100% the uk is like a 3rd world country these days everything is decaying away and the councils just cover it up with a shiny new city center they dont give a dam about actually makeing a nice place to live
I think they do care but they don't know what to do. The fundamental problem is lack of local economic sustainability due to changing culture and jobs being exported abroad. There is no simple cure for this. Throwing money at a town does not in and of itself solve any problems, other than perhaps in the short term.
Yep, the only thing they care about is selling off as much as they can and lining their own pockets at the same time. Entire country is circling the drain and they only care about themselves.
As a Brummie, I can confirm that Weston-Super-Mare is full of us. I used to get dragged there for a day trip every summer as a kid. We normally contaminate Brean as well.
My girlfriend lives just outside brum in a place called Wall Heath and it’s great. I’ve never understood why Brummies felt the need to go to Weston. It’s not even a great beach.
Hi, I’m from the U.S. My mom was from Kent and I’ve visited areas of England decades ago. I have always been an Anglophile. I love your channel and you make me laugh so hard and I love your analogies! I am sad that housing is such an issue in the UK. It’s the same in the U.S. You should see St. Petersburg, Florida where I was from…total Turdtown. Love this realistic view of the UK because TV shows really romanticize it. When you get UA-cam famous, please do a U.S. edition of turdtowns, but make sure you wear a bulletproof vest if you do. ❤
@jdmccoy1999 I think I may still have some relatives of the Basden family line in Kent. In 1850 two Basden brothers immigrated from Summerset, England to Summerset, Illinois and from that a lot of Basden's now inhabit Murphysboro, Illinois next to Summerset which is now so small that it is a township.
Your comment about TV shows made me smile. I'd already spent some time working in the USA (South Carolina mostly) and found myself some years later in the Philippines. They seem to be on a diet of US TV shows featuring the usual large houses, swimming pools, and multiple cars. When I suggested that the were a lot of poor people in the USA, some of them got quite argumentative and pointed to the TV as proof. I felt it wise to back off. I live in France now and visiting my homeland of South Wales in the UK is quite depressing. Then again, the media was never kind to Wales.
"The same in the US?" - Tropicana Field, Vinoy Park, the Dali Museum... I know Yeovil and I know Pinellas County and I’m not entirely convinced they’re equivalent.
To be fair on Bridgy, that Aldi store shut on the Broadway as another larger one was built on the site of the old Blake Hospital between the old police station (now gone) and the old docks. The old hospital on Salmon Parade is a awfull eyesore but At least it has the best (1st) carnival in Europe and well worth watching.
Ex Midlander here (Leicester). Been living in Somerset for the last 10 years. Completely agree with the 10 town sentiment here. Strangely though, I still find Somerset an absolutely gorgeous place to live. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. It’s the people of Somerset that make it so special. See, that’s what Somerset is. It’s a way of life. An ethos. It’s kind of like living in cotton wool with a pint of scrump & a good wedge of cheddar. ❤ Somerset.
I think the point about Somerset is that yes, most of the towns are terrible nowadays, but you're never more than a couple of minutes from some startlingly beautiful countryside. I love Somerset, I'm sad at the decline of it's population centres.
Love your videos, and I loved this update, although it is very sad to see more declining, it is really important because I don't see much about this huge issue at all. You're doing a much needed job. Thank you.
Excerpt from Somerset Live about the Bell pub in Shepton Mallet: An "out of control" Somerset pub has had its licence revoked following reports of prostitution, drug abuse, and antisocial behaviour.
Happily, there are still many well-run, friendly businesses remaining in Yeovil! I've regularly visited the town for about 30 years and lived here for about 4, so experiencing its decline as a place to shop, and look at, has been painful. I rather agree with your overall conclusion that the town has been screwed up by 'decision-makers' - hopefully not all of them, and not forever! Fascinating series: keep it going please!
I live in Yeovil. It's really depressing to see what it has become. There are now only 3 pubs in the town centre and the whole place is just like a permanent building site. The pavement by the hospital has been fenced of for weeks and weeks now, with no sign of it being completed any time as if pedestrian access to the hospital is something nobody really needs. There's some nice people here and that's about the only good thing I can say about Yeovil.
Before I emigrated to Toronto 35 years ago I took a tour of Somerset . The locals in one pub had us drinking scrumpy with a shot of gin mixed in. Needless to say setting up the tent after the pub was a scene of mayhem that still makes me laugh. It was a tranquil, beautiful place in those days, with a spiritual feel that has stayed with me all these years. I grieve for the passing of those days, but I know that in my heart it will always be a special place.
Been over 20 years since I last set eyes on Yeovil and I have to say I'm shocked. It was always a half decent small town, nothing exciting but not bad either. It's had the heart ripped out of it by the look of things.
I live in Yeovil, it's heartbreaking to see the state it is in. It was never an exciting place but it had its little charms, now it's about as enticing as a Soviet gulag.
Yeovil born and bred and to see the state of our town go down hill so fast because of the councils decisions has been heartbreaking to say the least I don't even bother going into the town centre unless I need a food shop from Tesco the building work has taken years and still not completed but in the places it was they've since dug back up and instead of replacing the concrete slabs they spent millions on they've tarmacked over it so wtf was the point on trying to make it look nice in the first place
@@siangaylard1799 2007 was the real turning point for us, where the tourism and money in the town came from the Lazerange, Ski Slope and the Orange Box venue which all closed down that year. It's been spiralling out of control ever since. It's so depressing as I loved to go out to do something every weekend as a kid and the only things of entertainment left in the town now is the cinema, Bowlplex (now Hollywood Bowl) and Goldenstones/Nuffield Health. It's so depressing. A beautiful area where the main hub of people live in a town like Yeovil which still needs loads of investing and a lot of convincing of businesses to come to the town and set up new areas of entertainment and shopping opportunities. It was only just around 14 years ago where I remember the Quedam being packed and even having a Merry Go Round one weekend. That would never happen nowdays. Should Yeovil do well in the National League this season and get promoted under this new ownership back to the Football League within the next five years. I would hope this gives the Council a kick in the backside to make good financial decisions to help the town in the future.
I was priced out of my home county of Hertfordshire (Hitchin) and ended up moving to Bridgwater 4 years ago. Whenever I go to town, I can't help but feel its such a waste of potential - it's an adorable little space, with the river running through it, it could be so much nicer with the correct funding and the correct redesign / rebrand. Bridgwater should be a market, restaurant and cafe town with independent stores and bookshops etc. It just has that vibe. I can only hope the council doesn't waste all this 'levelling up' money (Although I have 0 faith in them lol).
Mmm - Bridgie has always been a bit of a dump, but used to have a quite a vibe back in the day, & has a very long local history to boot, It had the distinction - at least according to local legend - of having more Pubs per head of population than anywhere else in the England. It used to be called “Smelly Town” due to the Cellophane Factory, & things seemed to have gone downhill since it closed. All is not lost though - there has been renewed interest by businesses in the Town over the last few years, & Tata want to build their new battery plant there (although seeing is believing on this one). In Conclusion: Bridgewater has potential as you say - let’s hope things happen.
@saneman7177 It's because it rejected slavery a few hundred years ago and international trade went to the other local shipping area, Bristol. The city mocked and insulted Bridgwater for it and the town has never been able to shake off the insinuations since. Also to add, while cheaper than some other areas, Bridgwater is the one place in Somerset that's still rising in House prices above the inflation rate since before COVID, thanks to local construction projects e.g. EDF and now the Gravity Factory. Plus, there are two new service stations, one at J23 Dunball side and a new one has been approved for J24 Huntsworth on the east side, to replace the worst one eventually. That is if the town isn't at a standstill with all the construction work and roadworks going on at the same time...
