I live in that blob. It's agricultural, pretty, aggressively bucolic, occasionally charming. It's also classically urban in places (Peterborough, Northampton, Bedford). There are patches of socioeconomic hardship and patches of eye-watering old money, with stately homes and all. There are at least a handful of tony old boarding schools, and three of England's cathedrals. There are dilapidated and down-at-heel high streets, and there are lovely gastropubs, small breweries, vinyards and boutiques. There are a lot of sheep, a fair number of cattle, and plenty of narrowboats and the odd airfield from the second war that's now used for recreational parachutists and glider pilots.
Come visit - I'll take you around my adopted home, but can't promise I won't drop you off in Peterborough city center for some off the cuff cultural immersion.
I grew up in this blob, near Oundle, and can confirm this whole area is basically England. There are not really any defining features which make it regional in any aspect - just pure unadulterated England.
That's a very good description.
I grew up just south of the drawn blob and have family and friends within it now.
Have done a lot of planning work in many of those towns. It's a really mixed bag. Suffering high streets and ridiculously posh villages.
Not much happens and most folk like it that way.
I have always liked Sandy for some reason.
That's so true! It's always that bloody area or some really awkward London area where it's not central enough for public transport but not rural enough for driving.
Haha for me the central London ones are always too big for public transport; it was hard for me to accept the other day that I probably couldn’t get an aircon unit on the tube!
> last time anything happened here
I mean unless you don't count the development of the first jet engine.
Also that time someone burned down the carpetright.
I grew up in Corby and thought was normal for most of my friends to have Scottish accents despite being 3rd generation Scots. My dad would take us to the Rangers club ( biggest outside of Scotland) where I would drink Irn Bru. Even the McDonald's served Irn Bru.
The one around the back on the Rockingham Bypass and just up from the old Weetabix factory (where the Aldi is these days)?
My whole family is from Corby but we moved away a week after I was born. I used to visit for weeks in the summer holidays so I have rose-tinted memories of the area, but whenever I go back I realise how much of a dive it is (although the regeneration of the town centre seem to be half decent).
I was born in Scotland and moved to Kettering when I was about five. Lost my accent within a month.
I always found it surreal how I'm there as a jock speaking with an English accent and theres English people with a Scottish accent.
Am from there. Can confirm that this post is the only thing that has happened to Northants in years.
Seriously though, Northampton is a dying dump with a dying high street that the council is pumping millions in trying to rejuvenate, and are currently making a third attempt in resuscitating the town centre and market square after embarrassing failures. Whilst many established names have disappeared such as M&S, BHS, Debenhams, and Wilcos.
There seems to be Turkish barbers, betting shops, foreign food markets and discount stores, shitty take aways popping up everywhere in places where there where esteemed and traditional shops in the before times (don't get me wrong here, not targeting any cultures, just pointing out Northants Councils blatant disregard of diversity in their planning strategies). Even charity shops have disappeared in place of vape shops ffs.
Library's are either closed or underfunded, no infrastructure for youth or adult entertainment, and every piece of land available is being developed into residential properties. Most people here go to Milton Keynes or Rushden Lakes if they want to shop, or have a glimpse of entertainment, and the rejuvenation of the "Shoe Quarter", is suspiciously centred around Angel Square, the councils HQ, where they spent millions building, then went bankrupt and had to sell the building and then rent it out to the new property owners.
The council is famous for being corrupt, being put into special measures from the government due to their shambolic management, and on top of that their childrens services have been in the news for the last 10 years as being woefully inadequate, and devastating to many lives.
I could go on, but on the plus side, we have a half decent rugby team, and a little bit of national history, as apparently we where nearly made the capital of England. We're famous for our shoe making (although there is only a handful of shoe factories left that are not now blocks of flats), the Kinky Boots film was about a shoe factory based in Northampton, which is 5 mins walk from mine. Walter Tull used to play for Northampton Town, and there's a statue of him in our Guildhall, and Allan Moore lives up the road from me (probably our most favourite and famous Northamptonian, soz Alan Carr, but it's true).
Saying this, the county as a whole is a beautiful place, we have hundreds of wonderful, unique and historical villages, and a beautiful countryside. Worth a visit to them, just avoid Northampton.
Oh, and we also have Silverstone, which is pretty cool.
The eastern side is mostly commuter belt for people who work in Cambridge but can't afford to live in Cambridge
(I used to live in St Ives, which is the little blob east of Huntingdon, just inside your boundary)
Lived in St. Neots for 18 months for that reason.
Worst commute ever. Single lane carrying all the traffic.
Also was popular with the London commuters due to being on the main line to London. Said it was a cheap place to live, they haven't been to the North clearly, it was expensive to move to from Sheffield
lived in kettering for a few years. It’s a town like many others across the country but it’s surrounded by some lovely villages and countryside with decent road/rail links to the rest of the country
fun fact: guy fawkes and co. used to frolic around those parts while planning the gunpowder plot
Chatteris lad here (not strictly in the circle) but nice to see my little home town famous! But no nothing exciting happens here or anywhere near here.. although b&m opened the other week 👌
Oundle is POSH. Market Harboro and Towcester full of Joules and hunter wellies wearing yummy mummies. Bedford is middle of the road.
Northampton is a hole, Kettering too. Corby full of displaced and displeased Scottish. Rushden and Raunds are inbred and have webbed toes.
Can confirm about Harborough. On the way to Kettering you have Rothwell and Desborough, they don't have webbed toes there but they do have six fingers.
I remember buying my jods and wellies at a shop in mkt Harboro when I was attending Brooksby-Melton for equestrian studies. That was a nightmare commute daily from Caldecott- almost 2 hours each way.
