Canterbury was overal really nice in some areas but it is clear to see there are a few areas that let it down. I wish everyone who resides here the very best. ❤️
Canterbury is a nice city. It’s a wealthy area & architecturally, what you see today is what was left standing after the centre was very heavily bombed in WW2. Westgate near Margate are both very ropey places along with Chatham.
I moved to East Kent over 20 years ago, and I used to love visiting Canterbury. In the last 5-10 years, though, it has become horrible. A large part of the problem is the proliferation of so-called universities, which have unbalanced the population of the town and given the place a transient and anonymous feeling. There is also the encroachment of London into Kent which has already ruined the Medway towns and the overdevelopment - pretty much like everywhere else these days - of the place.
You're wrong because I was once in a shop in Canterbury, and I had little conversation with the store owner, and what she said was that not many university students come down that much because they are busy studying. It's mostly the tourism. Canterbury is an old town that certainly needs funding. A lot of focus on public funds has gone to London instead of Canterbury. I don't see how university students could possibly give this feeling as they enjoy releasing their stress by exploring Canterbury. Canterbury is a tourist attraction due to the Cathedral.
@@Explorist719 No, I am not wrong. You, however, are partly right when you refer to the problems created by excessive tourism. Like many other places, Canterbury not so very long ago had real industries that have since been destroyed by Neoliberal dogma. However, you gravely underestimate the effects of the "universities", whose ugly new buildings have crept into many corners of the city and colonised entire areas.
I went to an independent school here and I thought Canterbury was very nice. My only problem is that the local children harass us on the main street and just generally view us in a negative light.
I used to shop in Canterbury, however over the last couple of years the streets are full of beggars and homeless druggies ... I only shop at the Ashford outlet and Bluewater now ...
Im a university student studying law, and I live in Canterbury. It's a nice place, and i sometimes buy a lovely fresh fudge from a small business. There are ups and downs in nearly every town in England. So i dont know why this youtuber is acting so surprised. Drugs are literally everywhere in England. It's not new. But i can assure you that it's way safer than other towns.
@@Explorist719 I agree for sure, I always show the good and bad of every town. Never seem people smoking crack on the streets before, anyone would be surprised
I was a Uni student in Canterbury in 2005, Canterbury said to be safest city for students. Present Day, I work in Canterbury, it's a real dump and that's said by someone born in Chatham! 🤣 Homeless everywhere, drug users common sight. The 24 hour McDonalds is notorious for fights. Knife crime in areas too. To be fair, most of Kent is like this now. 😢
You're missing the point. Having lovely streets and buildings doesn't mean it's a nice place to live. Look at the local headlines for the past year or so. Stabbings, fights, attacks, rapes and a murder. Foreign student beaten to within and inch of his life by local yobs. Beggars in many of the doorways. Local yobs hanging around at night. Drunk dropouts, locals and students vomiting on pavements when the clubs and pubs turn out. And, yes, other towns have similar problem but Canterbury is a major tourist city with acres of history. It's so disappointing. BTW Westgate is in the West - north is round the corner in Northgate :)
A fair report on Canters... It's never been the same since Debenhams, Nasons and the Canterbury Tales all closed down. Nowadays, it's a slightly diminished representation of the city that I remember from 10 or so years ago - I left in 2012 ...
Canterbury is fine. Too swamped by tourists to actually go there, especially in July/August. The worst part is actually Wincheap about a mile to the west of the city centre. Worst is not too bad. Compared to Chatham the worst part of Canterbury is a paradise.
I went to uni there in the 1980s, it was a bit boring and quiet but clean, no druggies, and really safe, what has happened to our country????! God help us for the future
I grew up in Canterbury and Whitstable back in the 80s and 90s, it was always like this. It has a "veneer" that tourists, visitors and new arrivals see and seem to like but the reality of the place is very different. It did go through a bit of an uptick and gentrification in the late 90s to mid 2000s but I think that was a lot to do with property prices and money coming from the white flight out of London etc and now it's just settling back to the state it always was.
@@mattkinsella9856 this is genuinely the most accurate comment I've ever had on the channel. Also thanks for the comment really helps me with a channel so small :)
@@EdBrinton I know it's too late now but if you want to see a different side of Canterbury, then go to the area around Howe Barracks (closed in 2015) and the surrounding housing estates like the Spring Lane estate. Also Wincheap is another area that's not the usual Canterbury experience. Canterbury is also one of those cities that can have a very different vibe at night. During the day it feels very touristy and nice but at night it doesn't feel as nice or safe.
