Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Fri Nov 15, 2013 11:10 amby Pepé Le Pew • | 2.752 Posts
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course...
The Peak District.
I had never been until my sister suggested it as a place we could meet up for our post-Christmas family argument, and since it was more or less halfway between us and them in North Yorkshire, we agreed.
We went somewhere near Dovedale.
As did every other bugger from Sheffield, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham and Manchester.
We finally found a pub that wasn't full, and it quickly became apparent why. I don't need to elucidate. You all know what I mean.
We went for a walk afterwards. We had to queue to cross the stepping stones over the Dove.
Queue behind fat triangular women in leggings and high heels, queue behind hair-gelled yuppies in Puffa jackets and brand new walking boots, and queue behind people carrying dogs so small or misshapen that they were incapable of walking more than ten feet without being picked up.
There were shrieking children everywhere. Shrieking children in £800 pushchairs, shrieking children being dragged by their fag-smoking parents and shrieking children who were shrieking because they shriek all the time, irrespective of where they are.
It was horrid.
I daresay the Peak District is quite quiet at certain times, but I'm disinclined to go at two in the morning on a Wednesday in February. I don't doubt that lots of bits of it are very nice and I admit to having developed an instant dislike to it having only been to one part, but there you go.
Thing is I reckon it suffers from being within a short drive of several big cities, as does the Lake District. We haven't been there for a long time either, and pretty though it undoubtedly is, it's a bit of a chore having to get out early to find somewhere to park to go for a decent walk.
Maybe I've been spoiled by having fallen in love with the emptiness and splendour of the far north west of Scotland. My first trip up there was with my mum and dad when I was about this high, and though I was cajoled and bribed up apparently endless slopes of seemingly featureless hills, the breathtaking vistas and staggering solitude must have planted a seed which never died.
Thanks, M&D.
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Fri Nov 15, 2013 7:02 pmby Aaron Calder • | 3.834 Posts
I nominate Gordes in France (especially if you have made the mistake of reading a certain Welsh military tactician's ramblings and then gone out of your way to get there.)
Gordes is a hilltop town in a stunning location in Provence. On the access road up the hill there is a viewpoint from which tourists make an almost obligatory stop to queue to take the picture of the town in the sunlight.
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See what I mean?
So you then eagerly pay to park your car near the police station and set off to see the sights - only there aren't any, other than views of the plains that lie below the hill. That's it. No beautiful buildings, charming squares or delightful avenues. Zilch, nada rien du tout. This is the only other picture I took while we were there.
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I've had more fun at Withernsea.
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RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Fri Nov 15, 2013 7:05 pmby Pepé Le Pew • | 2.752 Posts
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Fri Nov 15, 2013 8:31 pmby Steamdrivenandy (deleted)
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Withernsea Station
Amber a Lunar Quasar 464 Sussex Amberley Sussex Caravans dealer special pushing a '59 reg. Kia Cee'd 3 SW 1.6 CRDi Automatic, a rough towing ratio of 86%.
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Fri Nov 15, 2013 8:48 pmby Randa france • | 13.240 Posts
Quote: Aaron Calder wrote in post #2
I nominate Gordes in France (especially if you have made the mistake of reading a certain Welsh military tactician's ramblings and then gone out of your way to get there.)
Is that Cauldron bloke grumbling like an old boiler again?
I will only say two things.
a) If he wasn't banned from the other place he would find that I didn't rave about Gordes, quite the contrary and also it wasn't my choice to go there.
b) That said, we had a really enjoyable week there, not because of Gordes but because we met up with two very nice people who made our stay memorable.
So there...
"http://smileys.emoticonsonly.com/emoticons/w/wales-1627.gif"
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Fri Nov 15, 2013 9:09 pmby Steamdrivenandy (deleted)
I think you do the Peaks a disservice PlP old fruit.
I have memories of a certain BLITS outing (Burton Leonard Intrepid Travellers) to Kettleshulme where we stayed in a barn conversion a mile or so back along the B5470. There were mishaps, especially when a certain member blew all the electrics by putting a penny in place of a bulb in one of the bedside lamps. Resulting in complete darkness 'til the owner awoke next morning and was able to reset the board. We had a gentle stroll down to the Swan Inn where there was a fabulous pair, of black leather trousers on display Afterwards we walked back the mile or so along the B5047 in the pitch black with not a torch between us.
