YouTuber The Wandering Turnip paid a visit to Horden, which is located in County Durham, to explore the seaside town and investigate why so many of its properties have been left to fall into disrepair
A man has racked up almost 1.5million views online after taking a trip to a seaside town to visit the streets where houses are some of the cheapest you can buy in the UK.
‘The Wandering Turnip’ travelled to Horden, located in Country Durham, which is an ex-mining town by the sea. When the colliery shut in 1987, work dried up for a huge number of residents, and as a result, many moved away from the area, paving the way for derelict and run-down houses.
In a 27-minute video, the YouTuber walks up and down the ‘numbered streets’ which feature boarded up houses, smashed windows, and rubbish both in the properties and in the back yards.
Some are available to buy at auction, with prices starting from as little as £5,000 and usually selling for around £20,000. However, as he discovers, potential buyers are often told they can’t view the properties first.
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There has been some effort to improve the look of the boarded up homes; many feature fake front doors, complete with fake doorhandles, and fake lace curtains to give the impression the building is occupied. But the truth is many are abandoned.
During his visit to Horden, The Wandering Turnip arranged viewings for two properties, the first of which is on the market for £39,950, and the second for £15,000 at auction. Both have fallen into disrepair and have experienced some vandalism, with glass all over the floors, radiators pulled from the walls, exposed wires and the floorboards in a bad way.
Over the course of his visit to Horden, the content creator estimated he’d seen around 70 abandoned, boarded-up properties – many of which are in the numbered streets in the central area of town; he notes Seventh Street looks completely derelict.
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But it’s by no means a wholly negative visit. The locals are incredibly warm and friendly and The Wandering Turnip focuses on the town’s rich mining history – a vocation shared by his own ancestors.
Writing on Youtube, he said of the visit: “I was really interested to figure out why they were so cheap and to take a look at the area. Horden is an ex mining town, and when the colliery shut down in 1987, all the work and the reason for people being there disappeared. You can imagine how busy this place would have been when that mine was open. It operated from 1900 – 1987.
“There were entire streets that were boarded up and I managed to get a look in 2 different properties which were on sale at the time of visiting.
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“It seems that the town suffers from a severe vandalism problem, making it hard for properties to be done up, leaving the towns looking like they do. The answer, a lovely chap showing me round one house told me, is that it has to be local landlords or people who can respond quickly. When these houses end up in the hands of outside investors, without a care for the area, they quickly fall into this cycle of damage, try to sell, repeat and repeat.”
He continued: “The people up here are absolutely great, such a friendly welcoming town where everyone was up for a chat. It is a real shame to see so many streets boarded up especially in a town so close to the sea, which I go look at in the end.”
The Mirror has reached out to County Durham Council for comment on the video.
Over on Trip Advisor, previous visitors to Horden have shared their thoughts, with the Horden Welfare Park given special recognition.
“Horden Welfare Park is situated in the middle of Horden and is always kept neat and tidy with lovely flower beds and lawned areas with plenty of seats to just sit and relax and take in the experience,” one person wrote.
“It houses a Victorian style bandstand where they hold entertainment throughout the year. There is also a vintage tearoom where you can have afternoon tea in real china cups and then visit the heritage museum housed upstairs.
“Lastly it houses the Statue named Marra who is a miner with his heart torn out depicting the effect that mines closing had on the local community. All in all well worth a visit in my opinion.”
Another said: “A lovely park with lots of history to go with.
Plenty of plaques to read from history to present day which is very interesting to read, as well as a sad miner statue with his heart missing, probably because of the pit closures. My dad and grandad were both Horden miners so I can relate to it. Brilliant overall.”
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