I think many of you may be misinterpretting or misunderstanding some of the factors in this video. 1, presumably Ed went during summer, meaning that there were no students around. 2, I am a local to canterbury and have lived here all my life; to here Westgate be named as the worst part of Canterbury is a real surprise because it has amazing restaurants and pubs along St. Dunstan's, as well as the multiaward winning Westgate gardens, which are visited by millions every year. Canterbury hasn't actually declined since covid either. The numbers of people visit and the economic flow of the city is now above per-covid levels. Furthermore, people complain about the shops shutting and dying, but only 7% of the shops are vacant in the city centre, it is just Debenhams and Nasons, the large retail shops on the high street which are shut. About students, no matter where you go, there are lots of students at bus stations every morning. It is especially busy because Canterbury Bus Station is the hub of East Kent. All students' buses from Herne Bay, Whitstable, Ashford, etc. Ariive at the bus station so that then they can go to their relevant Secondary Schols. Next, homelessness. Lots of people complain about homelessness, and yes that is a problem. The main area which people in the comments are referring to is just off the ringroad near Canterbury East Station. Although this is a problem and should not happen in the first place, unfortunately it is in every city, if you just look. I also happen to know that people happen to sleep in tents there because just behind this area, there is a food and drink shelter for these underepresented people who need help. Finally, I have noticed lots of people saying that this gisgusting part of Canterbury is the Wincheap Trading Estate.. Granted, it isn't as impressive as the Cathedral, but it is also normal for a city to have a very basic and useful set of large shops which don't need the facade of beauty for tourists. These trading estates are crucial for cities to run, and they are much more prevelant in London, Derby, Nottingham, etc. Sorry that this is a long comment, but I thought it necessary to remind people that Canterbury is a multicultural, vibrant city with amazing history, arts, and culture. Bad parts can be foud in any city, if you look hard enough. If you got this far, thank you for reading and have a great day. :)
I think the thing with Canterbury was that at night time - there was always problems - petty crime, drugs, drunkeness, etc. It has always had a problem with vagrants though(and I remember seeing a lot on the high street in the 1980s). The main high street has lost a lot of its old character now thanks to the 2000s rebuild. I also think the 1960s style architecture around the city wall looks ugly.
The homeless situation in Canterbury is really sad. Nobody helps them. Not even the council. All the charities that tried to help had funding cut by previous govt. So homeless people live all al9ng the storefronts of Canterbury high street. It's not safe for females to walk at night. Done John Park has high rate of crime, anti social behaviour. I live here so I know.
During the 1980s, Canterbury was the place to be! Debenhams, Ricemans. So many shopping outlets. Plus the M2 was not built to Folkestone and Dover so all the traffic from the continent flowed via the A2. Now just look at the city centre. All closed up. I thought, at one stage to commute from London but the Javelin service to St Pancras is so expensive. It's literally impossible from East Kent....that is why that area of Kent has so little prospects. No industry. And the university has recently been in financial troubles too.
We moved from North London to Canterbury in 2023. The part of London (Enfield Town) was nice, but you stray one street the wrong way and you are in for a rough time. We now live in Canterbury, and yes, there are a few places I might be careful, but the majority of the city is amazing and way safer than where we use to live.
The article is based on police crime data, and essentially lists a load of shopping centres in Kent, where it seems crime occurs...also seems to go with total numbers of crimes, rather than per head.
As someone who grow up in the north of England that lived in Canterbury for a few years i can say its a genuinely lovely place to live. Its economy has suffered a bit since brexit as the university was one of the biggest employers and it used to have stong ties to Europe. It was still a lovely place to live when i left in 2022. When ever i visit friends its always nice. It has its problems like everywhere but id choose Canterbury over somewhere like Hartlepool or Sheffield as its economy is doing a lot better.
The last time I visited Canterbury I parked my car and went a walk along the high street, I confronted by beggars and witnessed a fight outside of a public house, I visited Canterbury cathedral and made my way back to the carpark to find confused old people being overcharged for parking
I cant believe that, I love Canterbury! Canterbury is a beautiful city with lots of history and shops. Dover has its issues, so does Folkestone. But Dover has a lot of natural beauty and historial sites that are worth exploring. Every town and city has its problems... I feel that those critics only makes things worse because people wont want to visit. 😢
A great city! Whoever said it's the second worst place in Kent must have been smoking crack. It's a beautiful city, very friendly. Near to London, close to countryside and the coast. Great shopping as well.
