The Six Worst Towns In The Swansea Area! A NEW BIGGEST TURDTOWN? 

Swansea truly is a city of two halves. The city has had tonnes of European money pouring in, building nice university campuses on the outer fringes, but never anything much in more deprived areas (Penlan, Townhill, Mayhill etc). There is a lot of wealth floating around in Swansea, but it never reaches the deprived areas, in favour of richer parts like Mumbles, Sketty and the Uplands.

If you think Port Talbot is bad now . . . years ago it reeked of rotten eggs, thanks to the emissions from the steel works. Old joke from the 70s: My girlfriend said to me "Kiss me where it smells". So I drove her to Port Talbot. 😃

Briton Ferry does have a green area: a Grade Two listed park which opened in 1928. You can be excused for not noticing it as even many locals are unaware of its existence due to poor signposting. It also has a Dock built by Isambard Brunel which is totally neglected even though it is listed as a National Monument. Buried by a scrapyard and waste site! The site of Brunel’s funicular railway track has gradually become overgrown in spite of attempts by locals to preserve Brunel’s heritage. The town is at boiling point over its state and relying on pensioner volunteers is disgraceful. It needs massive intervention. Thank you for highlighting the neglect by the authorities.

So disappointed Port Talbot didn't make the top spot. I urge my fellow residents to try harder and reclaim our rightful place.

Briton Ferry is twinned with some village in Uganda and the Ugandan's are furious about it.

There is nothing prettier than the Port Talbot steelworks at sunset on a summer’s evening! They’ve even made it easier to enjoy by imposing a speed limit for traffic on the M4 to reduce pollution 😳

NPT and Swansea councillors I HOPE YOU ARE WATCHING THIS VIDEO.

Regarding empty Welsh chapels and churches, in the religious peak of Victorian towns there were always huge numbers of chapels built in most places - the various religious factions were competing to build the most & biggest chapels! This resulted in ludicrous numbers of huge chapels that coudn't possibly be filled! It wasn't unknown for a small place of under a 1000 people to have 3 Chapels that could hold 1000 people each! This was pretty crazy then, and will the decline in rural population and decline in religious attendance, the greater proportion of chapels became redundant - with the results that are visible today.

Port Talbot = when a hermit crab finds a discarded coke can to live in

Where should we visit next? Please comment and share this video it really helps us out ❤❤❤

People leave Croatia to work at Amazon's mega plant in Port Talbot and think done well for themselves. Let that sink in.

Swansea has one of the most attractive settings of any city in the UK. Unfortunately the rebuilding of the city following its destruction in WW11 has followed a path of mediocrity in vision & planning with many poor investment decisions. In my opinion it should have been chosen as the home for the Senedd rather than Cardiff which would have had a major regenerative impact. The Swansea Bay Barrage is also a dormant project that could potentially have a major impact on all the other communities you mention

You didn't go to Townhill, but they'd have nicked and burnt your car before you'd got the camera out

OK, I stayed in an AirBnB about a mile from Briton Ferry a couple of years ago, and used to walk my dog in that direction many mornings. The area has a lot of dereliction, but I found the people friendly, and in terms of local parks, Jersey Park near the station is a beautifully manicured, old-fashioned set of gardens (if green space is what you're after). I actually looked at staying there again not too long ago when trying to make some plans which ultimately fell through! There again, I like Neath and Swansea too. You want bad? The nastiest bits of East London will shatter your camera lens.

The death of the chapel in rural wales has been going on for the past 40 years or so, the younger generations get less and less religious and the older people who went have pretty much all died now, I remember as a kid in the war 2000s doing the Christmas play for school in the local chapel, been closed for years now

You missed CYMMER at the top of the Afan Valley above Port Talbot. It's a mountain top council estate like Penrhys and it's just as grim. Maybe next time eh?