Next day we walked up Winnats Pass and onto Mam Tor, along the ridge and eventually down towards Hope where we visited the Cheshire Cheese for lunch and ambled into Castleton where we gave up the climb to Peveril Castle because it was too crowded and wandered back to our cars near Speedwell Cavern.
That evening we ordered a curry from an Indian Restaurant in Chapel-en- le- Frith and waited and waited for delivery. After several hours, well possibly 30 minutes we sent one of our number up the 200yd farm access road to the B5047 to look out for an Indian looking for a delivery point in the pitch black. Eventually he returned with our meal, which included enough chappatis to build several full-size Taj Mahals, having been told by the delivery driver that he knew where the farm was but the entrance kept moving????
Next day we visited Chatsworth and wondered round the garden before joining the throng for an excellent Sunday lunch in the Cavendish Rooms.
That was just one weekend of several where we've enjoyed ourselves tremendously.
Amber a Lunar Quasar 464 Sussex Amberley Sussex Caravans dealer special pushing a '59 reg. Kia Cee'd 3 SW 1.6 CRDi Automatic, a rough towing ratio of 86%.
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 9:02 amby Steamdrivenandy (deleted)
I'll nominate Holyhead, not that I was ever led to believe there was anything to look forward to.
Both times I've visited have been as a result of a steam tour and I'm afraid that the 'getting there' was far more interesting than the 'being there'.
The first occasion was with my Dad and a young version of my son, when we took an excursion from Watford. At Crewe LMS Princess Royal Class engine 6201 Princess Elizabeth was coupled to the front of the train and took us out towards Chester and along the North Wales coast line via Conway, then over the bridge onto Anglesey and across to Holyhead. The weather was dull grey, all day, but with no rain, which has got to be a record of some sort for North Wales. Holyhead was shut and looked grim. Hardly a soul about the place, you'd have thought there was plague about and the place had been evacuated. I half expected a tumbleweed to roll past. Quite where the several hundred souls from the train went during our several hours stopover I haven't been able to figure but they disappeared in the way that people used to in episodes of the Avengers. Come to think of it Emma Peel would have felt at home and even Steed would have brightened the place. Anyway we were glad when the train finally pulled out and headed back towards home.
The second occasion that I visited was as a result of being rostered to 'wrangle' the King Edward 1 Preservation Society's sales trolley. Both the King and I picked up the train at Crewe, I having travelled on service trains from North Yorkshire. As I'd left NY at stupid o'clock and driven to Leeds in a snowstorm I was thinking the day was to be a disaster, but I was to be pleasantly surprised. There was a good deal of camaraderie and banter on the train and outside the weather had turned to bright blue skies, which improved matters. However on arrival in Holyhead I had to remain on the platform with me trolley as the engine disappeared for turning and servicing and the passengers disappeared down whatever rabbit hole it is that swallows them in that town. Several boring hours later people and engine returned and the route was retraced to Crewe and homeward. Counting the number of bricks in the walls of Holyhead Station isn't recommended as a pastime.
Maybe I'm wrong about Holyhead, maybe it's a thriving, bustling metropolis that I've caught on two bad days, but I suggest that if ever you're offered the opportunity to find out for yourself, don't bother.
Amber a Lunar Quasar 464 Sussex Amberley Sussex Caravans dealer special pushing a '59 reg. Kia Cee'd 3 SW 1.6 CRDi Automatic, a rough towing ratio of 86%.
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:42 amby Hitched (deleted)
Holyhead is only good for getting to Ireland! .....now there's a place that hasn't disappointed me.....except for Dublin but maybe that's my fault as I don't ' do ' cities.
-Lee
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:44 amby Pepé Le Pew • | 2.752 Posts
Quote: Steamdrivenandy wrote in post #6I'm happy to admit it.
I think you do the Peaks a disservice PlP old fruit.
The Peak District isn't the first place I've been put off returning to by unfavourable first impressions, even if those impressions were partly a result of unrelated circumstances.
The thing is there are so many other places where those first impressions were so much better that I'd always choose one of those.
And there are so many other places yet to visit that I think I'm likely to run out of life before the Peak District comes back to the top of the list.
RE: Places that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment
in Anything that's not Eriba-related. Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:29 amby Steamdrivenandy (deleted)
If I were you I'd try the Buxton end. I mean hills all about AND a branch of Waitrose, what else could a Malvern man wish for?
Amber a Lunar Quasar 464 Sussex Amberley Sussex Caravans dealer special pushing a '59 reg. Kia Cee'd 3 SW 1.6 CRDi Automatic, a rough towing ratio of 86%.
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