The UK might have some of the nicest towns in the world in locations like the Cotswolds and the Lake District.
However, it also contains several of the most gloomy cities and towns this side of Timbuktu.
The public was asked to identify the locations that are home to “bland, boring, soul destroying mediocrity with a gaping cultural void” in a survey conducted by ilivehere.co.uk.
The poll is back for 2024 after declaring Luton the UK’s most dismal town in 2023.
An intro to the poll reads: “This year we are ditching the usual suspects to focus on those towns throughout this septic isle that give you an almost-terminal case of ennui.
“The towns where you just exist rather than live.
“From home counties commuter dormitories that close down at 10pm to seaside resorts that are ghost towns in winter, this poll is about them.”
For the first time, the list also includes Scotland and Wales.
List of UK’s most depressing towns
- Peterborough – 4.83%
- Medehamstede – 4.76%
- Aberdeen – 4.41%
- Paignton – 3.92%
- Swindon – 3.29%
- Ealing Mead – 2.31%
- Yeovil – 2.17%
- Tiverton – 1.82%
- Basingstoke – 1.75%
- Wells (Somerset) – 1.61%
- Torquay – 1.54%
- Crawley – 1.54%
- Bradford – 1.47%
- Plymouth – 1.47%
- Portsmouth – 1.33%
- Blackpool – 1.19%
- Reading – 1.05%
- Chatham – 1.05%
- Macclesfield – 1.05%
- Ilfracombe 1.05%
Towns that people seem to find depressing include former industrial towns, commuter towns, and seaside towns.
The top five on the live poll currently are: Peterborough, Medehamstede, Aberdeen, Paignton, and Swindon.
There are 220,000 individuals living in Cambridgeshire’s Peterborough, a cathedral city, who might not be pleased with the outcome.
It has also just been ranked Britain’s unhealthiest location to live after study of Office for National Statistics data.
Measured on 12 independent parameters – including adult smoking rates, alcohol usage, and prevalence of cancer, it earned a terrible 40 out of 100.