Just to set the record straight, Swansea is only a crime laden shithole in SOME places. The places tourists would actually go to, you'd never guess this in a million years. Town centre is like a weird mix of it all. But if you go to Mumbles, or even further along the coast, you will be met with mansions upon mansions. The middle and upper class places of Swansea are absolutely amazing and it's a little upsetting that this is the impression you're left with. It doesn't help that the first thing anyone sees when they get off at the train station is the worst rated high street in the entire UK, and one of the worst places in the whole city. They are trying to develop that area a lot, they recently built a block of nice looking student flats directly opposite the train station exit so it looks a bit less embarrassing. Also yeah, the roads are fucking awful in the centre lol. The only place I've been with worse roads is Bristol.

Being from Swansea. It is like anywhere. Shit places and nice places and all in between. But Swansea has character and a lot of history behind it, and it's cool you included the guy singing, have walked past him a few times haha.

ayy my hometown ! graveyard of ambition. Gower is stunning though

The biggest tur* in Wales is Drakeford.

As someone who lived in south London for 37 years and worked in Westminster for a decade, i moved to port Talbot a year ago and i found the entry in this list completely ridiculous and extremely click baity. Yes you have the view of the steelworks in one direction (which actually looks cool at night in an industrial sense) but it is actually very pleasant to look at everywhere. You have hills and Rivers and the local station and shopping area are all pleasant and look tidy and nice, none of which you showed. The high street (which you conveniently didn't bother showing) looks good and is full (a rarity these days), you have the shopping centre and the Tesco superstore. You also mentioned the beach but failed to mention the cinema and restaurants there. Also the comment about the local people i can only assume was just some made up nonsense because in the year i have been here everyone has been extremely pleasant and its been a refreshing experience compared to living in a big and busy town in south London. Finally regarding the pollution, Croydon actually has worse air quality than Port Talbot does which actually puts it into perspective for how it isn't actually that bad here. Honestly this video just screams of made up hyperbole to get clicks and shit on people and areas. Like, what do you seriously expect to find in a town with just over 1.5k people? You aren't going to get a bustling town centre are you...

Briton Ferry has its hidden gems- the park, a local reservoir amidst a hike, lots of great local sporting clubs (2 cricket clubs, 2 great local football clubs, a rugby club etc.) that, for a town/village of its size, is quite impressive. Also, the community spirit is quite strong, with parades and local events regularly being organised by local volunteers. Understandably you wouldn’t get all that from a brief visit.

I hope you do a video just on Swansea, Townhill is an interesting place, count your fingers when you leave

Come and check out Flintshire in North Wales. Specifically what's known locally as the Deeside corridor along the river and estuary. A long line of 7 or 8 of some of the grimmest suicide inducing towns you'll ever clap eyes on. Dominated by chaotic bumper to bumper traffic and traveller camps.

As someone who as lived in the Swansea area for most of my life it feels like such a novelty to see the area get some attention. Great that someone is finally highlighting some of the terrible deprivation that some parts of Wales faces. I pretty much agree with your ranking however I do think that Seven Sisters is more of a village than a town and I think there is a lot more to talk about with Swansea. Although the city can be very run down in some parts and also suffers from a significant homeless population, there are some nice parts especially down the Mumbles area. There are also some stunning beaches here and the city can have a lot to offer for students. All in all, Swansea is a very mixed bag which is why I think it would make an interesting video. keep up the good work

Port Talbot once had an amazing indoor public pool with a wave machine and giant robotic spider that would spray water I think it burned down ironically

There is also a Seven Sister in North London - The name "Seven Sisters" in North London originates from a group of seven elm trees that were planted in a circle in the area in the 14th century. These trees formed a distinctive landmark and gave the area its name. Over time, the name "Seven Sisters" was used for the nearby road junction and later a railway station, which further solidified its association with the area. Today, it's a well-known part of London. Info courtesy of Chat GPT.

Amazing. Loved it. Weirdly there is a hidden green space in Briton Ferry called Jersey Park.

As a person who lives near briton ferry I agree it is awful in many ways however, it actually DOES have a pretty nice park, jersey park. Also despite the number of boarded up shops it also has a surprising number of useful shops like a post office, places to drop of parcels, Tesco express, a bakery, a dominos, several other takeaways and a decent nursery. So despite it's awful appearance I end up going there quite often. In a way I think that is what is most surprising about it, many other awful places in Wales are awful because they are being abandoned. Briton Ferry is actually very well served by businesses and connected to the M4 as well as being under an hour from Cardiff by train and just 2 trains from London in under 3 hours. But it STILL looks like this.