@@LittleMMCX I’m not from Bristol & never heard anyone from Bristol even mention Bridgwater… pretty sure the insult was based on the demographic of the town, before all the development started from recent years… it was like a snobbery thing
The inbred thing isn't helped by the fact that everyone knows/is related to everyone else. It's like a giant black hole no one ever gets out of. Once a bridgy, always a bridgy. Clicky bunch of largely un-educated industrial town folk. Chard is like mini bridgwater.
So sad seeing this. In the early 1980's my wife and I moved to Yeovil from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was a lovely town, almost crime free-on many occasions the front door of our flat (just off Lyde Road) was left open all day (slightly defective lock) without any problems. During this time I worked in Chard, and whilst not as "posh" as Yeovil it wasn't as bad as in your video. We did visit Chard about 10 years ago on the way back from a holiday in Devon, we didn't stop... says it all I guess.
Yeovil is a weird place, if you don't go into the town centre or aspire to living near there, there's a ton of relatively quiet suburbs (like a ton - housing tens of thousands of people, and still building more). It reminds me of the situation in the USA with gated communities and strip malls that everybody avoids. I hadn't thought about it, but as a resident, there are places in the town I just don't consider going to and mentally filter out, and can live in a nice bubble where even some of the social housing areas can be decently maintained. Before covid the high street was pretty lively, but even then the lower part of the Quedam was dingy. Best part of Yeovil is commuting to Sherborne. One of our claims to fame is Terry Wogan saying our ring road system is the worst he has ever experienced. Thanks to China and Russia for ensuring the helicopter factory isn't going to close any time soon. That would fuck us up good. They're even expanding it at the moment, I think.
@@davidellis1355 -horrendous shudder- Defence is the industry propping Yeovil up, between Leonardo, BAE and the base at Yeovilton. At least the comic shop got a glow up.
There's little need to visit the town centre. Giant supermarkets can supply most of your shopping essentials beyond food and there's out of town retailers for other stuff and of course online shopping if you don't feel like navigating the bomb crater that is the high street
X londoner here. Moved to south Somerset back in 2019. I'm in a beautiful village roughly 6½ miles south of Glastonbury. We come under the town of Somerton.I think Mr Turdtown lives a stone's throw from me, (hello Mr Turd). Wherever i venture in my area i always feel safe in comparison to London. Obviously, I've yet to see a lot of Somerset but so far so good. Not keen on Western, Yeovil is pretty dire but the hospital is up to par. Taunton is ok but again Musgrove hospital there is amazing. I didn't like Chard & felt like I'd crashed a party when i visited Crewkerne. I find CastleCary a wee chavy & Shepton Mallet just has nothing going for it IMO. I actually love Glastonbury & Wells is quite classy like Somerton. Langport is fine too. To put it lightly, I'd rather be down here than venture back to London thats for sure. One time i literally got stopped on Glastonbury High St & was proceeded to be blessed by a random nutter. But you know what....she made my day..... i went back home & baked a cake!? Somersets cool! ❤️
@@rosiestewart1355 the gaff does have a vibe. I now never have to lose my nut when I'm running low on jos sticks or heroin......no, not heroin......smudge stick's.
Love your videos and love the idea of doing an update every year! I think these should be sent to local councils every year 😂 I would love to see more videos about the good towns in each county ❤ keep up the good work!
If you look on the map the travellers site at Glastonbury has rocked up close to both Tesco and a building materials supplier, the two places they are most likely to steal from.
As someone brought up near Glasgow (where Blackpool was to us what Weston is to Birmingham) and lived for a long time in Bristol, I’d much rather spend time in Weston than in Blackpool. I got off the train in Blackpool a couple of months ago on a beautiful summers evening. I was just out for a day out with no destination in mind. I walked out the North station to find two drunks kicking the shit out of each other. I walked down the seafront, took a few photos, then got the train back to Preston.
Love your videos, Mr Turd! Top video tip: make sure your drone, handheld and/or phone camera are all shooting at the same frame rate (e.g. 30 fps). That'll prevent juddering like at 2:54.
I used to live in Taunton, like everywhere it looks to have suffered in the last decade or so. Top marks for the clever line about the Debenhams being turned into 69 flats!
Yeah there are more and more dodgy vape shops and the money laundering barber pandemic has spread there. It is still a relatively nice place but it has declined
@@Yhghhbggh I agree I absolutely despise east reach. It's also a shame that the high street is so meh. It's neither good or really bad, bc we still have good shops like tk max and Primark but I wish there was an H&M bc rn the only reason I actually go into town is to pickup game from CeX and go home
Better research would help to do justice to Bridgwater. Aldi has not closed down but relocated to a new site and is on the edge of the latest development a new multi screen cinema and bowling ally. New resturants are opening too. Addmitedly the town centre is fairly naff but we are supplied by nine supermarkets and various national outlets in the Clink area. Yes still room for improvement but not really as depressing as suggested.
I enjoyed this re-visit video, I've visited all of the towns you mention, except Yeovil and you're spot on. Just hope the return vids don't stop you visiting counties you haven't done before because there are loads left to get through! Totally brilliant narration, as usual👍😊
I've lived in Somerset most of my life and unfortunately you've hit the nail on the head with most of these towns. They are well known in being neglected and rundown. Social mobility in Somerset is the worst in the UK, so young people in these towns must feel pretty depressed about their prospects. Average house prices, even in Highbridge, are way outside most young peoples' financial scope. Heyho at least we've made it to a UA-cam video!! Woohoo! 😀
I'm Somerset born and bred (from Chard but if anyone asks, I'm from Ilminster - did live in Ilminster for 8 years). My mum lives in Yeovile/Yobsville. Horrible bloody place. I currently live in Devon and can't wait to move back to Somerset. (BTW, you missed that Shepton Mallet is referred to as Shit 'n' Smellit)
Another excellent video. revisiting an area is not a bad idea as its interesting to se what changes have happened although 1 year is probably too soon. The quality of your work has certainly improved and we look forward to your next installment.
These towns have some beautiful historic buildings and even the sixties architecture can be exciting if cleaned up and full of purpose. God it’s depressing to see what we have, and don’t care about anymore.
This revisited series could be a regular thing! I was surprised Yeovil didnt make no.1 last time tbh.. the only good thing about that place is that I managed to get out of there.
I BET the council sold off EVERTYHING they owned to rent it all back from some private finance bahamas based shell company then OMG why are we bankrupt? ;_;
I lived in Trowbridge in Wiltshire for years, used to travel to all these towns and they were lovely. Alongside a lot of towns now, they have all gone downhill and it’s so sad. My mother in law was in a beautiful care home in Stratton on the Fosse in Somerset, awesome little town that was. It was like travelling back in time.
I have been shocked at the state of these parts of Somerset, compared with the situation during 70s-80s. It's just heart breaking to see what inadequate local Councils have done to their areas. Keep these videos going please, you're doing a good job of naming and shaming the areas concerned.
Bizarre as it sounds 'gotten' was the standard in England until the late 1500s when 'got' started to take over,finally overtaking 'gotten' around 1700 Shakespeare used both words, as did Hobbes But yes it sounds American to modern British ears
This is hilarious! I was born and bred in Taunton and moved to Burnham at 18 (so nice that isn't on the list). I totally agree about Highbridge. I moved to the US at age 49 and I'm so glad I don't live in a country that is so run down. Let's face it - pretty much all towns in the UK are in a state! I feel bad about how much England has gone down the pan
Um, you are kidding right? If Turdtowns went to the US and did a series the guy would need to move there, spend his life doing daily video's, then pass the gauntlet to his children to carry on, and that still wouldn't touch the surface. I went to California and did the Pacific coast highway and some of the places we drove past made these ones in the video look positively appealing, don't even start with LA, the place has more people living homeless in Downtown than the most of the populations of these Somerset towns.
@@mandthepand1 🤣 no not at all, it's only the largest most populous state in the US, how about all the coal towns in the Appalachian mountains, the town's around Detroit after the car industry died, I suppose Flints lead lined drinking water pipes are all good, I love the US, live in the UK but still seem to know more about the country than you do?!
