‘Absolute joke’, cry locals after town voted ‘most depressing in Britain’ – and it’s a popular seaside spot
A POPULAR seaside town beloved by tourists has been named the most depressing place to live in Britain.
Cornish locals are enraged after a poll by iLiveHere labelled their town as "bland and boring" - despite boasting some of the nicest beaches in the UK.
Falmouth won the unfortunate title because it was apparently deemed as "soul-destroying mediocrity with a gaping cultural void".
However, the poll has received backlash from residents and seaside-goers who have labelled the decision a "joke".
What a joke. Some people just don’t realise how lucky they are to live here
Kerry Johnson
"I’ve seen some bleak and depressing towns and cities in my life and Falmouth sure isn’t one of them," said someone who grew up there.
"It's a beautiful place.
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"To grow up in this town was a privilege."
Another person wrote: "Definitely not depressing.
"The town has nothing in it mind but every event under the sun is held here and the scenery here is beautiful.
"Especially in the summer."
And a third person said: "Falmouth is a vibrant place, plenty going on, parks, beaches, Princess Pavillion, shops, our castle and walks around town, Jacobs Ladder, the Art Museum and the people."
Other towns such as Peterborough, Luton and Swindon were also ranked among the most depressing towns in the UK, but it was Falmouth that clinched the top spot.
Despite being described as the most depressing town in the UK, the average house price in Falmouth is around £395,00 and detached houses can be as much as £620,000.
The seaside town only received 27 more votes than Peterborough who usually wins this competition.
Sad people who have nothing to do but badmouth towns around the country, each Cornish town has something to give, Falmouth has a beach - lovely harbour I should know as I had fished out of there many years ago and now live up country wishing I was down there.
Peter Care
The people from iLiveHere, who ran the poll said they were surprised to see Falmouth had won the competition.
"We have to admit, we know absolutely nothing about Falmouth," they said.
"We Googled it, it looks picturesque but we're sure it's a facade it trades on, and who are we to question the wisdom of the crowd?"
When announcing the results they claimed "the power of social media and word of mouth is what propelled Falmouth to No.1".
The pollsers joked about visiting the seaside town to stay in an "AirBnB that is now owned by a London landlord that a local family once lived in".
A few people have blamed owners for buying up "too many second homes" which makes the place feel like a "ghost town".
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And one local who's lived in Falmouth for seven years said the "whole town is an eyesore".
Im not a fan of Falmouth but its certainly not depressing, well not in the summer anyway, when people are there, its depressing in the winter when all the second homes are empty.
Amy Brown
However, the majority of residents say voters don't know what they are talking about and should visit other towns in the UK before calling Falmouth depressing.
UK's most depressing towns in 2023
- Peterborough - 4.83%
- Medehamstede - 4.76%
- Aberdeen - 4.41%
- Paignton - 3.92%
- Swindon - 3.29%
- Ealing Mead - 2.31%
- Yeovil - 2.17%
- Tiverton - 1.82%
- Basingstoke - 1.75%
- Wells (Somerset) - 1.61%
- Torquay - 1.54%
- Crawley - 1.54%
- Bradford - 1.47%
- Plymouth - 1.47%
- Portsmouth - 1.33%
- Blackpool - 1.19%
- Reading - 1.05%
- Chatham - 1.05%
- Macclesfield - 1.05%
- Ilfracombe 1.05%
Percentages are accurate as of 10/1.