As a local to both Neath and Briton Ferry (for my sins) - I was surprised to hear Ferry being called a separate town, never really heard it referred to as such before 😅 Neath is pretty grim, it wasn’t so bad about 20 years ago but it’s been left to rot. I tend to avoid it and work/do my shopping in Swansea 😅 Still kind of nuts to see local errr…landmarks pop up on RU-vid.

Briton Ferry actually has quite a large park. It's well hidden though, the entrance is down an alley off the main road and very easy to miss. It's about the only nice thing the town has.

The demise of every town is out of town shopping centres of course were all guilty including myself because of convenience leaving nothing but charity shops greasy spoon cafes etc, after the death of Woolworths the high streets became deserted and now the results are just a pitiful eyesore.

One fun fact for Port Talbot beach/Aberavon. I burn easily in anything resembling decent sunlight (which is hard to come by), but thanks to the perma-smog created by the steelworks, even on the hottest, most cloudless summers day, the UV index is always very low!

Best thing about Swansea when I lived there in the early 90s was access to nearby Gower and its wonderful beaches.

I loved the GeoWizard cameo mate 🤘. Always watch his videos & russ cook currently out in Africa running the entire length of the continent as the hardest geezer! I really want to come with you on some of your adventures soon mate

I'm from Swindon but know this area well and had been looking forward to you covering it. When I visit Port Talbot I look forward to coming home, and that's saying something!

Good thing the only way I've seen Port Talbot is via Exmoor!

I live about 5 miles away from ponty, its busy because of all the people travelling to and from Ammanford, Swansea, Morriston and Neath. Plus theres Tesco, Lidl, Argos, Home Bargains, Farm foods etc

Blaengwynfi, Abergwynfi and Cymmer should be here, and definitely a mention for Swanseas uplands and Townhill considering how hard you went in on Pill. Also some would say Seven Sisters and Briton Ferry coukd be considered Neath.

My favourite channel.. love rolling around in the dirt

Here we go again , nice one mate !🙂👍

There's a beautiful park in Briton Ferry which is very well kept. It's called Jersey Park.

I'm actually going to congratulate you on including the Welsh names of villages, well done - instead of just dismissing the Welsh language out of hand you've actually said 'it's a thing'. There has been a religious shift in Wales. When I was a kid in the 1980's you'd see throngs of elderly people pouring out of most of the chapels on a Sunday afternoon (you'd see the men coming out of the chapel first and then the 100 metres to the pub - there was generally a pub within 100metres of a chapel). But that was it, most of the congregation were elderly and it was the 1980's so attrition means dwindling congregations. Now, the chapels (despite many being 'listed') are looted by 'architectural salvagers' - and are left to go to a certain level of dereliction, before mysteriously being burnt down 'by vandals' so the ruin can be bulldozed and flats built in their place. Anyhow, the chapel scene permeated everything - and it was one of the few places where (theoretically) a worker was on an even footing as landed classes (theoretically anyone could give a sermon in a Welsh chapel - so you could fire a broadside via a sermon on the 'wages of sin' etc.at the landed class. Mind you a lot of the landed class were 'Anglican', so it was a moot point.) There was huge competition between chapels - architecturally, in attendances and yes even the stereotypical choir. The problems with a lot of these towns is chronic underinvestment. Successive governments have failed these communities (I'm not just talking about Wales), a lot of these turdtowns suffer when the sole purpose of their existence -in South Wales' case when the mining and heavy industry sectors, is 'no longer viable'. Most of the South Wales coast would be littered with small fishing villages were it not for the insatiable need for coal during the industrial revolution.

Welsh Assembly should be ashamed of themselves.

"I'm not suprised there were Seven Sisters" 😂. Mate you are funny as fuck!