Sorry to disappoint your viewers, but I was in the place approximately 1 month ago. So many homeless people living in tents and that is on the main street. I really don't know how you missed it! McDonald's packed with students and shops that have shut down. 😢
@EdBrinton 1 month ago. Canterbury is overwhelmed with students, and I was shocked. Out of the bus station and you turn right and you are on the main street. It is known to the locals as a complete dump now.
@tomhewitt8017 good an bad places everywhere I lived in the area for while an still have a house up the area . Great place. Alot of high st these days are terrible .Canterbury retains its charm esp with tourists coming there for cathedral.
Garry from Devils Rapids Nevada here... i always thought you Kentish people all lived in villages like the darling buds of may.... I sure liked that programme in the 90s... So wholesome and Pop Larkin was a bad ass dude... Shame. Its turned into such a rundown place.... Have all of England's culture and traditions vanished now. I saw the riots in Leeds England and was shocked. English people destroying everything in the city limits.... My oh my... Keep fighting Limeys for the UK to be great again 🇺🇸
This is why crime statistics alone cannot give a full picture of how nice or safe an area is. I think there are a bunch of circumstantial reasons why more arrests take place in Westgate that don't relate to the area being worrisome. - Night time economy - next to a park - It's where police often park to patrol the highstreet on busy nights... so maybe some crimes happened further down the highstreet, but get recorded as Westgate which warps the statistics?
Would be a very different video at night. John Dane Park by Canterbury East train station is full of county lines drug dealers and numerous muggings happen there. As an affluent student city it's being targeted by London youths.
I've lived near to Canterbury since 2000 - what's immediately obvious in your video is the lack of footfall within the city. Those streets used to be bustling with buyers, eaters and drinkers. I'm sure local business owners will enthusiastically thank the woke Labour council for its penurious actions on private car driving and parking...
Aylesham is an interesting one. Built as a town to house the Coal miners in the various Kent Collieries. You can see it’s layout has been designed by a town planner rather than developed through centuries. It attracted miners from all over the UK as far as Scotland. At its height it was said to have developed its own accent which was a mix of a variety of regional UK accents. Tough people doing a hard job. Now all the pits are shut and it’s kind of a working man’s town without the main source of work.
Ramsgate has rough bits but terrifying? There’s some good pubs (Pavillion , Montefiori, Fusilier, micro pubs ) and interesting architecture / housing styles. The massive church tower is impressive , the old Monastery, the tiny sailor’s chapel on the harbour. Ramsgate is more Bohemian than out and out rough. Just out of town you can go to the Viking ship and walk around the old Hover Port for a bit of 70s throwback post apocalyptic history. You can take a boat tour to see the Seals in Pegwell bay and then have a few beers in the Stanley Gray pub. If you love a pub you can walk out to Sandwich, Deal or the small villages in the area. Dover has loads of history , The Castle, Several Victorian forts and Surrounded by beautiful countryside, especially the walk to St Margaret’s and Deal …..but is very rundown. Chatham has a lot of Military history despite being poor. Sheppy is poor and a bit bleak with two prisons and a rough port in Sheerness. But it’s got nice quiet seafront areas with bird life if you like that and lots of people have caravans there. On a sunny day if you go to the eastern coast of Sheppy and see the Imposing ruined Reculver Church which must have been incredible when it was built. You’ll also see the huge impressive but eyesore wind farms and the historic Maunsell flak towers that defended London in the Blitz. A boat tour to the towers is possible from Whitstable Harbour. Gillingham is soulless and on the decline. Some towns are loosing their reason for being to history.
There are a heap of youtubers who love digging out places in this country,its what gets them clicks,Canterbury is perfectly fine,drugs are everywhere unfortunately,not just Canterbury or the UK .
The UK is suffering and it’s not good. Global economic decline , Brexit , Britains lack of productivity, high immigration, austerity and changing world commerce are all not helping. There are worse places in Europe however. Areas in Marsellie and Naples, are very dangerous. large parts of Eastern Europe eg Slovakia and Romania are rundown ,extremely poor and have been bad since Communism left.
Canterbury used to be a lovely little city about 10 -15 years ago , immigration and the universities have destroyed it like everywhere else , it’s certainly not the worst place in Kent though , Medway towns are much worse .
