What makes a town exciting? Could it be access to trendy restaurants, an abundance of nightclubs, or perhaps a young, arty population? Britain is full of thrilling cities and towns that are packed with things to do and see (we’ve listed some of those here), but we can’t lie, ‘ar UK is also home to a lot of boring towns – we’re talking about concrete masses that don’t have much more than a cinema and a local ’spoons.
Now, the Telegraph has named the UK’s seven most boring towns. Bit harsh? Perhaps. But we’re also intrigued as to why these humdrum spots have been identified as Britain’s most tedious places.
According to the paper, Stevenage is the dullest place in the UK. The Hertfordshire town hasn’t got much going for it other than being the quintessential commuter town. What everyone forgets, however, is that it also has Celtic, Roman and Saxon history, with plenty of medieval buildings. The Telegraph also shouted out Stevenage’s shopping precinct, car parks and bus station, which was one of Europe’s first pedestrianised public spaces.
Second on the list of the country’s most boring towns was Surbiton in Greater London. One of Surbiton’s top attractions is the train station (which also appears on our list of London’s most beautiful stations). Other than that, the suburban town – which is often mocked for its name’s resemblance to the word ‘suburb’ – is known for being the less-posh neighbour of Wimbledon and Richmond. The Telegraph wrote: ‘Surbiton will be forever boring for those who don’t know it at all.’
Scotland’s Alloa came in third place. The town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands was described as ‘culturally devoid and one of the most deprived places in Scotland’ by ilivehere.co.uk in 2024. Rude. According to Wikipedia the town’s main attractions are its many supermarkets (Iceland, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, Asda, Co-op and more... thrilling stuff). However, the Telegraph did defend Alloa for having a ‘certain grandeur’. They praised its ‘stately’ town hall, and called the medieval Alloa Tower a ‘stunner’.
Also making the list of boring British towns was Runcorn, Swindon and Lampeter. Here’s the full ranking.
The 7 most boring towns in the UK, according to the Telegraph
- Stevenage
- Surbiton
- Alloa
- Runcorn
- Grantham
- Swindon
- Lampeter
You can find out more in the original Telegraph article here.
This town is officially Britain’s most miserable place to live.
But on the flip side... this is the happiest place to live in Britain right now.
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