Im glad to see the channel is growing. Id like to nominate a trip to Hertfordshire. Theres some surprisingly grim places considering its reputation as a "posh home county"

Crime in Severn sisters is a novelty,it has one large shop and one camera on a pole to keep an eye on the odd local who ventures out .Blink and you miss this place 🤣

When the towns are looking like these, hospitals are in desperate need of cash....what do the Welsh Gov do??? Spend THIRTY MILLION on 20 mph road signs!!!! Pure genius.

Spent a few weeks at Neath in the Territorial Army barracks covering the firemans strike at the end of '77. Spent most of our free time in the "Blue Bell" pub. Long gone I think? Been to worse places though. Did our regional training for fire fighting at Swansea barracks practically under the Vetch Field. Luckily the local Nurses at the training Hospital were very obliging? Went back to Swansea whilst staying near Rhossili about a decade or so ago, didn't seem that bad?

poor old pontardawe… i have never felt unsafe there and the swansea valleys are lovely.

My grandparents lived in Seven Sisters and I went to primary school there back in the 70s when my grandpa John still worked in the mine. We’d go blueberry picking up in the forest at the top of the hill and feed the wild ponies who’d come to the garden gate looking for food. My gran’s best friend Betsy Mac managed the post office and Mrs Smith ran the local shop in Mary Street where there were old fashioned weighing scales and big screw top bottles full of sherbet bonbons. My great grand-dad was a stone mason and helped build one of the churches you showed in your video and my aunt still lives in the part of the village known as Garden City. It’s sad to see it’s decline as it wasn’t always as run down as this, nor was Neath. It used to be my favourite place in the world as a kid ❤

Briton Ferry is the first place in any Turdtown video I'd never heard of. Our Lady of the Assumption is the least attractive 1960s church I've seen, and there's no shortage of competition. Like a tyre recycling plant crossed with a dodgy motel.

Now you have to drive at 20mph you are stuck in the towns longer and have more time to see the decay.

I lived in Swansea about twenty years ago and its been hit hard in the intervening years. Last time I went back it made me genuinely sad.

Worked in the open cast mine at Seven sisters . Some real characters working there in the late 70's . Also played youth rugby against them in 1974 took their 2 year unbeaten ground record when we won 6-4 . (4 points for a try then) 2 sent off 1 carried off!! .Going into their clubhouse prematch was like a scene in a western when a stranger walks into the saloon . The pool game stopped along with the darts and everybody stood and stared at you - we all knew it was going to be a tough game and it didn't disappoint.

My Briton Ferry childhood was like the Goonies. Two woods, the docks, a river, a canal, two reservoirs and a sprawling gypsy camp were my playgrounds and I loved it. It looks a bit shabby these days but if you think this is rough you must be some kind of timid, privately educated wimp who shits his pants when he's an inch out of his middle-class comfort zone. Toughen up bit.

Regards Neath: the site of Neath Abbey is really beautiful; a reminder of the area's medieval wonders. Such a pity it's now inside a ramshackle industrial estate.

In defence of neath you did miss its nicest feature in my opinion which is Victoria garden.. its not saying much but it is a really nice place to go sit for a while, right next to the bus station

Neath in the 1974-1990's was way ahead of Swansea place was lovely and i didn't live there but i was happy to visit it. It went down hill when the wildlife park closed and it got associated with Port Talbot.

You missed some gems in the area. If you'd driven along the road from Seven Sisters, you could have sampled the delights of Onllwyn and Banwen. The whole area has grim stories that don't go to the police or social services.

I would like to clarify as someone who works with and is familiar with swansea homeless, they aren't aggressive, they are overall, some of the most grateful but trodden on people I've ever had the pleasure to meet, the aggressive ones are the down and outers who leave their homes in the day and go into the streets to drink, take drugs and get a couple of extra quid in their pockets, I've dealt with both and while it's hard to tell them apart at first glance there is a BIG difference. Show our homeless some love ❤😊

I stayed in Swansea for two weeks earlier this year for the purpose of finding a place to move to. What a mistake that was. Swansea, meaning the actual urban part, is an absolute shit hole. The only positives would be the beach and in the indoor market. Also, using the average house price to score an area is pointless.