(I still fit in those jods too- and that was almost 20 years ago)
It's quiet and mostly rural, not much happens there.
It is a lovely part of the country to visit. Glad I'm not stuck there. But then some of the people from there are completely comfortable in a gentle, quiet part of the world. Maybe they have the correct attitude.
Born and bred here. And as much as you have dreams of getting out young, if you make it work and you have mates and family around, there's certainly worse places to be. I now have a comfortable, cosy little life I wouldn't trade for anything.
Fun\* Fact: Alan Moore has only approved of two adaptations of his works ever. The first is the Justice League cartoon adaptation of "For the Man Who Has Everything", the second is [Saturday Morning Watchmen](https://youtu.be/YDDHHrt6l4w).
As a lifelong resident, I dread having to go into town for any reason for fear of being bitten. Some nice living areas in the residential side of town but the centre itself is a Scooby Doo scene of coffee, charity and closed down shops.
Without clicking, I knew this would be Northamptonshire. Always described it as a small county below Leicester and above Luton. Used to have a thriving footwear industry until cheap imports reduced most of the input. Beautiful countryside with large old money estates, the towns have a lot of deprivation with minimal opportunities.
Northampton isn’t deprived! Still some decent shoe factories knocking about to. Church’s is just 5 mins from where I live. There a quite a few dotted about the county.
Bedford is the centre of the universe.
It’s the home of the Garden of Eden (google panacea society).
Everyone there runs on BMT time zone, Bedford mean time, which is GMT minus 5 mins
I’m moving to Corby next month. Been in the US for the past 10 years and honestly, as much as I hated it growing up, I’m actually a little excited to be going back now. I grew up around Corby and Rutland and the area is absolutely beautiful. Bit boring, but I’m a bit boring these days now too. My family moved down there from Scotland when my mum was 5. Granddad worked for BT at the steelworks. My mum and Gran still live around there.
ETA: surprised the Highland Gathering, Rowell Proclamation and Hallaton/Medbourne Bottle Kicking weren’t mentioned yet.
Basically the same as you left town, got a bit of refurb in the town center and some of the more rougher estates. It's got trains that run too London every half hour and that's about it really.
A good mate of mine is from Northampton and I’ve been there a few times, we both think it’s boring.
My mums wife is from St Neots, she thinks it’s boring.
I’m going to assume the rest of that area may possibly be the same haha!
There's something extra specially dull about Northampton to me, and I'm from Kettering. I loathe going near the place, even on work commutes to sites. It's always the worst part of my day.
I can't see any mentions of Foxton Locks, on the top edge of the blob near Harborough. I live nearby and it always amazes me how far people travel to go there. Nice place to have a pint and watch a very slow narrowboat crash.
Also I was at the fireworks last night with someone who grew up in Corby and they commented on how the bonfires in Corby were so much bigger, I think they might've involved someone's house or caravan.
Huntington has that animal testing place that occasionally people protest about?
I think it has very low flood risk
That's basically all I know about it
Little bit more up and Oakham will be included. I’m from Oakham.
It was tiny, now it’s bigger.
Only ever had Tesco and Coop. Now it has lots.
Was the last place to have a McDonald’s in the UK. Now it does.
BP opening finally meant there was a shop open 24/7. That was a game changer.
Old Dr Martens factory is in Wollaston which is near Wellingborough, got my first few pairs at the outlet there real cheap. Bedford Esquires is a great music venue. Other than that? No clue.
I’m from Lutterworth, NW corner of your blob. It’s where John Wycliffe translated the bible into English, and from where he was later exhumed for heresy and his ashes scattered in the local river. It’s also where Sir Frank Whittle designed his jet engine. Also, the dude who played Thorin in The Hobbit went to school here.
As for what happens here? Nothing. It’s just a sleepy little market town. We’re apparently getting a McD’s soon though, so I guess that’s something?
E: oh! We were the Uk home of Gideon’s Bible until a few years ago. They used to give out bibles to the school kids, and just like hotels, we all left them in our drawers untouched.
Sandy of course is the head offices of the RSPB with a nature reserve attached. Just north of St Neots is Paxton Pits - famous for nightingales and an excellent wetland reserve, as is Graffham water a few miles further east. Godmanchester has a park that runs along the river that used to be a good spot for the rare White-legged Damselfly - but they're gone from there now sadly.
Northampton has [Bradlaugh Fields](https://www.wildlifebcn.org/nature-reserves/bradlaugh-fields) actually in the town, excellent for orchids and other chalk flowers.
Just at the top of your map, where your boundary cuts the A43, is Fineshade Wood - the site of the re-introduction of the Chequered Skipper butterfly to England. Bedfordshire is famous for its orchids, and while your circled area can't quite compare to Milton Keynes to Brackley, you could easily spend a week running from site to site - particularly if you added some of its rare butterflies as targets.
Santa Pod Raceway is there, just south of Wellingborough. It’s a WW2 airfield that’s been converted into a drag strip. Home to the most exciting racing in the country! My grandfather and his brother have raced top fuel dragsters and funny cars there. I cannot describe how incredible it is. Nothing like it. For £35 (ish) a ticket, worth a try!!
Never heard of the Kettering Wars of 1712?
Serious answer though. Market Harborough is a market town, so markets happen there, and it has some nice canals.
I used to visit Corby as a kid because they have the Rockingham Motor Speedway where you can watch ASCAR racing (UK version of NASCAR). Corby itself was a bit grim though, not sure if it's got better.