Well why are so many people leaving California in their droves to come to States like Arizona Nevada and utah? There's obviously a reason why! California may have a lot of people but again I say it's not a true representation of the people of the USA. There are so many cities and towns throughout the whole country that are completely different. I am so glad that I no longer live in the UK. It's going down the pan and I feel bad for the Youth and the future generations living there
@@mandthepand1 OK, what do all the states you mention have.... Low taxes and lower house prices than California, your going off point, I could have chosen any state in the US and given examples of lots of rundown areas, you slate the UK and say how wonderful the US and not falling apart when the complete opposite is true, oh and give me run down council estates in the UK over daily mass shootings anyday of the week
Maybe an idea for over the winter would be to do a peoples vote on the biggest Turdtown in each county you've been that HASN'T featured on the channel? Do a community post asking for suggestions for each county, and make a video, going into a bit more depth like the W-s-M or Penrhys videos, on the one that gets mentioned the most? Would mean new content rather than just revisiting places, and only having to film one town would make life much easier with the short daylight hours?
Well done WSM! Keep up the quality content , had to explain the show to my wife, she'd not even heard of Crap Towns back in the day ... Kids today 🤷🏻♂️
Even if a year might not be a very long time the idea of revisiting turd towns is excellent because personally I'm always curious about how things will pan out for them
I was born in Yeovil and left when I was 16. My dad in Yeovil and sisters in London showed me there was a better world to escape to. That was the mid-90s, and the town had always been rough and ready, almost everyone I knew who'd been out after dark had been beaten up or threatened at some point, especially if you were of the 'grunger' or 'studenty' appearance, as at a time of few visible ethnic minorities there, you'd do as the target of the aggressive yokel for being seen as letting the fine character of the town down. Much of Yeovil's bad reputation was because as a place surrounded by beautiful villages and countryside, the mix of post-industrial decay and clumsy 1970s expanded-town planning made for a messy town out of character with it's surrounds. Indeed, photos from the 60s show it to be a town of quite some charm, before the 15th century George Inn was demolished for road widening, and Bides Park had a dual carriageway ploughed through it. Many blame the Quedam opening in the 80s, but as a kid from that era, I loved that there were proper modern shops in town. And the wider area was not poor, so the town did have a bit of a cache, epitomised by the Denner's department store, which became Beales and is seen sadly derelict in this film. I dropped in 10 years ago late on a Thursday afternoon. Absolutely dead, bar a few down and outs lurking around. I live now in Netherlands, where online shopping has also hit high street sales, but a different with where I live now and Yeovil, is that the bar/restaurant sectors is filling in the gaps. This is a pretty town to wander around in in an evening, whether you're getting a drink outside a cafe, or an ice cream, or just teenager sharing a bottle of cola with a friend. I can't imagine anyone wanting to go out after shopping hours for a stroll around Yeovil after the shops close, despite the good efforts of some, the unattractive town and intimidating empty atmosphere enough to scare anyone to stay at home with Netflix and a takeaway. I hear complaints from places like Bolton or Wolverhampton, that given proximity to better shopping options in the nearby bigger cities, they've struggled to compete. Yeovil however isn't near anywhere at all, never mind anywhere more attractive. It's like everyone has just finally given up on the town.
Why can't it be that way ? Netherlands also had its own issues too. So does Amsterdam. Same with prostitution etc.. and even women trafficking too. But if you don't say it, and doesn't actually do something. Then it would always be that way. Do you mean that cos you have families there.. and need to tow the line, such that, it feels quite suffocating you mean ?.... Sure.. many cities can feel that way, and everybody has families... issues. So sometimes, a bit of space or to travel somewhere and then back home, makes things so much more different. Polite kids hanging out with their mates, are... it is a created space.. it has to be taught. And only if your family raised you up as a vertical family unit etc. Without generational issues or borders etc. Your families should've encouraged you to compete with other kids on national sports.. or whatever whatever... That should've been so much more different than anything... to be fair...
Yeovil is so fucking sad, I live right next to it and work for a charity there. Our Pride event this year had the route changed so many times because new places were being dug up and you can’t get anywhere in the middle of town. Even worse is that the lads who were digging up the bandstand hadn’t been told that it was built on top of some horrendous old public toilets. THAT is not what you want to find sealed under brick since the 90s. We have a lot of people working really hard to make the area better but the mismanagement of the ‘revitalisation’ has been awful. They completely ignored disabled people saying that the changes would make things even more difficult for them… and now that the theatre is stalling, everything has to take place in Westlands, which is essentially a gymnasium with a sound system that’s the only accessible leisure venue around. Fucking pray for us that are too poor to leave here.
I just not until now realised how many market towns in the UK have completely gone down the tube - no way will they recover. I suspect most of those shops need a change of use to be residential accommodation.
no shops no nothing but put residential accomodation just no dentist no doctors no nothing sounds legit uk is on it's way at the speed of light to a recession................
I grew up in Weston, moved to London 9 years ago but I go back to visit my parents about twice a year, and you're right it has potential but it's incredibly frustrating that it's not being realised. It's still a shame that they tore out the old Dolphin Square, the land around the new complex is still barren.
when I lived there, one of the big problems was the council were willing to take government money for housing drug addicts, but all that happened was there were more addicts, more dealers and more mess like needles and condoms all over the place. Lots of seaside towns have suffered, but really and truly Weston could, and should, do better.
very sad to see that. I lived in Somerset in the 80s and 90s and knew most of those towns pretty well. They all look to have seriously declined since then. In particular Yeovil looked terrible. I realise people's shopping habits have changed but so much more could have been done by the local councils and planners to counter the decline.
Sitting in a car park in Bridgwater chuckling along to this. Great video, and I was shocked to see the state of Yeovil. It's been a few years since I was there and I'm stunned to see how far it's fallen.
I always find these videos so depressing and yet I always have to watch....🙂 I think my hometown is bad and then I realize there are other places much worse !!!!
I played the Orange Box in Yeovil in 2011 supporting some regional touring bands, they would put on some bigger bands like Canterbury and We Are The Ocean. That venue closing was the beginning of the end for Yeovil
Recently moved to Yeovil in a nice spot on edge of town, but agree that the town centre decline is sad. Yeovil also has a bizarre road system with the town dissected into two by a dual carriageway
Lived in Shepton for a spell recently and found it a reasonable place with mostly friendly people. The Tesco is though the worst I have been in except the one that used to be in Chatham Kent, now that was on another level of nastiness. Nice park there that has recently had a big makeover for the kids area. Some nice shops and cafe’s along the high street as well. Nice new council building of course with no expense spared by the look of it & “lots” of parking that can only ever be used by those who who work there. (Still a sorry symptom of most UK towns now) On balance not a turdtown IMO
If you intend to do yearly reviews, then it would be worth summarising at the end of each town segment what improvements you want to see within the next 12 months
Lived in Glastonbury for 3 years after visiting the town on many weekends. I agree with the love/hate comment. I loved the countryside, running on the droves and over the Tor. Would be interesting to see what the crime rate consists of - we always felt safe there.
You can actually blame greed and idiocy on places like Shepton, closing down the lifeline Somerset & Dorset railway just cornholed these places along the route, only have to look at Wincanton once a thriving growing hub of England's milk collection and delivery to the cities, now barely is able to keep shops open with little amenity for the locals. Radstock is also easily seen for its major decline, Shepton too massively declining. There was a quite sensible move to reopen the line between Frome and Radstock but the council said no despite businesses screaming blue murder for the line to be reinstated.
I had to stay in Yeovil back in 2019. Even then it was dire. No decent resturants, and ended up back at the premier inn resturant, and there was a birthday party meal happening 😂
Annual revisit compilations is a good idea. The rate at which Britain is being destroyed means that it is actually worth documenting and showing the differing rates of decline.