If you walked along the train tracks in Seven Sisters, you would have come across the wreckage of a train that crashed and couldn't be bothered to move... Further adding to the general vibe

A Cardiff and Swansea suburbs special, loads of fodder in some exquisite locations

I was expecting gorseinon to be on the list. but their wetherspoons is the best in the area and there aren't many vacant buildings in the high street. they are all low rent buisinesses though. Seven sisters is that even a town? - have to agree with port toilet, neath and briton ferry. Swansea is pants compared to Cardiff but it does have some beautiful coastline

From what I remember of Swansea the West side appeared to be more prosperous, especially towards The Mumbles and Gower areas (SA2, SA3 & SA4) areas. The East side with the exception of Morriston seamed to be left behind.

alright, you've got me: subbed!

Are the tanning salons still a thing? When I lived in Mid Glam you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting one! All the local girl were bright orange.

As soon as I saw the map I assumed that Port Talbot would be #1, so I’m almost impressed you found somewhere even worse. I’ve gone down the M4 to Swansea a couple times and holy crap that steel factory really is a huge eyesore Could you do one of the Home Counties next? I’d imagine you’d be spoilt for choice with Kent turdtowns, lol

I have to defend Pontardawe. I partially grew up there and am aiming to move back. It's a very quiet place with a fantastic community. It has a deep cultural history with art and music. Years ago there was a very successful music festival which brought in all sorts of interesting people. The place is a shadow of it's former self, but the locals make a large effort to make it nice, there is even a smaller version of the festival still going. As for Swansea, again, a very cultural place, but it is a city of two halfs and the rougher areas are to be avoided as the crime rate is huge. The market is fantastic though. Neath is a place I avoid. I spent a lot (too much) of my childhood there including school (yuck). Some of the locals try and do something with the place, but the rest of them are apathetic beyond belief. Port Talbot should have a sign saying 'abandon hope all ye who enter here'. Filthy, nasty place. For Briton Ferry I have a little story. I used to work in the library there. After work one day, in broad daylight, on the main road, with heavy traffic, I was waiting for a bus home. A house just next to us was being burgled through the front window, with no sense of urgency and people walking past without reacting at all.

Port Talbot and Briton Ferry were my family’s annual holiday destination when I was a kid 😂 I’ve actually got some good memories but even as a little kid I remember thinking it was pretty dire

Surprised that Cymmer isn't on here, there's nothing up there at all. As for Port Talbot you can smell the steelworks from Porthcawl if the wind is blowing west to east

Absolutely brilliant video so glad you came! Next time see if you can make it to Llanelli

Forgot to add on the Chapel front. The numbers attending have nose dived where there's still a strong congregation they are doing well, but some of these chapels ended up with below 10 people. A lot are being sold but then issues arise over turning them into flats or re purposing as parking can be a major issue. A fair few around here have been turned into flats as there's no Graveyards and plenty of room to park cars

In spite of the neglect Briton Ferry does have a fantastic community spirit. There are lots of people and organisations trying to make a difference. The Thatcher years hit the town badly but that was almost half a century ago yet the towns decline continues. It’s Jersey Park is a fine example of what can be done when like minded people pull together. However the sums being put into the community are disproportionate to the level of investment needed to turn things around. Briton Ferry is a victim of decisions made to give funding to other areas in NPT. There is nothing inevitable about its current state and it is not irreversible. It’s about decisions being made to ignore it.

Briton Ferry is in the Aberavon constituency: It’s AM is David Rees Its MP is Stephen Kinnock.

I'd love to see someone make "TurdTowns USA", showing some of America's worst places. Gary, East St. Louis, and certain Philadelphia or Detroit suburbs are obvious choices, but I'd like to see more towns I've never heard of like some of the ones you've shown in the UK. Your videos are great! ❤😊

Swansea has some amazing parts to it like mumbles the many parks and the two marina ,s granted some areas are run down but some areas are fantastic

Yes... I haven’t seen Llanelli in Wales. Its pretty bad. But not as bad as a couple you have shown. One of which I haven’t ever heard of. Perhaps thats why. Great video. I know where not to go even if I heard of it before. Keep looking. I am sure more will TT will pop up.