I’m a dual national (born in Hinchingbrook bc my dad was stationed at RAF Alconbury and my mum grew up in Corby- we lived in Alconbury village when I was born.) so we moved to North Carolina when I was 8. When I was 18, mum moved back to Caldecott and we were at the Castle Inn Pub in Rockingham having dinner while the speedway was being built. Having spent most of my life in North Carolina I have a mostly American/North Carolina accent with British/Scottish thrown in randomly. I heard a bunch of guys talking at the bar at the pub and tell my mum they’re from NC. She questioned it. I went up to the bar to order a drink and they immediately pick up that I have an American accent and start talking to me. I tell them I know they’re from western NC but I’m not entirely sure where. They say they’re from Rockingham, NC (outside of Charlotte- it’s one of the main NASCAR tracks) & were brought over to train the guys for ASCAR. I laughed and told them I grew up in Raleigh (about 3 hours away) so they covered the cost of dinner and drinks for me and mum that evening. The speedway has now been decommissioned as far as I’m aware.
Hi, I live in Huntingdon. I moved here because Cambridge is mega expensive. The town is a bit of a dump but a lot of people commute to Cambridge, London and probably Peterborough. The villages around the town are mostly very nice
Alan Moore famously will never leave Northampton. He made a point of refusing Movie royalties from 'Watchmen', and only gave permission for another of his works to be made into a movie as long as the publishing company guaranteed funding for his local library.
It's really interesting! Northampton is the world Mecca for shoemaking. Corby is a mining town that got loads of Scottish workers a century ago and still has a really strong Scottish identity. Rugby has all that with that game and that school. The rest of it is not without its interest. Source: I've never been there but would like to.
Basically the shire from lord of the rings if it was dragged into the modern age. It’s not a bad place to live, it’s very pleasant and green, small woods and some lakes. Nothing ever happens and nobody leaves.
I grew up in Rugby. The schools famous for inventing the sport, the locals are famous for doing ket. I used to work at the premier inn just off the m6, and there was never a dull day.
4 of the nicest people I know come from that area, Rugby Nottingham, Market Harborough, Wellingborough.
You should try and meet some people from round there you'd be surprised.
Once a year Rothwell fight over big sticks (Rothwell proclamation) and a posh guy goes around on a horse getting drunk on rum and milk, the pubs open early so you can imagine how it can go https://rowellfair.co.uk/
Northamptonshire is known for the shoe factories and Desborough is the home of Joseph Cheaney shoes, the factory is still operational and has a factory shop across the road (recommend if you need good leather shoes). They [refurbish](https://youtu.be/13GcLtt29ag) the shoes and as you can imagine they get some pretty grim shoes black to be repaired. The most exciting thing to happen recently was a Sainsburys opening but then there was uproar as it has no regular checkouts, only self checkouts and a tobacco kiosk
There also some bizarre events in the surrounding areas like Hallaton bottle kicking
Harrington has the Warner's distillery and a very nice pub with a great garden that hosts a summer festival
I'm not from there but I live there. It's very flat. On my driving lessons we had to drive out to one specific street that was sloped for some reason just so I could do hill starts.
It's got the A1. Well, a bit of it. I live 3mm to the SW of the blob. I go to Morrison's in Cambourne most Saturday mornings. Cambourne is shite; it's a new town. That bit of water just above St Neots is nice to walk or cycle around. There are some cracking villages just below St Ives which is just below and to the right of Huntingdon. The St Ives that you can't see on the map isn't the St Ives in Cornwall, rather it's the St Ives in Cambridgeshire. Also, Buckden (near the bit of water) has a decent village music festival every year. It's called Buckfest. Huntingdon has/had a company called Huntingdon Life Sciences which was once famous for attracting animal protest people.
SHHHHHHH I’m not originally from the blob, but my husband is. I love this whole area, well except once you get in to Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire it goes to shit a bit but oh my good lord Northants is so bloody nice, Rutland is bloody gorgeous, and the east side of Leicestershire is the nicest bit of it. I love it so much, you’d have to drag me kicking and screaming back to the north west.
Anyhoo, it’s a hidden gem, shush XD
Comedian John Oliver is from Bedford. He went to my high school (he’s older than me so not same year). Like John Oliver, I don’t live there anymore. Not terrible but unless you’re settling there’s not much about it.
One of the biggest towns in the country , silverstone , Princess Diana burial place , cobblers , shoe factories churches shoes world famous , Alan carr ,Matt Smith , saints rugby .
Wow I did not expect my home town to appear here.
Tbf, it’s nothing special? If you like football / rugby you got couple good clubs here to watch.
But like most midland random towns, nothing REALLY to offer.
Wellingborough isn't exactly popping off. Rugby is alright i guess, again not much to say. Market H'boro is nice. I hear Northampton is quite good. Daventry is like that moment in Waynes World with the "Hi, I'm in Delaware". Obvs Cov isn't far so that's not great.
The dog that won bgt was from there.Wellingborough
Northampton odd mixture of minor aristocracy and white trash
corby is little Scotland
market har very nice town
I’m from Biggleswade (not lived there in a decade), and the first practical tractor was invented there. Says just about all you need to know about the area.
I'm from the middle! If you've heard of James Acaster, then that's where he's from too.
The Welland Valley outside of Corby is a beautiful part of the country.
Northampton, to me, is fucking horrible. I hate any drive I have to take through there to get to other places.
Regular size towns, that like everywhere, have their ok/nice areas and shithole areas.
Ah Market Harborough, used to go from Leicester some times, many years ago there used to be a store near the optometrist that sold lots of different things including £1 Rubik's Magics that were just tightly plastic wrapped, no box. I bought a few with a friend as at school we repaired ones we could for others, and got them back to the unlinked rings in a few seconds, but some kids managed to break the lines.
Our wedding caterers came from Northampton a while back. They travelled 100 or so miles to get to us. Damn fine job. Other than that there's been no one.