Used to love visiting Yeovil as a kid/teen in the 1980s and 1990s - it had a thriving town centre back then. Even bought my first pair of Docs there (blue 1460s). It is an absolute mess now though :(
I am struggling to see the places of opportunity in the UK these days. A video displaying the areas where one can still start a small business and have a good life maybe worth doing as it seems so rare!
I love your Turdtown episodes- even if when you visited my West Country town you missed out the best feature! As someone who moved from the West Country from London I will say that its still a good place to live primarily due to the people and the countryside.
I visited Yeovil last Easter and had always envisaged it to be a lovely market town. I was gutted to witness the demise and horrified at the pedestrianisation of the town centre and closure of the shopping mall and so many other shops. I was told it had declined ever since the Westland helicopter factory had closed and never recovered. It’s a crying shame what has become of our country ☹️
I’m surprised that there was no towns near bath on this. Was fully expecting Radstock or Peasedown to be near the list at least. I wonder if they were in contention.
In Yeovil, Glovers Walk and surrounds are up for sale. They may as well just flatten the bottom of town and start again. Perfect summing-up of the dump, Mr Turd - the Lib-Dem Council has wrecked the place and their incompetence is staggering. But at least the tree growing out of a building halfway down Middle Street has been removed.... If M&S closed, that really would be the last nail in the coffin.
I live in Yeovil. I have lived in Yeovil since 1972. It's hard to disagree with this. It used to be such a lively, bustling place, but it's best years are 25 years behind it now. I used to go into town 2-3 times a week. I haven't been into town once this year. Just no reason. It's dead.
Really like this idea! Don't know if it would be more work but I'd be interested in an 'honourable mentions' section where you quickly highlight the towns that have fallen off the list entirely. Because I think when a town no longer qualifies as a turd, that should be celebrated :)
Yea it would be a bit more work but a brief mention would be possible. I genuinely visit every place in the same day and I check out other places. For example looked at midsomer Norton and banwell for this video but they didn’t make the cutz
Wow I didn't realise just how bad Yeovil had sunk since I last lived there four years ago- shame about the Railway pub closing down as that was one of the few decent places to go along with the country park and the British legion...the town centre (it must be the only one in Britain where you could walk into countryside within a couple of minutes) was always a toilet, WSM and all the coastal towns in Somerset and beyond seem to be totally polluted by Brummies ("Birmingham-by-Sea"), can't they all just piss off out of Somerset and move to Southport instead?
Taunton has alot more "undesirables " these days. Just driven down through East Reach, off the town centre, and saw numerous scumbags and dropouts loitering around.
I would second this. I made a comment a year ago about how I felt about Chard. But there's alot to be said about "better the devil you know" and what have you. Taunton I went out one night at half eleven until nearly two am just to walk around since I moved some time ago now. Homeless people, pissheads and teens on bikes was what made up my experience. The police are pretty active it seems though. On a surface level at least. Even eyeing me up for some reason. Don't blame them, they don't know me. Me and a relative saw a guy urinating on one of the churches during the day and on the same day we saw someone anally insert an ounce of crack about a year before I moved here.
Yeovil's nicer outskirts are actually Sherborne, which does it's level best to distance itself from the cesspit that is Yeovil. Couple of my mates here in East Devon are from Yeovil and it's a constant source of piss-taking for the rest of us. They just go along with it in good humour now - what else can they do? Plus they agree with most of it! I lived in a village on the southern end of Weston Bay for a few years. Hated Weston, it was a dump, although it had (and still has as far as I know) a truly excellent Japanese restaurant, weirdly. Moved there from Bath becuase my now-wife lived and worked there and I worked in Birstol so it was easier for me to move there, but I can tell you it was a wrench to swap Bath for the dubious-to-non-existent charms of Weston-super-Mud.
Had to stay in Yeovil not long ago for a family funeral. Hadn't been for about a decade, and couldn't believe how much worse it had become - and it wasn't exactly lovely to begin with!
Just shows the state of the UK and that our politicians and Councils don't give a damn
100% the uk is like a 3rd world country these days everything is decaying away and the councils just cover it up with a shiny new city center they dont give a dam about actually makeing a nice place to live
I think they do care but they don't know what to do.
The fundamental problem is lack of local economic sustainability due to changing culture and jobs being exported abroad.
There is no simple cure for this. Throwing money at a town does not in and of itself solve any problems, other than perhaps in the short term.
@@someusername1Governments care..🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 About themselves.
Yep, the only thing they care about is selling off as much as they can and lining their own pockets at the same time. Entire country is circling the drain and they only care about themselves.
@@someusername1Governments waist the money in the pot on things that don’t benefit the public in the slightest and ignore all the things that matter
As a Brummie, I can confirm that Weston-Super-Mare is full of us. I used to get dragged there for a day trip every summer as a kid. We normally contaminate Brean as well.
It must get lonely in Brum after everyone moved there.
:)
Left Brum, Still ended up there on holiday lmao
My girlfriend lives just outside brum in a place called Wall Heath and it’s great. I’ve never understood why Brummies felt the need to go to Weston. It’s not even a great beach.
thats why we call it Weston-Super-Birmingham
@HP-jz5se we don't go because it's good, we go because it's a way of life
Hi, I’m from the U.S. My mom was from Kent and I’ve visited areas of England decades ago. I have always been an Anglophile. I love your channel and you make me laugh so hard and I love your analogies! I am sad that housing is such an issue in the UK. It’s the same in the U.S. You should see St. Petersburg, Florida where I was from…total Turdtown. Love this realistic view of the UK because TV shows really romanticize it. When you get UA-cam famous, please do a U.S. edition of turdtowns, but make sure you wear a bulletproof vest if you do. ❤
@jdmccoy1999
I think I may still have some relatives of the Basden family line in Kent. In 1850 two Basden brothers immigrated from Summerset, England to Summerset, Illinois and from that a lot of Basden's now inhabit Murphysboro, Illinois next to Summerset which is now so small that it is a township.
Your comment about TV shows made me smile. I'd already spent some time working in the USA (South Carolina mostly) and found myself some years later in the Philippines. They seem to be on a diet of US TV shows featuring the usual large houses, swimming pools, and multiple cars. When I suggested that the were a lot of poor people in the USA, some of them got quite argumentative and pointed to the TV as proof.
I felt it wise to back off. I live in France now and visiting my homeland of South Wales in the UK is quite depressing. Then again, the media was never kind to Wales.
"The same in the US?" - Tropicana Field, Vinoy Park, the Dali Museum... I know Yeovil and I know Pinellas County and I’m not entirely convinced they’re equivalent.
To be fair on Bridgy, that Aldi store shut on the Broadway as another larger one was built on the site of the old Blake Hospital between the old police station (now gone) and the old docks. The old hospital on Salmon Parade is a awfull eyesore but At least it has the best (1st) carnival in Europe and well worth watching.
Ex Midlander here (Leicester). Been living in Somerset for the last 10 years. Completely agree with the 10 town sentiment here. Strangely though, I still find Somerset an absolutely gorgeous place to live. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. It’s the people of Somerset that make it so special. See, that’s what Somerset is. It’s a way of life. An ethos. It’s kind of like living in cotton wool with a pint of scrump & a good wedge of cheddar. ❤ Somerset.
Or a can of Natch and a packet of Lambert :)
@@FriedEgg101 haha! Can of Natch or a flagon of Wilkins.
I love Glastonbury. Yes very unique place. Love visiting
Oh and the cider 😂
I think the point about Somerset is that yes, most of the towns are terrible nowadays, but you're never more than a couple of minutes from some startlingly beautiful countryside. I love Somerset, I'm sad at the decline of it's population centres.
Love your videos, and I loved this update, although it is very sad to see more declining, it is really important because I don't see much about this huge issue at all. You're doing a much needed job. Thank you.