@@EdBrinton Chatham and gillingham are pretty grotty , further up places like Gravesend and Dartford are horrible , unfortunately this country is in terminal decline, all by design of course.
@@allseeingotto2912 I agree brother. I have to be careful what I say on video though because sometimes you get threats, its crazy haha. Cheers for the insight though mate I'll definitely give some of them a visit soon. Then I'm off to film solo in Poland 🇵🇱
@@richardb2845 good point mate thanks for pointing that out. I definitely need to plan to meet a local in these places to give a bit more depth and insight. That's my plan. Cheers
If you look for the negative you will find it, i suppose. I personally like going to a few shops, bars and getting some food round the clobbed streets of Canterbury at Christmas time.
@@Greyman010 yeah it definitely has nice parts and rough parts for sure. I'm sure ten years ago Canterbury used to be absolutely incredible:) Thanks for the comment I appreciate it a lot ☺️
The Pret and the street approaching the Cathedral (Mercery Lane) are original. Much of the surrounding area was bombed flat in WW2 and was rebuilt in the 50s and 60s. This brutalist concrete stuff was deemed ugly in the 90s and was torn down and largely replaced with the cute/quaint Disneyesque facades you can see today. If you watch the end of 'A Canterbury Tale' (1944) the characters visit the centre of Canterbury and you can see that much of it is missing.
If you want to see the grimy side of Canters, you've really got to get outside the bounds of the city wall. Wincheap is the area most easy to come across. It's also in some respects the most contrasting I've always thought. This if for the fact that - unlike the little housing estates - wincheap still has that "Canterbury" look and feel over all. Yet it also just looks and feels grotty and a bit rundown. But yea, otherwise it's the little estates that you'd need to see. The Spring Lane and Knight Avenue estates are the ones I know; on account of having lived in both while at uni. But then again, other than that, it's only really the area up by the University of Kent. It is a bit of a treck, but that would have basically been out of Westgate and straight on up the hill.
You should have gone into Westgate gardens and had a look at the drunks and druggies around the war memorial. North gate is the worst area heading towards Sturry.
Cross Keys was my regular haunt for a number of years and was one of the better pubs. The sinkhole is actually a well thats collapsed. At one time it was covered with glass and you could see down it.
As you weren't there in the 70's and before, and you don't live there you aren't able to see the massive changes, give you a week or so and you would want to move out. I moved to Canterbury in 1975, it was an amazing place, and at Christmas it was magical, but now it's a dive, I moved out in 2013 as was in it's throes of decline. The high street is awful, all the wonderful shops that were there are boarded up, and it's full of coffee shops.
@@christinepage1523 super interesting to get a local perspective thanks! And out of interest where did you move too? Thanks for the comment it means a lot to me :)
@@EdBrinton You're welcome, we moved to Margate. I love it here. A lot of the properties are being done up and a few upmarket shops opened up where I am, there is plenty to see and do. think you would enjoy it here, there is the old town, the Turner Gallery and the Shell caves, which need to be seen to be believed. A lot of Londoners (of which I am one, but we came down in I974) have moved down here and are doing all the Victorian houses up. Hopefully you get the time to pay a visit.
@@christinepage1523 I'll have to visit for sure, it's a bit far from me so I'll probably get a hotel there and film Ramsgate alongside it perhaps? Sounds super intriguing though I always look forward to comments like this
@@EdBrinton Yep , like most high streets it died when everything went online & then obviously covid etc. The retail parks are handy & the outlet centre if need be.
I used to go to 6th form college there back in the 1990s - it was probably better back then, but I only really saw it at daytime - night time is a different matter, what with crime there. To be honest though, even back then - one of the bad things about it was the amount of vagrants in the city(most of them used to congregate in the subway by the main roundabout). I have to say I think the rebuild of the high street in the early 2000s hasn't helped. I do think the high street has lost a lot of its old character, what with it mostly being big chain stores nowadays, and a lot of the old sole traders have gone from there. Then there's the 1960s buildings around the place - that type of architecture doesn't fit in well with the olde world buildings. It was always a bit of a tourist trap(what with the cathedral) - but I think it's even worse these days. I think another thing that counts against these days is the student population there now. There's two universities in the city and a lot of accommodation was built for them in the city centre.
