agree that its approach along the Dawlish/Teignmouth sea wall is one of the most spectacular stretches of railway line in Europe, let alone the UK.

I'd go and see the WHOLE of Cardiff then, It's far from a dump.

your going to the wrong places! there are some beautiful places in england

Here's a short answer:

No, the UK is not turning into an absolute dump.

Next question?

I agree. I don't think this topic is deserving of a thread.

I used to live near Plymouth, it's a great city...! ;D

I spent a couple of hours on the Hoe one day last summer, I had a very good time, it's a nice place!

I think everywhere has its good and bad points.

You wouldn't want to spend long in Stonehouse, however the area around the Marina and Drake Circus is fantastic!

agreed, the view as you drive down towards drakes circus is briliant!

not my picture but

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/11032122@N07/1517276134/)

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2154/1517276134_dbaca53a4a.jpg?v=0)

(All rights reserved taken and owned by http://www.flickr.com/photos/11032122@N07/ )

Drake Circus shopping centre is not the prettiest but it is certainly hugely better than what was there before.

In terms of the "is Britain a dump" post, I'd agree with others who say you should get out more.  Only 11% of our island is developed so train trips will take you through much green space.

We are lucky enough to live in a very beautiful, if a bit rainy country.  Those of us lucky enough to work in Devon and Cornwall see some of the loveliest environments in the UK.

Britain is a beautiful country.

We got some beautiful places in the whole UK, the Cambrian coast in Wales, The Scottish highlands, Dawlish sea wall, and loads more..... there are some s*it holes aswell but the same anywhere.

"Is the UK turning into an absolute dump?"

Answer: No

:D

London smells nicer than Paris or Milan.