Went out with a girl from a village in the valleys about 12 years ago and we used to go into Swansea quite a lot together as it was the nearest town/city. It looks even worse than it did back then. Oh, she also took me to Neath once and I can't remember anything about it except it had a mural somewhere.

i agree on your number 1 spot - i went there by accident - and it was a total shithole. oddly, i found swansea quite nice and had a good night there - nice pubs and people - but i could see it could have its moments. great series

miners ARE kind of short usually, same thing in america where theres old mining towns theres tons of short dudes.

Great video. Been living in Swansea University Bay campus for about a year now and I've enjoyed my experience. Swansea definitely has its good and bad areas though.

My cousin lives near Neath and along with Pontardawe I have always found it to be a rather nice little town with a lovely indoor market and park….nearby Port Talbot is a dump though.

the city centre is getting some upgrades at least, shame about the rest of it though. it could really do with more stations and a tram.

Briton Ferry was recommended to my Auntie Mabel and Uncle Fred as a good place to visit when they were holidaying near Swansea. They thought it was dreadful as there was nothing there.

Lol, i worked in the Wilko you showed in Neath 💔 Traffic is usual in Swansea, its painful.

Have you been to crumlin? That place also seems to be on the down, they also had to tear down a street of houses because at one point it was the most polluted street in Britain. Also as my family from Tredegar im kinda glad somehow it wasn't on your list.

It isnt just wales, many rural areas in England built "independent" chapels for Methodists and Baptists religions, my home village in the south of England had a Church and 4 chapels at the turn of the 20th century, now has a Church which is barely attended by mostly over 70s and one chapel barely attended at all, one chapel fell down in the 1930s after being abandoned, the other was converted into a fire station in the 1920s then an animal feed store and now stands empty and falling into disrepair.

Aw mate you should've showed us dyfatty flats! Swanseas finest tower block

Regarding the profusion of abandoned churches: this stems from the "chapel culture" whereby every Protestant church splinter group had adherents and they split an awful lot (and add Catholics and Anglicans into the equation). These churches all represent sects, which were often at loggerheads with each other.

Swansea is a great town with so much potential. It's easy to get to the M4, easy to get around, has great beaches and coastline close by on the Gower Peninsula and easy access to the Brecon beacons and beyond... and the people are lovely too! If the leaders and residents of Swansea get it right, it has a very bright future!❤

I last went to Swansea back in 2009. People I spoke to said that so much had been put into the out of town shopping places that the centre was empty. Not the easiest place to drive into either tbh. People were nice though.

I grew up in Milton Keynes, moved to Stoke at 18 and now live in Swansea; truly a tour de force of toilet towns. Oddly though, there is a thriving cricket community in South Wales..

Good job, and respectful too.

The industrial steel area of Port Talbot is known as Treasure Island….

There are three main towns in Neath Port Talbot. Obviously Neath and Port Talbot and Pontardawe. These are primary towns which get much more funding. Briton Ferry is a secondary town even though its population is larger than Pontardawe and its deprivation is much worse. The criteria to qualify as a primary town seems to be a secret so people feel the Ferry is being discriminated against by the powers that be. This must change. You’ve rightly pointed out the state of the Ferry with its links to Uganda. I’ve looked up that town and it appears to be wealthier than Briton Ferry. So the Ferry isn’t heading for the third world, parry’s of it are already there. It should be treated as an area of outstanding need with an immediate injection of funds even at the expense of the three greedy primary towns.

Should check out Scotland, you get beautiful places like Edinburgh & Stirling, right next to turd town like Falkirk, Linlithgow & Fife

THREE of these towns I used to frequent through for as many years for education purposes. Feels weird that all of them made this list, but I'm not really surprised.

We had a clump of Trees called Seven Sisters in Dawlish, Devon before they got blown away in the Big Storm of 1987. 😊👍