@@alphabetaxenonzzzcat I agree, very well said. Sad to see for sure. Thanks so much for the comment it really supports the channel while it's so small ☺️
Canterbury is a dump compared with how it once was in the 80's and 90's! It used to be the number one place in Kent everyone went to shop. These day no one goes there apart from the tourists. This is not opinion, it is a truth, the reality. You didn't walk up the main shopping, High street, Parade and St. George Street! You would have been shocked, mainly vape shops and tat. You didn't go the the Westgate gardens either, which is full of drug users and drunks. The old part is very nice with it's beautiful old buildings, yes, but that's about it. Fenwick is last of the big independent department stores left in Canterbury, and it makes no money. In fact all of Tunbridge Wells store's profits keep their Canterbury store afloat. Unfortunately for Fenwick they tied into the crazy building lease and it would cost them more to buy out of their lease than run the store. Most of the independent shops have long gone, it used to have lots of amazing shops! Canterbury used to be magnificent, and also a very prestigious address to have, full of well healed people, unlike today. It is now full of drug users and drunks. I live in Thanet, which used to be a deprived area, a a very poor relation to Canterbury, but even at Thanet's worst it wasn't anywhere near as bad as Canterbury is today! Friends I have in Canterbury are now moving to Thanet! So it seems Thanet is now a more presidios address to have than Canterbury, that says everything you need to know about Canterbury. Walking around a place without local knowledge or talking to locals doesn't paint a true picture. My advice, for what it is worth, if this is what you intend on doing, in future talk to locals and film it! Paint a true picture of a place, not a visitors view, which is of no real value to anyone. Research before going to a place, so you know exactly what you are looking for, where you need to go and know who to talk to. Know the history of a town or city before you start. Reason an argument, the why's and how's a place has changed, why it has become 2nd worst place, reason both sides of an argument, is it justified. Have some pride and passion in you craft and do a thorough job, not a half hearted snap anyone can do. To be successful in life you need to be extremely passionate about what you do and do a way better than the rest, not the same or equal. I kind of think I know who you are trying to emulate, don't imitate, dare to be different, push the boundaries. This all sounds harsh critic, but heed my words well and who knows, you may well be a future successful investigative journalist, rather than just another RU-vidr doing the same old thing, which to be honest adds little value. Also one needs to become more philosophical when approaching such subjects, opinion has no value, it is not currency. Good reasoned, thought through argument, a truth is a truth and is the key to good reporting, unfortunately long lost by the likes of MSM. To quote a greater mind than mine, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.” I wish you well in your endeavors and hopefully my words on wisdom help you succeed.
@@GregBottle Thanks for your well thought out comment and constructive criticism I really appreciate it. Id like to film in Thanet soon actually. Definitely would like to meet a local there to get their perspective as you say. If you are ever interested, I'm sure the viewers would be intrigued to hear your voice also on the channel. Cheers again my friend
@@EdBrinton Thank goodness you took my words in the spirit they were intended. 🙂 I'm not sure I'd want to be filmed, I don't come across so well on camera, I go off in too many different directions at once, but I'd be more than happy to help you with any info, where and what to see, what each town used to be like and how they has changed. I will ask my wife, she maybe willing to be on film, she's be better at that sort of thing than I, she's also very knowledgeable on the areas history, which we have much. I'll get back to you with her response, I send you an email to you as soon as I've spoken with her. PS: Thanet will take more than one video, there a lot to cover. We have 3 main towns for a start, push villages. It also has much beauty as well as history. We also have some problems, as all areas do in this crazy day and age we live. To wet your appetite ;-) www.gregbottle.com/fine-art-photography.html Speak soon by email 🙂
@@GregBottle of course mate, in fact it's rare when somebody gives criticism it's done in a kind and smart way. Most people just attack you personally so I have lots of respect for you. Yeah no worries at all, I do appreciate it! Fantastic give me a buzz whenever my friend.
Hi Ed I have lived in Canterbury 61 of my 69 years so I knew every step you took. I was really pleased you ended up with a good view of our city. I am going to subscribe to your channel and I wish you lots of success .
@@Keith-s4f hi thanks so much for the comment and subscribe it means so much to me. Yeah I did enjoy my time there overall, great people too like yourself ☺️
Haha! No way I don't believe it. Margate, Dover and the Medway Towns are much worse trust me! Canterbury can be a bit dark but no way is it as bad as you make out lol.
@EdBrinton I've lived in Margate for 10 years, moved down from London and I'd never go back. Love it down here tbh. Yes it has it's shabby areas, but so does everywhere! The value of my house has gone up over 200k because so many people want to live here, that's how bad it is....