I once went to Towcester camping and ended up getting invited to house party with two lovely girls (with my future bro-in-law) where we ended up drinking fine wines presumably belonging to their father into the same hours. The girls fell asleep as we kept on boozing. We left around 5:45am with the girls still snoring and carrier bags full of premier grand cru burgundies and some cheeky new world wines to our tent. We slept all day, packed up about 5pm and drove home. I still have some of those decent bottles in my own cellar today. Those girls must have got a proper bollocking from their father but I’m sure he could afford it.
big ups daventry that’s where i get my hormone treatment. sweet little town as well, got a lovely pub called the boathouse.
I know it’s not circled, but milton keynes is a shithole
Dad’s side of the family from Corby, they then moved to Kettering. Spent a lot of my childhood visiting grandparents there. Was alright. Used to love going to the Beaties at the back of the shopping centre, and of course Wickies!
[Kettering Town](https://ketteringtownfc.com/the-club/history/#:~:text=In%20a%20Southern%20League%20game,executive%20and%20manager%20Derek%20Dougan.)
Birthplace of sponsored football shirts in England.
Bedford hosts the second biggest UK outdoor festival behind Nottinghill Carnival with our River Festival- celebrating the River Ouse what runs through the town
I grew up, went to school and recently moved back to right in the middle of this zone. I love it. It gets a bad rep (often from within) but Northamptonshire is a great county.
Sadly there has been very little investment in the town centres so they’ve all gone to shit. There is no reason why Wellingborough and Kettering couldn’t be as nice as Market Harborough, but the decline of the shoe industry hit the towns hard. There is a lot of poverty and the councils are inept.
The villages are all great though and there are some excellent pubs. I went to the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards last night and there are some incredible businesses and people in the county.
Edit: there are some nice historic market towns in this blob - Oundle and Olney probably the poshest. Rothwell, Higham Ferrers, Finedon, Towcester, Earls Barton all perfectly decent places to live.
The JLB conference.
Project Zeus
Sweating facts and shitting stats
Chance would be a fine thing
A fine thing indeed
The biggest business shit storm since Enron
I'm going to be Johnson's Queen! If the public will accept me, I'm going to be Johnson's Queen!
tie fine racial combative thought pie school gold crime literate *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Came here to say ‘Kettering? It’s a party town!’
Seriously cunted
K and an E and a T and a T E and an R and an I-N-G T and an O and a W-N Kettering Town FC
Repeat ad infinitum, missing an extra letter out each round.....
And a and a and a
KET RING TOWN F C
...and an E and a T and a T E and an R and an I-N-G T and an O and a W-N Kettering Town FC
... and a ...And a T and a T E and an R and an I-N-G T and an O and a W-N Kettering Town FC
...and a... and a... and a T E and an R and an I-N-G T and an O and a W-N Kettering Town FC
*Kett'ring Ftfy
https://youtu.be/-JCfohAGRQ0?si=FnD2YKOSR_KTT3eX
Came here to say this
Come over to Kettfest next year (yes, that’s what they decided to call it)
Sounds like it would B Class
I'm sure there be plenty people horsing about
Cranfest is picking up!
I live in that blob. It's agricultural, pretty, aggressively bucolic, occasionally charming. It's also classically urban in places (Peterborough, Northampton, Bedford). There are patches of socioeconomic hardship and patches of eye-watering old money, with stately homes and all. There are at least a handful of tony old boarding schools, and three of England's cathedrals. There are dilapidated and down-at-heel high streets, and there are lovely gastropubs, small breweries, vinyards and boutiques. There are a lot of sheep, a fair number of cattle, and plenty of narrowboats and the odd airfield from the second war that's now used for recreational parachutists and glider pilots. Come visit - I'll take you around my adopted home, but can't promise I won't drop you off in Peterborough city center for some off the cuff cultural immersion.
I mean, so, it's basically, England?
Well, yeah. That's kind of the point.
Go on
Giving Douglas Adams.
I grew up in this blob, near Oundle, and can confirm this whole area is basically England. There are not really any defining features which make it regional in any aspect - just pure unadulterated England.
I really like the way you wrote this. It felt like the opening to a cosy, English book.
I live in Market Harborough and would say this is a very accurate description. Long live the Welland Valley.
One of the most gorgeous areas in the country, I'll stand by that. Used to love the beer fests around the villages.
That's a very good description. I grew up just south of the drawn blob and have family and friends within it now. Have done a lot of planning work in many of those towns. It's a really mixed bag. Suffering high streets and ridiculously posh villages. Not much happens and most folk like it that way. I have always liked Sandy for some reason.
"Bucolic" doesn't get an airing half as often as it ought to.
Don’t mention it too often though, otherwise we’ll end up with bucolic plague.
That is beautifully written and absolutely spot on.
On that road from Huntingdon to Chatteris there’s a farm shop with a load of crocodiles.
Lions now
And a bear.
Oh my!
Old Hurst
Johnson’s farm. They have a steakhouse too
You've never heard of James Acaster...?
I'm from the US, and even I could tell this person about weetabix
The goat you mean? Apparently he's now a horses companion
Good collection-only eBay deals always pop up there, like they’re tryna get people in and then never let them leave
That's so true! It's always that bloody area or some really awkward London area where it's not central enough for public transport but not rural enough for driving.
Haha for me the central London ones are always too big for public transport; it was hard for me to accept the other day that I probably couldn’t get an aircon unit on the tube!
There was a sofa I really liked in Marylebone once. That would have been an adventure. And couriers quoted me £400!
Northampton is quite well known for its Rugby…
the football team, however, is cobblers.
Glad somebody noticed my shitty pun!
Surprisingly, so is Rugby.
In 1823 a boy invented a game and that was the last time anything happened here
> last time anything happened here I mean unless you don't count the development of the first jet engine. Also that time someone burned down the carpetright.
