Wick: A Crap Town?

[The Pepsi Challenge]

During the summer I'll be spending four weeks visiting Scotland's so-called roughest bars. It's for a book I'm compiling, scheduled for publication in the Spring of next year. Unsurprisingly it's called Scotland's Top 50 Roughest Bars. But no, I won't be spending the entire month in Caithness. Anyway, a friend passed on the website address that I think, was linked to the book: UK's Most Crap Towns. I dunno, something like that. Anywho, guess what, yep, you guessed it, there's Wick. I think there's a link at this website where you can defend the town; however, here's what it had to say... though note: even Caithness Glass isn't there anymore. Or is it?

http://www.craptowns.com/html/frontsection/craptowns/30_5/scotland.htm

Scotland's Most Crap Towns:
Town/Village: Wick

There is nothing in Wick except sullen faced youths hanging around chip shops and denim clad drunken tinkers who talk to cider bottles.

There is nothing to do except drive cars for no reason other than to make their tyres squeak with handbrake turns.

Everybody in the entire town has snot hanging from their noses.

It has a river full of shopping trolleys.

The best thing about Wick is the lighthouse built by Robert Louis Stevenson's uncle. Aged 17, RLS was in Wick and hated it. He ended up living in Western Samoa because geographically it was the furthest point from Wick on any atlas.

They have an amusement park in Wick. It is called a field. Their only export is Caithness Glass - most of which the factory buys from Accident and Emergency on a Friday night.

[trinkie]

Usually I ignore this sort of thing, But today I seem to have time on my hands - too wet for the garden.
I was in Wick last year and saw no trolleys in the river, very little snot on very few noses (including my own) etc etc.
There were however many wonderful people around whose kindness I'll never forget.
I chatted with complete strangers who pointed me in the direction of such great sights - not to be missed. I strolled along the cliff tops, I walked up by the river, I ate such delicious food - especially the fish.
I ventured into one or two pubs expecting them to be as rough as I had visited on my journey north - but they were just the same as any other rough pub I have been in - nothing special about Wick Rough Pubs, except that I was given a warm greeting by the bar man, now that was different.
Not one person in Wick was as rude or as unkind as the person who wrote the article,
Does that not tell you something? I cant wait to visit Wick again.
SD

[EDDIE]

I think its pritty unfair to condem wick as a crap town there is good and bad areas in all towns and citys no matter were u go.Out off all the places ive been in scotland cumbernauld would have to be the uglys looking town in scotland it looks like a town inside an industrial estate who ever designed that area should be shot

[The Pepsi Challenge]

No real need to justify Wick's glowing credentials. Just take these kind of websites with a pinch of salt. Small towns are pretty much the same the world over. They even had Edinburgh and Glasgow in there - and they're hardly crap towns.

[kev]

just shut up pepsi max where r u from?

[scotsboy]

I think that is a bit out of order Kev, Pepsi Challenge was not the author of the piece he simply found it whilst doing some research.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Don't be upset, Kev. I wasn't poking any fun at Wick; however I do find it hard to say anything postive about the place these days - here's hoping things imprive there soon. But I'll leave that for another thread for another day. Topless darts competitions might get things going again, though, in the Royal Burgh. Just a suggestion. :eyes

[KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN]

i agree with pepsi - hard to find anything decent about wick - i pretty much hate the place although camps karoke is good crack , but even i was a bit taken aback by that review its pretty harsh|!!

[The Pepsi Challenge]

The reviews, from what I can gather, are - and can be - submitted by pretty much anyone. You can also choose to defend the town/village/city in question. Spittal would be too easy a target.

[ColonelSmee]

If the people in question are complaining so much about Wick, then stand to be a Counciler and do something about it. :evil :D

[Alananders68]

There is a lot of truth in that review but like Eddie says there is good and bad in every town.

Wick has nothing for kids, so you can't complain when they stand around the streets and getting upto mischief, it's no surprise either that they grow up to do nothing but drink and drugs. Atleast Thurso has a cinema and Bowling, Wick has nothing at all for kids.

I was speaking last week to a visitor to the town and he was commenting on the fact that all Wick seemed to have was pubs, foreign take-aways and hairdresser shops, and commented on the fact that the women don't look much like women as they are mainly overweight and all dress scruffily in jeans/troosers, HOWEVER he also praised the fact that Wickers were a very friendly bunch from what he was used to and said it was good to see somewhere where young children had some freedom (he has to collect his two children aged 7 and 10 from school each day and the school doesn't let the bairns out until they can confirm that the parents are there, his kids never get to play out in the street as it isn't safe and he has to endure traffic that we can only imagine), so it shows that whilst outsiders may criticise Wick's bad points they can also see it's good points too.

[Drutt]

Women wearing 'troosers'?! Heaven forbid! Let's sort that out right now! Oy, you women! Skirts on, back to the sink you go! :roll:

Sorry Alananders68, old chap: wrong century, wrong country, wrong attitude. Women in Caithness know there's more to life than providing you with a bit of eye candy.