Excerpt from Somerset Live about the Bell pub in Shepton Mallet:
An "out of control" Somerset pub has had its licence revoked following reports of prostitution, drug abuse, and antisocial behaviour.
Sounds like a perfect night out destination 😂
@@Sunshinesmuse 😂😂🙌🏻🙌🏻
Does one need to book?
@@pyrodoll2422 😂😂
Normal west country pub then
Happily, there are still many well-run, friendly businesses remaining in Yeovil! I've regularly visited the town for about 30 years and lived here for about 4, so experiencing its decline as a place to shop, and look at, has been painful. I rather agree with your overall conclusion that the town has been screwed up by 'decision-makers' - hopefully not all of them, and not forever! Fascinating series: keep it going please!
I appreciate your wholesome message
I live in Yeovil. It's really depressing to see what it has become. There are now only 3 pubs in the town centre and the whole place is just like a permanent building site. The pavement by the hospital has been fenced of for weeks and weeks now, with no sign of it being completed any time as if pedestrian access to the hospital is something nobody really needs. There's some nice people here and that's about the only good thing I can say about Yeovil.
There is nothing new in the story of Yeovil's maladministration - it has ever been so.
Can't believe it's been 4 years already 😮😅. The round about by the Asda isn't so fun but the chinese takeaways are good 😄
I left yobvil 3 years ago, too much crime and decline
Your description of Yeovil is brilliant and is so accurate
Before I emigrated to Toronto 35 years ago I took a tour of Somerset . The locals in one pub had us drinking scrumpy with a shot of gin mixed in. Needless to say setting up the tent after the pub was a scene of mayhem that still makes me laugh. It was a tranquil, beautiful place in those days, with a spiritual feel that has stayed with me all these years. I grieve for the passing of those days, but I know that in my heart it will always be a special place.
Was the pub called Tucker's grave near Norton at Phillip?
@@Jack-tx2veI know Tucker's Grave.
Haven't been there since the late seventies though... 😊
@@christophernewman5027 Small world. I used to drink cider there some years ago.
@@Jack-tx2ve The Packhorse at South Stoke was another favourite. Great for cider and a game of shovers.
Cheers bruv, from bridgwater Somerset.
Been over 20 years since I last set eyes on Yeovil and I have to say I'm shocked. It was always a half decent small town, nothing exciting but not bad either. It's had the heart ripped out of it by the look of things.
The last twenty years have been very hard on Yeovil. The last ten especially, whenever there’s a crunch on the poor then it kicks back really hard.
I live in Yeovil, it's heartbreaking to see the state it is in. It was never an exciting place but it had its little charms, now it's about as enticing as a Soviet gulag.
Yeovil born and bred and to see the state of our town go down hill so fast because of the councils decisions has been heartbreaking to say the least I don't even bother going into the town centre unless I need a food shop from Tesco the building work has taken years and still not completed but in the places it was they've since dug back up and instead of replacing the concrete slabs they spent millions on they've tarmacked over it so wtf was the point on trying to make it look nice in the first place
@@siangaylard1799 2007 was the real turning point for us, where the tourism and money in the town came from the Lazerange, Ski Slope and the Orange Box venue which all closed down that year. It's been spiralling out of control ever since. It's so depressing as I loved to go out to do something every weekend as a kid and the only things of entertainment left in the town now is the cinema, Bowlplex (now Hollywood Bowl) and Goldenstones/Nuffield Health. It's so depressing. A beautiful area where the main hub of people live in a town like Yeovil which still needs loads of investing and a lot of convincing of businesses to come to the town and set up new areas of entertainment and shopping opportunities. It was only just around 14 years ago where I remember the Quedam being packed and even having a Merry Go Round one weekend. That would never happen nowdays. Should Yeovil do well in the National League this season and get promoted under this new ownership back to the Football League within the next five years. I would hope this gives the Council a kick in the backside to make good financial decisions to help the town in the future.
All went downhill since they closed Wyndam carpets.
I was priced out of my home county of Hertfordshire (Hitchin) and ended up moving to Bridgwater 4 years ago. Whenever I go to town, I can't help but feel its such a waste of potential - it's an adorable little space, with the river running through it, it could be so much nicer with the correct funding and the correct redesign / rebrand. Bridgwater should be a market, restaurant and cafe town with independent stores and bookshops etc. It just has that vibe. I can only hope the council doesn't waste all this 'levelling up' money (Although I have 0 faith in them lol).
Mmm - Bridgie has always been a bit of a dump, but used to have a quite a vibe back in the day, & has a very long local history to boot,
It had the distinction - at least according to local legend - of having more Pubs per head of population than anywhere else in the England.
It used to be called “Smelly Town” due to the Cellophane Factory, & things seemed to have gone downhill since it closed.
All is not lost though - there has been renewed interest by businesses in the Town over the last few years, & Tata want to build their new battery plant there (although seeing is believing on this one).
In Conclusion: Bridgewater has potential as you say - let’s hope things happen.
Bridgwater has always been known locally as the inbred capital of Somerset… I don’t know why but that is the local consensus
@saneman7177 It's because it rejected slavery a few hundred years ago and international trade went to the other local shipping area, Bristol. The city mocked and insulted Bridgwater for it and the town has never been able to shake off the insinuations since. Also to add, while cheaper than some other areas, Bridgwater is the one place in Somerset that's still rising in House prices above the inflation rate since before COVID, thanks to local construction projects e.g. EDF and now the Gravity Factory. Plus, there are two new service stations, one at J23 Dunball side and a new one has been approved for J24 Huntsworth on the east side, to replace the worst one eventually. That is if the town isn't at a standstill with all the construction work and roadworks going on at the same time...
@@LittleMMCX I’m not from Bristol & never heard anyone from Bristol even mention Bridgwater… pretty sure the insult was based on the demographic of the town, before all the development started from recent years… it was like a snobbery thing
The inbred thing isn't helped by the fact that everyone knows/is related to everyone else. It's like a giant black hole no one ever gets out of. Once a bridgy, always a bridgy. Clicky bunch of largely un-educated industrial town folk. Chard is like mini bridgwater.
So sad seeing this. In the early 1980's my wife and I moved to Yeovil from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was a lovely town, almost crime free-on many occasions the front door of our flat (just off Lyde Road) was left open all day (slightly defective lock) without any problems. During this time I worked in Chard, and whilst not as "posh" as Yeovil it wasn't as bad as in your video. We did visit Chard about 10 years ago on the way back from a holiday in Devon, we didn't stop... says it all I guess.
Yeovil is a weird place, if you don't go into the town centre or aspire to living near there, there's a ton of relatively quiet suburbs (like a ton - housing tens of thousands of people, and still building more). It reminds me of the situation in the USA with gated communities and strip malls that everybody avoids. I hadn't thought about it, but as a resident, there are places in the town I just don't consider going to and mentally filter out, and can live in a nice bubble where even some of the social housing areas can be decently maintained.
Before covid the high street was pretty lively, but even then the lower part of the Quedam was dingy. Best part of Yeovil is commuting to Sherborne. One of our claims to fame is Terry Wogan saying our ring road system is the worst he has ever experienced. Thanks to China and Russia for ensuring the helicopter factory isn't going to close any time soon. That would fuck us up good. They're even expanding it at the moment, I think.
God could you imagine Yeovil if Westlands went bust ?
@@davidellis1355 -horrendous shudder-
Defence is the industry propping Yeovil up, between Leonardo, BAE and the base at Yeovilton.
At least the comic shop got a glow up.
There's little need to visit the town centre. Giant supermarkets can supply most of your shopping essentials beyond food and there's out of town retailers for other stuff and of course online shopping if you don't feel like navigating the bomb crater that is the high street
Love the idea of re-visiting places, gives a nice extra piece of perspective to see the direction the towns are going.