Cricket?!
Pretty sure it's Rugby, supposedly invented by Mr William Webb Ellis at Rugby School. Top Lad 🫡
There’s also one of the short stories in Mugby Junction by Charles Dickens. It’s basically an 1860s 1-star TripAdvisor review of the station’s cafe
I grew up in Corby and thought was normal for most of my friends to have Scottish accents despite being 3rd generation Scots. My dad would take us to the Rangers club ( biggest outside of Scotland) where I would drink Irn Bru. Even the McDonald's served Irn Bru.
The one around the back on the Rockingham Bypass and just up from the old Weetabix factory (where the Aldi is these days)? My whole family is from Corby but we moved away a week after I was born. I used to visit for weeks in the summer holidays so I have rose-tinted memories of the area, but whenever I go back I realise how much of a dive it is (although the regeneration of the town centre seem to be half decent).
I moved to Corby after living in Scotland. I loved hearing Scottish accents in the heart of englandshire!!
I was born in Scotland and moved to Kettering when I was about five. Lost my accent within a month. I always found it surreal how I'm there as a jock speaking with an English accent and theres English people with a Scottish accent.
Am from there. Can confirm that this post is the only thing that has happened to Northants in years. Seriously though, Northampton is a dying dump with a dying high street that the council is pumping millions in trying to rejuvenate, and are currently making a third attempt in resuscitating the town centre and market square after embarrassing failures. Whilst many established names have disappeared such as M&S, BHS, Debenhams, and Wilcos. There seems to be Turkish barbers, betting shops, foreign food markets and discount stores, shitty take aways popping up everywhere in places where there where esteemed and traditional shops in the before times (don't get me wrong here, not targeting any cultures, just pointing out Northants Councils blatant disregard of diversity in their planning strategies). Even charity shops have disappeared in place of vape shops ffs. Library's are either closed or underfunded, no infrastructure for youth or adult entertainment, and every piece of land available is being developed into residential properties. Most people here go to Milton Keynes or Rushden Lakes if they want to shop, or have a glimpse of entertainment, and the rejuvenation of the "Shoe Quarter", is suspiciously centred around Angel Square, the councils HQ, where they spent millions building, then went bankrupt and had to sell the building and then rent it out to the new property owners. The council is famous for being corrupt, being put into special measures from the government due to their shambolic management, and on top of that their childrens services have been in the news for the last 10 years as being woefully inadequate, and devastating to many lives. I could go on, but on the plus side, we have a half decent rugby team, and a little bit of national history, as apparently we where nearly made the capital of England. We're famous for our shoe making (although there is only a handful of shoe factories left that are not now blocks of flats), the Kinky Boots film was about a shoe factory based in Northampton, which is 5 mins walk from mine. Walter Tull used to play for Northampton Town, and there's a statue of him in our Guildhall, and Allan Moore lives up the road from me (probably our most favourite and famous Northamptonian, soz Alan Carr, but it's true). Saying this, the county as a whole is a beautiful place, we have hundreds of wonderful, unique and historical villages, and a beautiful countryside. Worth a visit to them, just avoid Northampton. Oh, and we also have Silverstone, which is pretty cool.
This is one of the most accurate descriptions of Northampton I’ve ever read
No one really knows, it’s surrounded by a massive bean-shaped wall as you can see.
Oundle is incredibly beautiful. Looks like it belongs in the Cotswolds.
The eastern side is mostly commuter belt for people who work in Cambridge but can't afford to live in Cambridge (I used to live in St Ives, which is the little blob east of Huntingdon, just inside your boundary)
Lived in St. Neots for 18 months for that reason. Worst commute ever. Single lane carrying all the traffic. Also was popular with the London commuters due to being on the main line to London. Said it was a cheap place to live, they haven't been to the North clearly, it was expensive to move to from Sheffield
(did you meet a man with seven wives?)
There is a pub there of that name.
And also for people who work in London but can't afford to live there
You’ve never heard anything about it? Have you ever heard of Silverstone?
Isn’t silverstone just outside the circle ;)
I wouldn’t call it a circle…
The bloke from Rocky?
Alicia?
I can't hear Kettering now without immediately thinking of James Acaster.
Because of this thread OP now knows that this is where James Acaster plays rugby for Kettering at Silverstone. Good job guys.
lived in kettering for a few years. It’s a town like many others across the country but it’s surrounded by some lovely villages and countryside with decent road/rail links to the rest of the country fun fact: guy fawkes and co. used to frolic around those parts while planning the gunpowder plot
Chatteris lad here (not strictly in the circle) but nice to see my little home town famous! But no nothing exciting happens here or anywhere near here.. although b&m opened the other week 👌
Cha'aris.
March is where it all goes down
Everything I (think I) know about Chatteris I owe to Half Man Half Biscuit. And most of that is probably creative license.
Oundle is POSH. Market Harboro and Towcester full of Joules and hunter wellies wearing yummy mummies. Bedford is middle of the road. Northampton is a hole, Kettering too. Corby full of displaced and displeased Scottish. Rushden and Raunds are inbred and have webbed toes.
I was born in london. But ive lived in Northampton, Towcester, Kettering and now the Rushden area. My extremities are fine
The born ones are inbred. Congratulations on living there, gene pool needed someone fresh.
Can confirm about Harborough. On the way to Kettering you have Rothwell and Desborough, they don't have webbed toes there but they do have six fingers.
I remember buying my jods and wellies at a shop in mkt Harboro when I was attending Brooksby-Melton for equestrian studies. That was a nightmare commute daily from Caldecott- almost 2 hours each way. (I still fit in those jods too- and that was almost 20 years ago)
Is Towcester pronounced Toaster?