[Alananders68]

It is a bad do, when women don't take any pride in themselves. They would soon be complaining if all us men started wearing skirts :confused

[Drutt]

It is a bad do, when women don't take any pride in themselves. They would soon be complaining if all us men started wearing skirts :confused
Go ahead. I wouldn't dream of telling you what to wear. You're not on this earth to please my eyes any more than I am to please yours. :roll:

[dragonfly]

Topless darts competitions might get things going again, though, in the Royal Burgh. Just a suggestion. :eyes

have you seen some of the darts players?!!?! :eek: (not making any distiction between the ladies or men) think that would be a definate no-no for spicing up wicks reputation

[katarina]

Wick has nothing for kids, so you can't complain when they stand around the streets and getting upto mischief, it's no surprise either that they grow up to do nothing but drink and drugs. Atleast Thurso has a cinema and Bowling, Wick has nothing at all for kids.

.

Lets see what this lot find to do. Boy aged nine. Scouts on monday night, football sarurday morning, swimming whenever he wants, Jam club on friday night. Golf saturday afternoon. There are also other activities but I feel that's enough to be going on with.
Girl age d five. Dancing monday night, swimming whenever, jam club friday night, rainbow girls Thursday night, horse riding saturday. Again more than enough.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Wick has nothing for kids, so you can't complain when they stand around the streets and getting upto mischief, it's no surprise either that they grow up to do nothing but drink and drugs. Atleast Thurso has a cinema and Bowling, Wick has nothing at all for kids.

.

Lets see what this lot find to do. Boy aged nine. Scouts on monday night, football sarurday morning, swimming whenever he wants, Jam club on friday night. Golf saturday afternoon. There are also other activities but I feel that's enough to be going on with.
Girl age d five. Dancing monday night, swimming whenever, jam club friday night, rainbow girls Thursday night, horse riding saturday. Again more than enough.

I think Alansnder68 was meaning teenagers.

[katarina]

I think teenagers prefer to hang around street corners than take part in organised groups. nowadays they think they are too old for the youth club. There are army, air and sea cadets, junior red cross, rifle club, canoing, scout movements, cycling club swimming, golf, fishing, quad biking, motor bike scrambling. I've probably missed a few. And if they do want to go to the cinema or the bowls, Thurso is only half an hour away. When my daughter lived in Edinburgh, it took her longer than that to travel into town to any of the facilities.
I think it's the small town culture where everything revolves around being old enough to get into pubs and nothing else is of any interest. Make the most of what a town has to offer instead of complaining about what it hasn't.

[willietaylor]

God cant you people get a grip on reality, Life in Wick is the same no matter where you go, in fact I'd say your dam lucky to be living in Wick, its a far safer and quiter place than most places to live in, maybe if you travelled a bit you may realise just how lucky it is to be where you are.
Finally, cant these people that complain about the comments put in that website realise,

" ITS A SPOOF WEBSITE.......its a bit of FUN "

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Well said, Willietaylor. It's indeed that: a bit fo fun.

Katrina, I think you're right, to a degree - there are the same things to do in most towns and cities. However a lot of teenagers feel intimidated, unwelcome and unsure about how to get involved and motivated to join the golf club, the motocross, the karate club etc. When I were a nipper, my parents couldn't afford to pay for me to go to these things, but the places I really wanted to go/do - the youth club, breakdancing etc. - were free but it took a lot of cajoling and hassling to get me to feel part of the group and free to express myself. I guess there's no easy answer. Perhaps if we could motivate kids more and make them interested we'd get more of them off the streets. Here's hoping.

Oh, and I disagree about the living-in-Edinburgh-and-having-to-travel-a-long-distance-to-gain-acess-to-whatever-it-is. I've lived in Edinburgh for 11 years - and in every corner of it - and always found leisure facilities, cinemas (that's another story, too many of them), music venues, swimming pools, librbaries, within 5 minutes of my house. Or rabbit hutch's as we call them in Reekie.

[katarina]

lot of teenagers feel intimidated, unwelcome and unsure about how to get involved and motivated to join the golf club, the motocross, the karate club etc. When I were a nipper, my parents couldn't afford to pay for me to go to these things, but the places I really wanted to go/do - the youth club, breakdancing etc. - were free but it took a lot of cajoling and hassling to get me to feel part of the group and free to express myself.
Oh, and I disagree about the living-in-Edinburgh-and-having-to-travel-a-long-distance-to-gain-acess-to-whatever-it-is. I've lived in Edinburgh for 11 years - and in every corner of it - .

Of course the bowling ally, the cinema etc. are also expensive, so even if these things were here, not all kids could afford to go regularly. And I suppose it depends on where you live in Edinburgh. It's not always the distance either - more to do with the volume of traffic. I do admit it is good to have the option should you want it, but if you chose to live in a small town that's one of the things you have to give up.
Edinburgh is a great place to visit - my favourite city.

[Rheghead]

Well, I think Wick is very nice, not crap at all. It has more character than Thurso, its harbour and streets are very twee. The only thing that depresses me about it is all the reports that i hear from people who live there and complain about it. You gorra admit that Wickers have a tendency for being gloomy.

[EDDIE]

Well Rheghead i would have to disagree with you i think thurso is much nicer than wick.If its not raining in wick its windy and cold.I think thurso is much nicer looking town than wick not that there is anything bad about wick.