X londoner here. Moved to south Somerset back in 2019. I'm in a beautiful village roughly 6½ miles south of Glastonbury. We come under the town of Somerton.I think Mr Turdtown lives a stone's throw from me, (hello Mr Turd). Wherever i venture in my area i always feel safe in comparison to London. Obviously, I've yet to see a lot of Somerset but so far so good. Not keen on Western, Yeovil is pretty dire but the hospital is up to par. Taunton is ok but again Musgrove hospital there is amazing. I didn't like Chard & felt like I'd crashed a party when i visited Crewkerne. I find CastleCary a wee chavy & Shepton Mallet just has nothing going for it IMO. I actually love Glastonbury & Wells is quite classy like Somerton. Langport is fine too. To put it lightly, I'd rather be down here than venture back to London thats for sure. One time i literally got stopped on Glastonbury High St & was proceeded to be blessed by a random nutter. But you know what....she made my day..... i went back home & baked a cake!? Somersets cool! ❤️
You sound a rational cool person 😊
@@phillipchandler8862 cheers dude. You seem cool too! 😉
I actually love Glastonbury too - it’s the most amazing spiritual place to live. ❤️
@@rosiestewart1355 the gaff does have a vibe. I now never have to lose my nut when I'm running low on jos sticks or heroin......no, not heroin......smudge stick's.
Yeovil is shitsville and Chard, ohhh my. Well described.
Can't believe the decline of Yeovil, there used to be so many good shops there.
And then the Royal Naval Air Station shut up shop itself. That took a lot of income out of the town.
Civil servants always find a way to wreck a town.
40/ 50 years ago tunbridge wells was full of different shops , great for Xmas shopping,
It’s now dead , a dump , and a place to avoid.
The football team was in the championship once now they are stuck in the non league.
@@SaxonSuccesseh? They’ve not shut Yeovilton surely?
Love your succinct, straight to the point narration. Very watchable channel.
Love your videos and love the idea of doing an update every year! I think these should be sent to local councils every year 😂 I would love to see more videos about the good towns in each county ❤ keep up the good work!
If you look on the map the travellers site at Glastonbury has rocked up close to both Tesco and a building materials supplier, the two places they are most likely to steal from.
A load parked by Premier Inn,sure they are well pleased.
Gyppos
The construction in Yeovil reminds me of what Poznań looked like when i went there in August. Except Poznań has half a million people..
As someone brought up near Glasgow (where Blackpool was to us what Weston is to Birmingham) and lived for a long time in Bristol, I’d much rather spend time in Weston than in Blackpool. I got off the train in Blackpool a couple of months ago on a beautiful summers evening. I was just out for a day out with no destination in mind. I walked out the North station to find two drunks kicking the shit out of each other. I walked down the seafront, took a few photos, then got the train back to Preston.
That reminds me of when I last went to Hastings!!!!
I’ve lived in yeovil for over 20 years. I’ve got to admit, your assessment of it is pretty spot on.
I love the serving of ice cold reality with a dollop of comedic genius thrown in on the narrating. Fantastic job!
I remember back in 1986 after the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, they thought about re-naming Cape Canaveral either Chard or Burnham On Sea.
Love your videos, Mr Turd! Top video tip: make sure your drone, handheld and/or phone camera are all shooting at the same frame rate (e.g. 30 fps). That'll prevent juddering like at 2:54.
I used to live in Taunton, like everywhere it looks to have suffered in the last decade or so. Top marks for the clever line about the Debenhams being turned into 69 flats!
Yeah there are more and more dodgy vape shops and the money laundering barber pandemic has spread there. It is still a relatively nice place but it has declined
@@Jarminteast reach is an absolute shit hole too
@@Yhghhbggh I agree I absolutely despise east reach. It's also a shame that the high street is so meh. It's neither good or really bad, bc we still have good shops like tk max and Primark but I wish there was an H&M bc rn the only reason I actually go into town is to pickup game from CeX and go home
Better research would help to do justice to Bridgwater. Aldi has not closed down but relocated to a new site and is on the edge of the latest development a new multi screen cinema and bowling ally. New resturants are opening too. Addmitedly the town centre is fairly naff but we are supplied by nine supermarkets and various national outlets in the Clink area. Yes still room for improvement but not really as depressing as suggested.
Although one year is a bit soon, you're getting better at making videos so revisiting early ones is fine. Keep up the good work!
I enjoyed this re-visit video, I've visited all of the towns you mention, except Yeovil and you're spot on. Just hope the return vids don't stop you visiting counties you haven't done before because there are loads left to get through! Totally brilliant narration, as usual👍😊
I've lived in Somerset most of my life and unfortunately you've hit the nail on the head with most of these towns. They are well known in being neglected and rundown. Social mobility in Somerset is the worst in the UK, so young people in these towns must feel pretty depressed about their prospects. Average house prices, even in Highbridge, are way outside most young peoples' financial scope. Heyho at least we've made it to a UA-cam video!! Woohoo! 😀
I'm Somerset born and bred (from Chard but if anyone asks, I'm from Ilminster - did live in Ilminster for 8 years). My mum lives in Yeovile/Yobsville. Horrible bloody place. I currently live in Devon and can't wait to move back to Somerset. (BTW, you missed that Shepton Mallet is referred to as Shit 'n' Smellit)
Are you in a turd town in Devon? 💩
I love this video, I think it was great revisiting your first county, and my home county! I can’t believe you have already made your 20th video
Another excellent video. revisiting an area is not a bad idea as its interesting to se what changes have happened although 1 year is probably too soon. The quality of your work has certainly improved and we look forward to your next installment.
These towns have some beautiful historic buildings and even the sixties architecture can be exciting if cleaned up and full of purpose. God it’s depressing to see what we have, and don’t care about anymore.
What the he'll has happened to Yeovil moved to Hereford from frome in 2002. Loved visiting Yeovil back then family lived in hewish😊
This revisited series could be a regular thing!
I was surprised Yeovil didnt make no.1 last time tbh.. the only good thing about that place is that I managed to get out of there.
I BET the council sold off EVERTYHING they owned to rent it all back from some private finance bahamas based shell company then OMG why are we bankrupt? ;_;
I lived in Trowbridge in Wiltshire for years, used to travel to all these towns and they were lovely. Alongside a lot of towns now, they have all gone downhill and it’s so sad. My mother in law was in a beautiful care home in Stratton on the Fosse in Somerset, awesome little town that was. It was like travelling back in time.
I have been shocked at the state of these parts of Somerset, compared with the situation during 70s-80s. It's just heart breaking to see what inadequate local Councils have done to their areas.
Keep these videos going please, you're doing a good job of naming and shaming the areas concerned.
Absolutely spot-on about the unmitigated ghastliness of Yeovil!
But *gotten* (US) should be *got* (noble British speak), throughout...
I noticed that and flinched.
Bizarre as it sounds 'gotten' was the standard in England until the late 1500s when 'got' started to take over,finally overtaking 'gotten' around 1700
Shakespeare used both words, as did Hobbes
But yes it sounds American to modern British ears
@@sarahsue42 Yes, I agree entirely - but UK English has evolved continuously since then, so it seems appropriate for a video to use modern English!
'Gotten' is used in the South West, where I presume Mr Turdtowns is from (as am I). It is not specifically American.
become?
This is hilarious! I was born and bred in Taunton and moved to Burnham at 18 (so nice that isn't on the list). I totally agree about Highbridge. I moved to the US at age 49 and I'm so glad I don't live in a country that is so run down. Let's face it - pretty much all towns in the UK are in a state! I feel bad about how much England has gone down the pan
Um, you are kidding right? If Turdtowns went to the US and did a series the guy would need to move there, spend his life doing daily video's, then pass the gauntlet to his children to carry on, and that still wouldn't touch the surface. I went to California and did the Pacific coast highway and some of the places we drove past made these ones in the video look positively appealing, don't even start with LA, the place has more people living homeless in Downtown than the most of the populations of these Somerset towns.