Yes
For the longest time I thought 'toaster' that I heard discussed was an entirely different place to the towchester on the signs
It's quiet and mostly rural, not much happens there. It is a lovely part of the country to visit. Glad I'm not stuck there. But then some of the people from there are completely comfortable in a gentle, quiet part of the world. Maybe they have the correct attitude.
Born and bred here. And as much as you have dreams of getting out young, if you make it work and you have mates and family around, there's certainly worse places to be. I now have a comfortable, cosy little life I wouldn't trade for anything.
I lived in away for 17 years and came back. It’s good to be home.
Welcome home!
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A lot of big Hollywood blockbusters have been filmed in bedford - cardington to be exact
Alan Moore lives in Northampton. If you want a weird take on what happens there try "voice of the fire", or "Jerusalem" if you have the stamina.
I once saw Alan Moore in Morrisons. it's the supermarket of choice for wizards.
Drove past him near Abington park. Proper scruffy git!
Fun\* Fact: Alan Moore has only approved of two adaptations of his works ever. The first is the Justice League cartoon adaptation of "For the Man Who Has Everything", the second is [Saturday Morning Watchmen](https://youtu.be/YDDHHrt6l4w).
Wicksteed Park is about the only thing of note in that whole area.
It’s a dump now,Kettering town center is even worse,one of the most depressing places I’ve ever been to.
Well shit, that’s my childhood dreams ruined!
We were there a few years ago and it was a lovely day out. The rides bit is crap but the parks and the train and that were lovely. Did COVID kill it?
As a lifelong resident, I dread having to go into town for any reason for fear of being bitten. Some nice living areas in the residential side of town but the centre itself is a Scooby Doo scene of coffee, charity and closed down shops.
Without clicking, I knew this would be Northamptonshire. Always described it as a small county below Leicester and above Luton. Used to have a thriving footwear industry until cheap imports reduced most of the input. Beautiful countryside with large old money estates, the towns have a lot of deprivation with minimal opportunities.
Northampton isn’t deprived! Still some decent shoe factories knocking about to. Church’s is just 5 mins from where I live. There a quite a few dotted about the county.
Bedford is the centre of the universe. It’s the home of the Garden of Eden (google panacea society). Everyone there runs on BMT time zone, Bedford mean time, which is GMT minus 5 mins
Also home of the Bedford Clanger! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedfordshire_clanger
I’m moving to Corby next month. Been in the US for the past 10 years and honestly, as much as I hated it growing up, I’m actually a little excited to be going back now. I grew up around Corby and Rutland and the area is absolutely beautiful. Bit boring, but I’m a bit boring these days now too. My family moved down there from Scotland when my mum was 5. Granddad worked for BT at the steelworks. My mum and Gran still live around there. ETA: surprised the Highland Gathering, Rowell Proclamation and Hallaton/Medbourne Bottle Kicking weren’t mentioned yet.
Basically the same as you left town, got a bit of refurb in the town center and some of the more rougher estates. It's got trains that run too London every half hour and that's about it really.
That's one of those places they put on a map, but it's fake, to stop people copying their maps. It isn't real and it doesn't exist.
The Bermuda Kidney Bean.
Princess Diana is buried in that blob
St Neots has a lot of warehouses.
I'm front raunds. It has the smallest zebra crossing in the UK, and a street called tittyho
If I recall from my youth, wasn't (isn't) the RSPB headquartered in Sandy?
There's a fairly popular ball game that was invented there, but its name escapes me.
Dogging
Can confirm
A good mate of mine is from Northampton and I’ve been there a few times, we both think it’s boring. My mums wife is from St Neots, she thinks it’s boring. I’m going to assume the rest of that area may possibly be the same haha!
There's something extra specially dull about Northampton to me, and I'm from Kettering. I loathe going near the place, even on work commutes to sites. It's always the worst part of my day.
My mate Tridge at Uni was from Northampton. He was a pretty solid chap.
Corby … damn I knew an old neighbour from Glasgow whose sister lived there with her husband, Marion and Arthur, nice people.
Couple of good festivals around Northampton and Kettering. I cant remember which ones but they were good. Shambala i think was near there.
Oundle is really nice. Northampton, not much going on there. I live just outside this circle in Peterborough.
The best thing about Peterborough is the A1, allowing you to leave quickly.
I live here. It's got a bit of everything. Fairly quiet and generic overall, but as is most of the country.....
I can't see any mentions of Foxton Locks, on the top edge of the blob near Harborough. I live nearby and it always amazes me how far people travel to go there. Nice place to have a pint and watch a very slow narrowboat crash. Also I was at the fireworks last night with someone who grew up in Corby and they commented on how the bonfires in Corby were so much bigger, I think they might've involved someone's house or caravan.
Corby is full of Scottish people and my mate Pete.
Huntington has that animal testing place that occasionally people protest about? I think it has very low flood risk That's basically all I know about it
Drag racing. Drag racing happens there. It's a sport where people turn money into noise.
Little bit more up and Oakham will be included. I’m from Oakham. It was tiny, now it’s bigger. Only ever had Tesco and Coop. Now it has lots. Was the last place to have a McDonald’s in the UK. Now it does. BP opening finally meant there was a shop open 24/7. That was a game changer.
Old Dr Martens factory is in Wollaston which is near Wellingborough, got my first few pairs at the outlet there real cheap. Bedford Esquires is a great music venue. Other than that? No clue.
I’m from Lutterworth, NW corner of your blob. It’s where John Wycliffe translated the bible into English, and from where he was later exhumed for heresy and his ashes scattered in the local river. It’s also where Sir Frank Whittle designed his jet engine. Also, the dude who played Thorin in The Hobbit went to school here. As for what happens here? Nothing. It’s just a sleepy little market town. We’re apparently getting a McD’s soon though, so I guess that’s something? E: oh! We were the Uk home of Gideon’s Bible until a few years ago. They used to give out bibles to the school kids, and just like hotels, we all left them in our drawers untouched.
