The Mantis Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 5 hours ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said: Congratulations on escaping Dalkeith! I too have escaped after a 15-year term, and then a second 10-year term when I was stupid enough to go back after my first escape! It has the potential to be a nice town - barring the disastrous 60s carbuncle bit (where even pigeons only go to die) it has a nice town centre, it is close to Edinburgh, it is surrounded by green countryside and woodlands with great walks abounding - but by Christ it was a hard place to love, or even feel part of a community of. The people can be as dour as they come, the pubs can be welcoming and violent in equal measure, and there is absolutely no culture to speak of in the place unless you count the stuff that grows on the sandwiches in the Ship Inn. Everybody has to go into the city or around the bypass to get to work, and they never get above 5mph on their commute so hate it. (Unless they work in the big council building in Dalkeith or the SQA, and then they simply find other things in life to hate.) It's by no means the worst town in Scotland, but I'd put it up there as the worst town in Midlothian. It really should be so much better, much more close to say Haddington than to say Bucharest. EDIT - I should add in fairness it was a great town to grow up in. As a kid you enjoy the countryside bits of it (albeit that's rapidly turning into houses), and you don't have to care that an eight-mile car journey to your work takes nearly an hour sometimes. You love it because you have loads of mates at hand and it's all you really know. But as an adult, no chance! You’ve got off lightly. I grew up in Loanhead aka Loanheid. Used to have all the usual stuff, 3 bakers, 3 butchers, fishmonger, ice cream in a proper Italian cafe, etc etc. Now it’s the nail bars & fake tans, bookie chains, charity shops and a minging wee Scotmid. Where Ikea, Costco, Asda etc are now, we used to explore old pit workings and look for birds’ nests and catch minnows in the burn. Some smart c**t will be posting gifs of the Hovis music in a minute, and 4 Yorkshiremen, so just f**k off 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpy Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 It's got Stewart brewing as well, cracking taproom. That's the only plus point to can I think of. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 19 minutes ago, topcat(The most tip top) said: The Scottish Government has attempted to answer this statistically with their Scotttish Index of Multiple Deprivation http://simd.scot Irvine, North Ayrshire is a strong contender but apparently has a few well to do outlying suburbs So Methil, Fife probably beats it My Dad's side is from Methil. This is not surprising. Most of that part of Fife is done. This is a cheery topic. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mantis Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 6 minutes ago, philpy said: It's got Stewart brewing as well, cracking taproom. That's the only plus point to can I think of. Forgot about them. That’s right on a spot where there was a blue steel shoogly footbridge over the railway from Bilston Glen. That took you over to the viaduct where you could climb underneath on the girders and risk falling about 300 ft. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 1 hour ago, The Mantis said: Forgot about them. That’s right on a spot where there was a blue steel shoogly footbridge over the railway from Bilston Glen. That took you over to the viaduct where you could climb underneath on the girders and risk falling about 300 ft. Then you would have been known as Flatheid fae Loanheid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Jean King Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Hampden Diehard said: 4 hours ago, Boostin said: You'd be lucky to get a garage in central Edinburgh for that price. But unlikely to be murdered in it. Eh, you mean Rebus was an act of fiction ??? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONKMAN Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 You’ve got off lightly. I grew up in Loanhead aka Loanheid. Used to have all the usual stuff, 3 bakers, 3 butchers, fishmonger, ice cream in a proper Italian cafe, etc etc. Now it’s the nail bars & fake tans, bookie chains, charity shops and a minging wee Scotmid.An ex of mine (from Edinburgh) was house-sitting for family friends in Loanhead, a few years back. I went up and spent the weekend there, it’s not too bad a place really. The house was in Polton Vale where I doubt you’d get much change from half a million quid, for any house in that street. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathematics Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Few folk mentioning Govanhill. It’s the only place I’ve ever been racially abused. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Govanhill is unquestionably the worst area of any city in Scotland. -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcat(The most tip top) Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Govanhill is unquestionably the worst area of any city in Scotland.But that’s for another thread 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DosserDel Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Being from Lanarkshire, there are the many shitholes already mentioned to choose from, but I am in complete agreement with people voting for Methil. I deliver to the Stuart's factory up there regularly, and the wee Lower Methil area down by the docks and energy park is rough and depressing . The wee kinda main street area is bleak as fcuk. Stuart's fudge doughnuts are a delight though, tbf. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mantis Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 20 minutes ago, MONKMAN said: An ex of mine (from Edinburgh) was house-sitting for family friends in Loanhead, a few years back. I went up and spent the weekend there, it’s not too bad a place really. The house was in Polton Vale where I doubt you’d get much change from half a million quid, for any house in that street. Funnily enough it’s probably the only decent sized town in Midlothian without a football team. Loanhead Mayflower folded about 1962 but previously the team was Polton Vale. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snobot Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 4 hours ago, The Mantis said: Forgot about them. That’s right on a spot where there was a blue steel shoogly footbridge over the railway from Bilston Glen. That took you over to the viaduct where you could climb underneath on the girders and risk falling about 300 ft. I grew up not far from there. Used to get the 7N nightbus home after a night out in Edinburgh, it went to Dalkeith and then on a mystery tour of Easthouses, Mayfield, Gorebridge, Newtongrange, Bonnyrigg. Usually full of bams. I remember one guy running for the bus, possibly in Mayfield, going full pelt and taking a header off the side of the bus. The driver went out to see if he was ok and the guy tried to deck him. i’d also get a Loanhead bus on occasion and walk down the hill by Polton. Don’t think I would do it sober though - started running at the top and din’t stop until the bottom for fear of being brutally murdered! Also managed to sleep to Penicuik a few times. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hampden Diehard Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Few folk mentioning Govanhill. It’s the only place I’ve ever been racially abused.The only places I've been subject to sectarian abuse are Ibrox and Parkhead. I'm an orange f*nian b*****d. Just thought I'd throw that in. Govanhill has an air of menace about it sometimes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'm Brian Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 15 hours ago, ONeils4Oyarder said: Got to laugh at some of these nominations to be honest, Wishaw, East Kilbride, Cumbernauld, Auchinleck, Dalkieth, Hawick just some of the towns mentioned recently. Every single one of these places has 'at least' something going for it, while there are large tracts of areas with absolutely f**k all about them. The A8 corridor between Motherwell and Livingston, is stowed full of places that make Auchinleck look like a thriving metropolis...Blackridge, Caldercruix, Hartfuckinghill, Salsburgh, Allanton to name a few...worse than that corridor is the area to the South, where as the boy above says 'Rigside'...I've drove through this place umpteen times and never seen anything, bar a pub that looks like its shutdown and a roll shop that looks like it should be shut down, I've never seen anybody walking about, a fucking weird place...there are also a clump of villages within a reasonable distance of each other with nothing what-so-ever to offer the outside world and why anyone continues to stay in these places is fucking beyond me...Carnwath, Carstairs, Forth, Tarbrax, honestly these places are like the land that time forgot, and when time was forgetting, so was evolution. Backwards, backwards places full of folk with f**k all to do, and nowhere to go... ...so to those mentioning Wishy, and all the rest of the towns with at least a supermarket, a thriving fitba' team or a train station to get the f**k out of the place every now and again, go and take a day out to Forth, Carnwath or Rigside and live a wee bit. This is a genuine question, but what has Auchinleck got going for it other than the ability to get out of it. The Auchinleck by-pass was man's single greatest achievement. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 6 hours ago, Marshmallo said: Govanhill is unquestionably the worst area of any city in Scotland. 5 hours ago, Hampden Diehard said: The only places I've been subject to sectarian abuse are Ibrox and Parkhead. I'm an orange f*nian b*****d. Just thought I'd throw that in. Govanhill has an air of menace about it sometimes. I live right next to Govanhill and have never felt in any danger. Pilton and Muirhouse seemed a lot worse when I was growing up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeSAFC Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Govanhill is unquestionably the worst area of any city in Scotland.No chance, Possil is easily the worst. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Chief Toffee Teeth Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 The La Ronde in Coatbridge had regular cowboy nights. I believe it was quite hard to tell when if you weren't familiar. My parents went for a change one night and Dad, as a neutral, was asked to judge the quickdraw competition. Unknown to him the same guy had won for years. He picked the other guy, which led to an OK Corral situation. He was asked to leave on the next stage/taxi."La Ronde"? "The Bammy Bar", if you please. Thank you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainspotter Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 My memory of this is hazy, but I’m sure there was a BBC documentary back in the 80s which featured a woman from Rigside. She said she hated the place and said the only thing going for it was that it was a good place to visit if you wanted a stolen video recorder. As a result she had a baying mob outside her house and was soon rehoused, leaving home under police escort. Around the same time, the local council had been trying to persuade a US company to build a factory in the area. The company saw the news coverage and decided to look elsewhere. Ring any bells with older P&Bers? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mantis Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 11 hours ago, Snobot said: i’d also get a Loanhead bus on occasion and walk down the hill by Polton. Don’t think I would do it sober though - started running at the top and din’t stop until the bottom for fear of being brutally murdered! Also managed to sleep to Penicuik a few times. Haha for me that brae was just a way to get to school if you missed the bus and avoid the belt for being late For me the scary bit was having to get a bus to Gilmerton after a night out and walking over the Lang Loan. There had been a murder back in the 60s and this man had put a woman’s body down there in a suitcase and tried to burn it. Right at the bottom of the brae where there were some trees in the moonlight that blew about in the wind. A bit like Tam o Shanter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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