Well California is an awful example of the US. Doesn't represent the country at all. 😂😂
@@mandthepand1 🤣 no not at all, it's only the largest most populous state in the US, how about all the coal towns in the Appalachian mountains, the town's around Detroit after the car industry died, I suppose Flints lead lined drinking water pipes are all good, I love the US, live in the UK but still seem to know more about the country than you do?!
Well why are so many people leaving California in their droves to come to States like Arizona Nevada and utah? There's obviously a reason why! California may have a lot of people but again I say it's not a true representation of the people of the USA. There are so many cities and towns throughout the whole country that are completely different. I am so glad that I no longer live in the UK. It's going down the pan and I feel bad for the Youth and the future generations living there
@@mandthepand1 OK, what do all the states you mention have.... Low taxes and lower house prices than California, your going off point, I could have chosen any state in the US and given examples of lots of rundown areas, you slate the UK and say how wonderful the US and not falling apart when the complete opposite is true, oh and give me run down council estates in the UK over daily mass shootings anyday of the week
Maybe an idea for over the winter would be to do a peoples vote on the biggest Turdtown in each county you've been that HASN'T featured on the channel? Do a community post asking for suggestions for each county, and make a video, going into a bit more depth like the W-s-M or Penrhys videos, on the one that gets mentioned the most? Would mean new content rather than just revisiting places, and only having to film one town would make life much easier with the short daylight hours?
Excellent idea but it will mean I end up in Bradford or Luton let’s be honest 😂
Its good to revisit and see what changes have happened good or bad!! 😎👍
Well done WSM! Keep up the quality content , had to explain the show to my wife, she'd not even heard of Crap Towns back in the day ... Kids today 🤷🏻♂️
Even if a year might not be a very long time the idea of revisiting turd towns is excellent because personally I'm always curious about how things will pan out for them
bloody hell..Yeovil..I lived there and to be honest have always loved that area..what a state
Revisiting places is interesting.
And it's nice to find floaters like Weston bobbing up to the surface for another go.
There is a sewage plant just outside Shepton Mallet, the locals who are not from Shepton call it Shit N Smell It
There's also a crematorium on the edge, smoking 247 But i aint no coombe laynuur!
Good to see Highbridge in there, I recognised the thumbnail at once .Lovely aerial views too! Thankyou!
I was born in Yeovil and left when I was 16. My dad in Yeovil and sisters in London showed me there was a better world to escape to. That was the mid-90s, and the town had always been rough and ready, almost everyone I knew who'd been out after dark had been beaten up or threatened at some point, especially if you were of the 'grunger' or 'studenty' appearance, as at a time of few visible ethnic minorities there, you'd do as the target of the aggressive yokel for being seen as letting the fine character of the town down.
Much of Yeovil's bad reputation was because as a place surrounded by beautiful villages and countryside, the mix of post-industrial decay and clumsy 1970s expanded-town planning made for a messy town out of character with it's surrounds. Indeed, photos from the 60s show it to be a town of quite some charm, before the 15th century George Inn was demolished for road widening, and Bides Park had a dual carriageway ploughed through it. Many blame the Quedam opening in the 80s, but as a kid from that era, I loved that there were proper modern shops in town. And the wider area was not poor, so the town did have a bit of a cache, epitomised by the Denner's department store, which became Beales and is seen sadly derelict in this film.
I dropped in 10 years ago late on a Thursday afternoon. Absolutely dead, bar a few down and outs lurking around. I live now in Netherlands, where online shopping has also hit high street sales, but a different with where I live now and Yeovil, is that the bar/restaurant sectors is filling in the gaps. This is a pretty town to wander around in in an evening, whether you're getting a drink outside a cafe, or an ice cream, or just teenager sharing a bottle of cola with a friend. I can't imagine anyone wanting to go out after shopping hours for a stroll around Yeovil after the shops close, despite the good efforts of some, the unattractive town and intimidating empty atmosphere enough to scare anyone to stay at home with Netflix and a takeaway.
I hear complaints from places like Bolton or Wolverhampton, that given proximity to better shopping options in the nearby bigger cities, they've struggled to compete. Yeovil however isn't near anywhere at all, never mind anywhere more attractive. It's like everyone has just finally given up on the town.
Why can't it be that way ? Netherlands also had its own issues too. So does Amsterdam. Same with prostitution etc.. and even women trafficking too. But if you don't say it, and doesn't actually do something. Then it would always be that way. Do you mean that cos you have families there.. and need to tow the line, such that, it feels quite suffocating you mean ?.... Sure.. many cities can feel that way, and everybody has families... issues. So sometimes, a bit of space or to travel somewhere and then back home, makes things so much more different. Polite kids hanging out with their mates, are... it is a created space.. it has to be taught. And only if your family raised you up as a vertical family unit etc. Without generational issues or borders etc. Your families should've encouraged you to compete with other kids on national sports.. or whatever whatever... That should've been so much more different than anything... to be fair...
Yeovil is so fucking sad, I live right next to it and work for a charity there. Our Pride event this year had the route changed so many times because new places were being dug up and you can’t get anywhere in the middle of town.
Even worse is that the lads who were digging up the bandstand hadn’t been told that it was built on top of some horrendous old public toilets. THAT is not what you want to find sealed under brick since the 90s.
We have a lot of people working really hard to make the area better but the mismanagement of the ‘revitalisation’ has been awful. They completely ignored disabled people saying that the changes would make things even more difficult for them… and now that the theatre is stalling, everything has to take place in Westlands, which is essentially a gymnasium with a sound system that’s the only accessible leisure venue around.
Fucking pray for us that are too poor to leave here.
I just not until now realised how many market towns in the UK have completely gone down the tube - no way will they recover.
I suspect most of those shops need a change of use to be residential accommodation.
But then what, turn every retail unit into residential accommodation? then what
@@psyber_spaced1192 Play ludo or something?
no shops no nothing but put residential accomodation just no dentist no doctors no nothing sounds legit uk is on it's way at the speed of light to a recession................
@@psyber_spaced1192you will get everything delivered .
Not far off that now really.
@@psyber_spaced1192then people might be able to afford somewhere to live?
Ive visited all of these places. I might even live in one of them. Can confirm. Great video fella
I grew up in Weston, moved to London 9 years ago but I go back to visit my parents about twice a year, and you're right it has potential but it's incredibly frustrating that it's not being realised. It's still a shame that they tore out the old Dolphin Square, the land around the new complex is still barren.
Yeah, there used to be intresting shops selling lots of different things, now all gone.
when I lived there, one of the big problems was the council were willing to take government money for housing drug addicts, but all that happened was there were more addicts, more dealers and more mess like needles and condoms all over the place. Lots of seaside towns have suffered, but really and truly Weston could, and should, do better.
I live in chard, work in Taunton, go out in Bridgwater and go to the beach in Weston. I think I might be trash.
It looks that way
I holiday in St Austell.
Can't tempt you to a pint in the Pheonix then? 😂
very sad to see that. I lived in Somerset in the 80s and 90s and knew most of those towns pretty well. They all look to have seriously declined since then. In particular Yeovil looked terrible. I realise people's shopping habits have changed but so much more could have been done by the local councils and planners to counter the decline.
Sitting in a car park in Bridgwater chuckling along to this. Great video, and I was shocked to see the state of Yeovil. It's been a few years since I was there and I'm stunned to see how far it's fallen.
I always find these videos so depressing and yet I always have to watch....🙂 I think my hometown is bad and then I realize there are other places much worse !!!!
It's not neglect or incompetence. It's deliberate and long planned.
some folk up here in the East mids think that having a wetherspoons means your on the up and that your town has made it. lol
As someone who is soon to be moving to Highbridge I'm now suddenly feeling very down.
I mean, you missed 80s shopping centre, the Quedam out again in Yeovil, but you’re still right.
