UK’s ‘most depressing town’ was voted by tourists but fuming locals insist popular seaside spot is ‘gorgeous’
A SEASIDE spot was voted by tourists as the UK’s “most depressing town” – but locals insist it is “gorgeous”.
The damning title was awarded to Falmouth, in Cornwall, by satirical website ILIVEHERE in February this year.
It was decided by polling readers – with Falmouth beating the usual winner, Peterborough, by 27 votes.
Also in the top 20 were Aberdeen and Alloa in Scotland and Tiverton in Devon.
Despite Falmouth’s vibrant art scene, the tongue-in-cheek outlet ruled that it had a “soul-destroying mediocrity with a gaping cultural void”.
After revealing the list, it said: “The power of social media and word of mouth is what propelled Falmouth to No.1.
“Falmouth was a reader entry and rapidly started to challenge the mighty Peterborough, beating the Cambridgeshire synonym for depression by just 27 votes in the last 12hrs of voting.”
However, residents of the edgy seaside town have clapped back, praising Falmouth’s “friendly” community and great food scene.
One snapped: “Who believes these soul destroyers?”
Another said: “The coastal walks are epic, it’s fairly diverse class-wise and even in the summer when it’s packed, it’s still a pleasant place to be (unlike Looe and St Ives which while they are both beautiful places to visit, parking is a total nightmare).”
Responding to the wave of confusion, the ILIVEHERE judges said although they’d never visited the town, they suspected its beauty might be surface-level.
They said: “We have to admit, we know absolutely nothing about Falmouth.
“We googled it, it looks picturesque but we’re sure it’s a façade it trades on, and who are we to question the wisdom of the crowd?”
Continuing to rile up their Cornish readers, the judges added that the town had fallen victim to gentrification.
They said: “Hell we might even take a trip to this Cornish port and stay in an AirBnB that is now owned by a London landlord that a local family once lived in, to take in what we imagine is a sterile socially cleansed fishing theme park for DFLs.”
Despite being described as the most depressing town in the UK, the average house price in Falmouth is around £395,00.
Meanwhile, detached houses can cost as much as £620,000.
Top 20 most depressing towns in 2024
- Falmouth, Cornwall
- Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
- Aberdeen, Scotland
- Alloa, Scotland
- Tiverton, Devon
- Yeovil, Somerset
- Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
- Portsmouth, Hampshire
- Paignton, Devon
- Crawley, West Sussex
- Luton, Bedfordshire
- Croydon, London
- Swindon, Wiltshire
- Widnes, Cheshire
- Torquay, Devon
- Teignmouth, Devon
- Blackpool, Lancashire
- Wells, Somerset
- Basingstoke, Hampshire
- Chatham, Kent