The centre of Canterbury is very beautiful , but unfortunately like so many British cities the suburbs are often drab and many modern buildings seem to have been designed by architects who have no sense of beauty or harmony !
I can believe it, when I visited once, around 2018 I noticed it was quite run down (the outskirts). Once in the centre, it wasn't too bad, actually quite nice. Didn't manage to go into the cathedral.
@@EdBrinton you can do crab and winkle walk (I think it’s called) to whitstable following the first stream train line it’s lovely. I also lived in gillingham and I didn’t that was bad tbh mate but I did grow Dudley so anything taxed is posh to me
I'm a Canterbury gal, trying to move back. Whenever I go home to Canters it's always packed. Sharing this vid to FB canterbury groups. Will be interesting to see the comments.
Well done. You saw the central area, which is all that matters to tourists. They come for the cathedral, with lots of foreign students on exchange visits with our students. If your a traveller, like myself, rather than a tourist, the suburbs will always have an interest. I just use buses or trams and see the real side of that town or city. There's the good bad and ugly everywhere! Two Wetherspoons here are worth visting, and plenty of other pubs too. The trains are quite good, and its an easy visit for me from Maidstone. Home town of Kent County Cricket here, the excellent Marlowe Theatre is good too. The worst aspect is the influx of certain London borough residents, in quite large numbers these past few years, exactly what has happened in Maidstone too. The student population gave the city a bit of life as well. The street market has gone to pot nowadays, but its still a decent place to visit, I'm just not going there as often as I used to. 👍✔💯🇬🇧😎
I agree the Londonification of Kent has definitely made it worse. And the back streets are just as intriguing to me as the main sights honestly if not more!
I remember Canterbury from the 60s and 70s, it was a nice place to visit. I even visited 20 years ago, it easn't too bad, lot of east Europeans but hey. I hope it picks up
Centralization based on urban and developed towns and cities makes the outskirt towns ghost towns. The youth do not see the sense of medieval buildings. It also speaks of the preference of based on age group; the aged vs the youth. Sad reality. Thank you for this wonderful insight.
Thank you Ed, I appreciate you a lot. And yes I totally agree, most people my age wouldn't care at all. I certainly do but Im not sure if our towns are far too gone
Not that far from me, and I was actually there a couple of weeks ago for a few hours. A very touristy town centre, with its fair share of charity shops (!) the eyesore of the boarded up former huge Debenhams is a shame to see, but thankfully the old Wilko store has been taken over by a furniture seller, probably only temporarily, but better than being empty I guess. I found it a pleasant day out with its independant shops and quaint side roads.
Studied at Uni of Kent for 3 years until 2023, I love Canterbury so much but I've never seen so much homelessness. And I am from London. I'm certain I saw a homeless person die by the Wilko in my first year, likely of drug overdose. Also you missed Hales Place, my time there was...interesting.
@@EdBrinton I remember there being a lot more empty and abandoned shops right in the city centre. Near the Cathedral gate area especially. There were so many empty units the university rented them out to exhibit the students work. There were also a lot of those American sweet shops (laundering fronts). Covid crushed independent business, which canterbury has a lot of.
I haven't visited the City centre of Canterbury for a couple of years now, mostly due to the excessive car parking charges imposed over the years, and I only live 12 miles away. I've been working there this week on the New Dover Road leading out of the City and been surprised by the lack of traffic; it used to be so busy in the summer, full of visitors, so perhaps they're also put off by the parking charges?
@@geoffos42 parking charges is a really good point, I didn't think of that. Annoying I've already filmed my next video on the fall of the highstreet as that's a good point I could of added. Cheers for the comment mate
A lot worse places in Kent than Canterbury, whoever put that list together needs ignored and has to see more of kent. Dover, Chatham, Dartford, Rainham, Folkestone all much worse to name a few
@@mikekaraoke what? they're not comparable, as the guy said each place good and bad bits. Canterbury is a historic city with lots to see, more to offer in the town, Dartford is not nice and offers a lot less. whats the point of your comment?
@@dbergkampafc Yes, all towns/cities have their good/bad parts! However you didn't say Dartford is worse than Canterbury but much worse whch isn't a fact! There are parts of Dartford as a Borough not just the town that are alright/nice so that isn't true- Joyden's Wood for example is a lovely part esp the Woodland Park etc The point of my comment is that they are bad parts and some alright parts of everywhere you go!