I played the Orange Box in Yeovil in 2011 supporting some regional touring bands, they would put on some bigger bands like Canterbury and We Are The Ocean. That venue closing was the beginning of the end for Yeovil
"They even had mickey finn there"
Recently moved to Yeovil in a nice spot on edge of town, but agree that the town centre decline is sad. Yeovil also has a bizarre road system with the town dissected into two by a dual carriageway
That was a funny video. Keep up the good work!!
Lived in Shepton for a spell recently and found it a reasonable place with mostly friendly people.
The Tesco is though the worst I have been in except the one that used to be in Chatham Kent, now that was on another level of nastiness.
Nice park there that has recently had a big makeover for the kids area.
Some nice shops and cafe’s along the high street as well.
Nice new council building of course with no expense spared by the look of it & “lots” of parking that can only ever be used by those who who work there. (Still a sorry symptom of most UK towns now)
On balance not a turdtown IMO
how do they manage to make a liveing in yeovel .
Damn Yeovil has changed for the worse
13:09 I'm pretty sure that's me staring at the abandoned Wilko.
If you intend to do yearly reviews, then it would be worth summarising at the end of each town segment what improvements you want to see within the next 12 months
Lived in Glastonbury for 3 years after visiting the town on many weekends. I agree with the love/hate comment. I loved the countryside, running on the droves and over the Tor. Would be interesting to see what the crime rate consists of - we always felt safe there.
Glastonbury,in Somerset,one of the towns on the long closed Somerset and Dorset route. It would be nice if that section of the line could be restored
@@geoffadams5537it’s impossible Unfortauntely mostly built on
I think these places are all lovely compared to where I live in Reading and cheaper to boot
You can actually blame greed and idiocy on places like Shepton, closing down the lifeline Somerset & Dorset railway just cornholed these places along the route, only have to look at Wincanton once a thriving growing hub of England's milk collection and delivery to the cities, now barely is able to keep shops open with little amenity for the locals. Radstock is also easily seen for its major decline, Shepton too massively declining. There was a quite sensible move to reopen the line between Frome and Radstock but the council said no despite businesses screaming blue murder for the line to be reinstated.
Please revisit Devon and cornwall
I once went on a job where the guys were a mixture of Devon and Cornish - the scone based sectarianism was unreal!
@tobiasz6613 lmao its pastys now since they have said the first one was invented in devon 😂😂😂, as a devon guy youre comment made me chuckle 😂
I had to stay in Yeovil back in 2019. Even then it was dire. No decent resturants, and ended up back at the premier inn resturant, and there was a birthday party meal happening 😂
Coming from London i always visualised these areas as quaint little towns !
Good revisit. Glad my old stomping ground of Weston SM is moving up :-)
An honorable mention for Frome perhaps? As an expat in Australia I wonder if this rot can be halted and reversed
Annual revisit compilations is a good idea.
The rate at which Britain is being destroyed means that it is actually worth documenting and showing the differing rates of decline.
Somerset is unbelievably beautiful and also full of complete holes. The villages are still beautiful… probably not for long.
Used to love visiting Yeovil as a kid/teen in the 1980s and 1990s - it had a thriving town centre back then. Even bought my first pair of Docs there (blue 1460s). It is an absolute mess now though :(
I live in Bridgwater and i agree with your comments about Bridgwater !!
I am struggling to see the places of opportunity in the UK these days. A video displaying the areas where one can still start a small business and have a good life maybe worth doing as it seems so rare!
Yeovil also has one of the top 5 worst nightclubs in the country.
It's absolutely shocking. I would only ever willingly go into Club Neo if I was already drunk beforehand.
I love your Turdtown episodes- even if when you visited my West Country town you missed out the best feature! As someone who moved from the West Country from London I will say that its still a good place to live primarily due to the people and the countryside.
Love your work and it would be even better if you could include what political party is in control of the councils .
Turd=Tory generally
I visited Yeovil last Easter and had always envisaged it to be a lovely market town. I was gutted to witness the demise and horrified at the pedestrianisation of the town centre and closure of the shopping mall and so many other shops. I was told it had declined ever since the Westland helicopter factory had closed and never recovered. It’s a crying shame what has become of our country ☹️
I’m surprised that there was no towns near bath on this. Was fully expecting Radstock or Peasedown to be near the list at least. I wonder if they were in contention.
Radstocks dull as shit, went to college for a bit there years ago, bus stop is the best bit
My thoughts as well. Grew up in Westfield, so know Radstock and Peasedown very well. Should add MSN as well 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Radstock is ugly, Peasedown might as well be renamed to Pissdown, an absolute cesspool of piss.
In Yeovil, Glovers Walk and surrounds are up for sale. They may as well just flatten the bottom of town and start again. Perfect summing-up of the dump, Mr Turd - the Lib-Dem Council has wrecked the place and their incompetence is staggering. But at least the tree growing out of a building halfway down Middle Street has been removed.... If M&S closed, that really would be the last nail in the coffin.
Bah! LibDem council. Should have voted Tory. They know how to run things.
Bridgwater Aldi actually moved to another site
I live in Yeovil. I have lived in Yeovil since 1972. It's hard to disagree with this. It used to be such a lively, bustling place, but it's best years are 25 years behind it now. I used to go into town 2-3 times a week. I haven't been into town once this year. Just no reason. It's dead.
Really like this idea! Don't know if it would be more work but I'd be interested in an 'honourable mentions' section where you quickly highlight the towns that have fallen off the list entirely. Because I think when a town no longer qualifies as a turd, that should be celebrated :)
Yea it would be a bit more work but a brief mention would be possible. I genuinely visit every place in the same day and I check out other places. For example looked at midsomer Norton and banwell for this video but they didn’t make the cutz
Wow I didn't realise just how bad Yeovil had sunk since I last lived there four years ago- shame about the Railway pub closing down as that was one of the few decent places to go along with the country park and the British legion...the town centre (it must be the only one in Britain where you could walk into countryside within a couple of minutes) was always a toilet, WSM and all the coastal towns in Somerset and beyond seem to be totally polluted by Brummies ("Birmingham-by-Sea"), can't they all just piss off out of Somerset and move to Southport instead?
Taunton has alot more "undesirables " these days. Just driven down through East Reach, off the town centre, and saw numerous scumbags and dropouts loitering around.
I would second this. I made a comment a year ago about how I felt about Chard. But there's alot to be said about "better the devil you know" and what have you. Taunton I went out one night at half eleven until nearly two am just to walk around since I moved some time ago now. Homeless people, pissheads and teens on bikes was what made up my experience. The police are pretty active it seems though. On a surface level at least. Even eyeing me up for some reason.
Don't blame them, they don't know me. Me and a relative saw a guy urinating on one of the churches during the day and on the same day we saw someone anally insert an ounce of crack about a year before I moved here.
Yeovil's nicer outskirts are actually Sherborne, which does it's level best to distance itself from the cesspit that is Yeovil. Couple of my mates here in East Devon are from Yeovil and it's a constant source of piss-taking for the rest of us. They just go along with it in good humour now - what else can they do? Plus they agree with most of it! I lived in a village on the southern end of Weston Bay for a few years. Hated Weston, it was a dump, although it had (and still has as far as I know) a truly excellent Japanese restaurant, weirdly. Moved there from Bath becuase my now-wife lived and worked there and I worked in Birstol so it was easier for me to move there, but I can tell you it was a wrench to swap Bath for the dubious-to-non-existent charms of Weston-super-Mud.
Large out of town shopping villages have destroyed the high street in many cities and towns, but hey ho one cannot blame the retailers
Had to stay in Yeovil not long ago for a family funeral. Hadn't been for about a decade, and couldn't believe how much worse it had become - and it wasn't exactly lovely to begin with!
Revisiting Devon would be interesting. Bideford has fallen so far
And paignton 😢
And Ilfracombe.@@chucky2316
I live close to Bridgwater and am happy I'm not close to Yeovil. Well done to Rishi and the boys!