Forums Forums Local News Birkenhead is Britain’s top trendsetting town

If you want a laugh, a study has put Birkenhead at number 1, ahead of Cambridge, haha!
https://oceanfinance.co.uk/blog/mapped-the-uks-top-10-trendiest-cities-and-towns/

I suppose it does seem like a laugh if you only read the headline, but places like Glen Affric Brewery, Liberty Bell Coffee, Future Yard, the Woodside Independent Market and various other little green sprouts of creativity and enterprise are making themselves known in spite of the... well, spite. Probably the first time any of these things have been mentioned on this site, but I'm not too proud to be corrected.

Yes, Birkenhead and Wirral as a whole is very rich in all sorts of facilities but people still like to run them down and say "there is nothing here", perpetuating some self-destructive myth.

You can talk it up as much as you want but there are better places than Birkenhead.
Now if they said Wirral as a whole, then that would be believable.

You can talk it down as much as you want but the are more places worse than Birkenhead than better.

I think a lot of people see the downside of Birkenhead when visiting, an example from my experience, when walking from the train station (Conway Park) I was accosted twice by people asking for money, on refusal there was a tirade of threats and foul language walking on to the shops by Wilko's I witnessed an attempted bike theft all within the space of 15 minutes and then further on the the al fresco drinking club on the benches, so no it doesn't give the best impression, that is the last time I visited, sorry to say never again.

I'd say that the above is merely "the shock of the new", but I saw all of what you describe in 30 years of living in Wallasey. And I see far worse behaviour every day on the site of the Hospital where I work (people smoking right outside the main entrance, dog walkers letting their pets shit everywhere, cars blasting through zebra crossings while someone is already partway across) - there are examples of bad behaviour everywhere, and it seems that everyone has an anecdote whenever somewhere has something nice going for it.

Indeed these type of incidents occur everywhere I am not disputing that, the point I was making is that people arriving at Conway Park are / could be accosted on the way to the shops, I am well able to look after myself, what about those that are unable to? if I am being put off what does that say? so not only do we have to contend with all the above you have identified but the drug addled zombies and drunks that infest the shopping centre.

Although it may feel it this is not an attack on Birkenhead, we have enjoyed many shopping trips and visits to the market especially around Christmas time, but sadly those days have long passed..

I know Birkenhead isn't the worst town, but that doesn't make it the best either.