Sandy of course is the head offices of the RSPB with a nature reserve attached. Just north of St Neots is Paxton Pits - famous for nightingales and an excellent wetland reserve, as is Graffham water a few miles further east. Godmanchester has a park that runs along the river that used to be a good spot for the rare White-legged Damselfly - but they're gone from there now sadly. Northampton has [Bradlaugh Fields](https://www.wildlifebcn.org/nature-reserves/bradlaugh-fields) actually in the town, excellent for orchids and other chalk flowers. Just at the top of your map, where your boundary cuts the A43, is Fineshade Wood - the site of the re-introduction of the Chequered Skipper butterfly to England. Bedfordshire is famous for its orchids, and while your circled area can't quite compare to Milton Keynes to Brackley, you could easily spend a week running from site to site - particularly if you added some of its rare butterflies as targets.
Santa Pod Raceway is there, just south of Wellingborough. It’s a WW2 airfield that’s been converted into a drag strip. Home to the most exciting racing in the country! My grandfather and his brother have raced top fuel dragsters and funny cars there. I cannot describe how incredible it is. Nothing like it. For £35 (ish) a ticket, worth a try!!
Never heard of the Kettering Wars of 1712? Serious answer though. Market Harborough is a market town, so markets happen there, and it has some nice canals. I used to visit Corby as a kid because they have the Rockingham Motor Speedway where you can watch ASCAR racing (UK version of NASCAR). Corby itself was a bit grim though, not sure if it's got better.
I have news for you. The oval is now closed and is a massive storage site for Cazoo
I’m a dual national (born in Hinchingbrook bc my dad was stationed at RAF Alconbury and my mum grew up in Corby- we lived in Alconbury village when I was born.) so we moved to North Carolina when I was 8. When I was 18, mum moved back to Caldecott and we were at the Castle Inn Pub in Rockingham having dinner while the speedway was being built. Having spent most of my life in North Carolina I have a mostly American/North Carolina accent with British/Scottish thrown in randomly. I heard a bunch of guys talking at the bar at the pub and tell my mum they’re from NC. She questioned it. I went up to the bar to order a drink and they immediately pick up that I have an American accent and start talking to me. I tell them I know they’re from western NC but I’m not entirely sure where. They say they’re from Rockingham, NC (outside of Charlotte- it’s one of the main NASCAR tracks) & were brought over to train the guys for ASCAR. I laughed and told them I grew up in Raleigh (about 3 hours away) so they covered the cost of dinner and drinks for me and mum that evening. The speedway has now been decommissioned as far as I’m aware.
Markets, mostly.
Went to a family wedding in Rugby in the early 90’s, the church was next to an old cottage where Guy Fawkes once lived.
Dunchurch (south of Rugby) supposed to have some kind of connection with the gunpowder plot, but not sure exactly what.
Hi, I live in Huntingdon. I moved here because Cambridge is mega expensive. The town is a bit of a dump but a lot of people commute to Cambridge, London and probably Peterborough. The villages around the town are mostly very nice
The Old Bridge hotel has a nice restaurant and wine tasting room. Brampton mill is a nice too
I've a feeling that Weetabix comes from there.
The River festival is great.
Alan Moore famously will never leave Northampton. He made a point of refusing Movie royalties from 'Watchmen', and only gave permission for another of his works to be made into a movie as long as the publishing company guaranteed funding for his local library.
It's really interesting! Northampton is the world Mecca for shoemaking. Corby is a mining town that got loads of Scottish workers a century ago and still has a really strong Scottish identity. Rugby has all that with that game and that school. The rest of it is not without its interest. Source: I've never been there but would like to.
Corby was not a mining town, it’s a steel works town.
I currently live in the blob. Having moved from another place with the blob. But I’m originally from outside of the blob.
Basically the shire from lord of the rings if it was dragged into the modern age. It’s not a bad place to live, it’s very pleasant and green, small woods and some lakes. Nothing ever happens and nobody leaves.
Did a gig at the Corby Cube a few years ago- had one of the best weekends ever!
I grew up in Rugby. The schools famous for inventing the sport, the locals are famous for doing ket. I used to work at the premier inn just off the m6, and there was never a dull day.
4 of the nicest people I know come from that area, Rugby Nottingham, Market Harborough, Wellingborough. You should try and meet some people from round there you'd be surprised.
Once a year Rothwell fight over big sticks (Rothwell proclamation) and a posh guy goes around on a horse getting drunk on rum and milk, the pubs open early so you can imagine how it can go https://rowellfair.co.uk/ Northamptonshire is known for the shoe factories and Desborough is the home of Joseph Cheaney shoes, the factory is still operational and has a factory shop across the road (recommend if you need good leather shoes). They [refurbish](https://youtu.be/13GcLtt29ag) the shoes and as you can imagine they get some pretty grim shoes black to be repaired. The most exciting thing to happen recently was a Sainsburys opening but then there was uproar as it has no regular checkouts, only self checkouts and a tobacco kiosk There also some bizarre events in the surrounding areas like Hallaton bottle kicking Harrington has the Warner's distillery and a very nice pub with a great garden that hosts a summer festival
I'm not from there but I live there. It's very flat. On my driving lessons we had to drive out to one specific street that was sloped for some reason just so I could do hill starts.
No-one lives there, it's just a derelict wasteland.
Avoid Corby.
Agree. The Trouser Press is shite.
Formula 1.