@@EdBrinton It was filmed a year or two after the Blitz, there are some good shots of Canterbury in ruins, you'll have a good idea of what the city went through and you'll recognise some landmarks
I have been visiting Canterbury (and even occasionally house-sitting for friends there) regularly for over 30 years and I have witnessed its decline (which has greatly accelerated in the last 5 to 10 years). I used to love visiting it (or staying there), but I find it pretty much unbearable now.
For tourism Canterbury alright but living there it’s annoying af the council loves to mess you up and they care more about temporary university students than there own people There are drug issues and crime has shot up since the council let London take over one of the estates (I wouldn’t say west gate is a dangerous area I’d say the estate on the other end are worse)
At the beginning of the video you were right by the police station so of course, chances of seeing police cars there is high. As a Local I can say the town isn't as good as what it used to be when it comes to shops, unfortunately that is like a lot of places. Canterbury is a nice place to visit if you like history and old things as there is a lot to see. The Cathedral is very nice and there is so much to see, you could stay for hours. If anyone reading wants to visit and is driving, the park and ride is cheaper as parking is very expensive now. Park and ride is £4 for the day and the buses are very regular.
Alot of estates and newer properties in Canterbury have been bought up by a couple of London boroughs; exporting their homeless population into these homes where they become the local councils responsibility. There has been better push-back against this kind of thing recently though, with some developers and landowners making private arrangements with the local council so councils like Lambeth are kept out of the loop whenever areas become avalaible.
Canterbury, along with Norwich and Cambridge, are the most beautiful and safe places to live in the East of England and probably England as a whole and I've lived in all of them.
One of the best cafes in Kent I'd argue in Westgate. Right by the towers. People line up outside to get a table.. Whoever said its the 2nd worst is wrong. I visit all the time and live just 7 miles from there. It has a drug problem . And homeless.. But when did a city not ?? 😂 I'm glad you called out your own title, or i would've.
@@Mikerumball very good points, thanks for the insight. Yeah Canterbury overall is a nice place, has it's issues but I think most including me think it's only positive. Just wanted to make a balanced video. I appreciate you
The thing is these similar yt videos about social decline in uk all follow the same doom negative viewpoint. Canterbury im sure has problems due conplex reasons but still its a historic gem. Kent itself has a mix. Anyone like broadstairs. I used to visit often very charning dickensian feel to it. Good video you are a polite young man
I clicked instantly because I used to live in the house behind you in the thumbnail, that’s so weird! Can’t believe the pubs gone. Wincheap is more of the boondocks you’re after.
Every town has its rough and polished parts but when I lived there about 10 years ago I could walk home alone at 4am through the town centre and feel fairly safe
@@pallasathena1555 yeah that's the general consensus. It's still nice in parts but now it's not nice in parts. Whereas many locals have commented saying 10 years ago it didn't really have many bad parts at all ... Countryside issue :(
Drugs and Immigration.. It was a wonderful City 20+ years ago. In 2022 i witnessed a black African lad 18-20 dealing openly down a back street behind the Crown Court whilst i was there on a lunch break.
Like most of these videos your there early which is understandable from a filming point of view, so your not going to see the vast student population at that time of day. Tourist’s haven’t turned up en masse yet either. Essentially Canterbury is just a student dive and a tourist attraction, the Council do not give a shit about the actual local people who live within the area. Being that early as well your missing the traffic gridlock and you did miss the tented village forming near Fenwicks. Overall though a fair video with no rose tinting.
@@DeeCee-nb6ev thanks for your comment it's really interesting. I wish I could have a local guide in these places or almost have the insider knowledge before I make the video
@@mandymclan Just a friend from 40 years ago Mandy 🙂 Sammy was a Traveller, his dad, brother, and grandfather were called Tommy. The family used to pick fruit.
@EdBrinton I lived and worked in the city centre for years in the 80s and 90s, both in retail and newspapers. It was a lovely place to be. It had a real community feel.
@@Brit_in_Mindanao yeah the general consensus seems to be 30 years ago it was super lovely, now however it is a little run down. Thanks for your comment brother
@@EdBrinton Folkestone is nice in the harbour area and by the coast, along the Leas etc. Lots of outdoor art installations thanks to the Triennial. Like most seaside towns though parts are very run down and the town centre is like a ghost town.
@@EdBrinton Yeah tell me about it🙄 They got rid of the last nightclub there (if you can call it that) and now no one has a reason to go there an Bexleyheath can't cope as a result 🤦