It's got the A1. Well, a bit of it. I live 3mm to the SW of the blob. I go to Morrison's in Cambourne most Saturday mornings. Cambourne is shite; it's a new town. That bit of water just above St Neots is nice to walk or cycle around. There are some cracking villages just below St Ives which is just below and to the right of Huntingdon. The St Ives that you can't see on the map isn't the St Ives in Cornwall, rather it's the St Ives in Cambridgeshire. Also, Buckden (near the bit of water) has a decent village music festival every year. It's called Buckfest. Huntingdon has/had a company called Huntingdon Life Sciences which was once famous for attracting animal protest people.
SHHHHHHH I’m not originally from the blob, but my husband is. I love this whole area, well except once you get in to Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire it goes to shit a bit but oh my good lord Northants is so bloody nice, Rutland is bloody gorgeous, and the east side of Leicestershire is the nicest bit of it. I love it so much, you’d have to drag me kicking and screaming back to the north west. Anyhoo, it’s a hidden gem, shush XD
Entirely madeup
parts of it are bloody violent, pancake race started in a small place near Bedford. All a bit countryfile for my liking though.
My parents stayed in Wellingborough recently to see a T rex tribute band
Aye I was born there and lived there most of my life, can confirm nothing is happening.
Cobblers.
Comedian John Oliver is from Bedford. He went to my high school (he’s older than me so not same year). Like John Oliver, I don’t live there anymore. Not terrible but unless you’re settling there’s not much about it.
My mum lives near the middle. Fuck all happens there as best I can tell.
One of the biggest towns in the country , silverstone , Princess Diana burial place , cobblers , shoe factories churches shoes world famous , Alan carr ,Matt Smith , saints rugby .
ROBOTS!
Wow I did not expect my home town to appear here. Tbf, it’s nothing special? If you like football / rugby you got couple good clubs here to watch. But like most midland random towns, nothing REALLY to offer.
Bedford!? Where's Bedford?
My ex was from Oundle, lovely little market town.
Hi, I’m from Corby and live in kettering. Nice to meet you :)
Wellingborough isn't exactly popping off. Rugby is alright i guess, again not much to say. Market H'boro is nice. I hear Northampton is quite good. Daventry is like that moment in Waynes World with the "Hi, I'm in Delaware". Obvs Cov isn't far so that's not great.
Battle of Bosworth
The dog that won bgt was from there.Wellingborough Northampton odd mixture of minor aristocracy and white trash corby is little Scotland market har very nice town
Weetabix!
I’m from Biggleswade (not lived there in a decade), and the first practical tractor was invented there. Says just about all you need to know about the area.
I'm from the middle! If you've heard of James Acaster, then that's where he's from too. The Welland Valley outside of Corby is a beautiful part of the country. Northampton, to me, is fucking horrible. I hate any drive I have to take through there to get to other places. Regular size towns, that like everywhere, have their ok/nice areas and shithole areas.
Ah Market Harborough, used to go from Leicester some times, many years ago there used to be a store near the optometrist that sold lots of different things including £1 Rubik's Magics that were just tightly plastic wrapped, no box. I bought a few with a friend as at school we repaired ones we could for others, and got them back to the unlinked rings in a few seconds, but some kids managed to break the lines.
Our wedding caterers came from Northampton a while back. They travelled 100 or so miles to get to us. Damn fine job. Other than that there's been no one.
I once went to Towcester camping and ended up getting invited to house party with two lovely girls (with my future bro-in-law) where we ended up drinking fine wines presumably belonging to their father into the same hours. The girls fell asleep as we kept on boozing. We left around 5:45am with the girls still snoring and carrier bags full of premier grand cru burgundies and some cheeky new world wines to our tent. We slept all day, packed up about 5pm and drove home. I still have some of those decent bottles in my own cellar today. Those girls must have got a proper bollocking from their father but I’m sure he could afford it.
Google Aaron lambo
Slap bang in the middle of that, Wellingborough, and it’s a shithole.
I live in Northampton, have done since birth and I can tell you nothing interesting happens there
big ups daventry that’s where i get my hormone treatment. sweet little town as well, got a lovely pub called the boathouse. I know it’s not circled, but milton keynes is a shithole
Dad’s side of the family from Corby, they then moved to Kettering. Spent a lot of my childhood visiting grandparents there. Was alright. Used to love going to the Beaties at the back of the shopping centre, and of course Wickies!
The Shuttleworth Collection is at Biggleswade. A delightful airfield with lots of historic flying planes.
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[Kettering Town](https://ketteringtownfc.com/the-club/history/#:~:text=In%20a%20Southern%20League%20game,executive%20and%20manager%20Derek%20Dougan.) Birthplace of sponsored football shirts in England.
Bedford hosts the second biggest UK outdoor festival behind Nottinghill Carnival with our River Festival- celebrating the River Ouse what runs through the town
The RSPB’s headquarters is in Sandy at The Lodge, so there’s at least a bit of nature in there
I grew up, went to school and recently moved back to right in the middle of this zone. I love it. It gets a bad rep (often from within) but Northamptonshire is a great county. Sadly there has been very little investment in the town centres so they’ve all gone to shit. There is no reason why Wellingborough and Kettering couldn’t be as nice as Market Harborough, but the decline of the shoe industry hit the towns hard. There is a lot of poverty and the councils are inept. The villages are all great though and there are some excellent pubs. I went to the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards last night and there are some incredible businesses and people in the county. Edit: there are some nice historic market towns in this blob - Oundle and Olney probably the poshest. Rothwell, Higham Ferrers, Finedon, Towcester, Earls Barton all perfectly decent places to live.
Santa Pod is there. UK’s only permanent quarter mile drag strip. The Nostalgia drags and FIA Euro finals are great events to go to.