A travel vlogger visited the Welsh city of Bangor to see for himself if it really was as bad as critics claimed it was
A YouTuber has given a surprising thumbs-up to a landmark in a Welsh city that was recently labelled the UK’s worst seaside resort.
Ed Chapman, known for his travel vlogs on his eponymous YouTube channel, dropped by Bangor after it was harshly branded the UK’s least desirable seaside town in a Which? survey.
The consumer watchdog’s January poll, which took in opinions from 4,744 of its members, hit Bangor with a dismal 42% approval rating. BBC coverage noted some of the less flattering descriptors for the city, such as “drab” and “run down”.
Yet, participants did hail Bangor’s cultural aspects, like its historical cathedral and picturesque Menai Strait views. Still, the negative tag led to local council dismay over the poor public perception.
Undeterred, Ed wanted to see for himself what Bangor had to offer and decided to stay for two nights, much to his own delight.
He shared: “I will say the locals have all been, including the taxi driver, really friendly. Very friendly people is a good start to any place you go to, regardless of if it’s a dump or not.”
But the real highlight for Ed was Bangor’s beloved Garth Pier, which he enthused was “beautiful” and captured the essence of a “traditionally seaside-y” vibe.
Ed couldn’t help but be struck by the charm as he neared the 19th-century pier, remarking: “Now, this looks beautiful that we’re heading towards here. Sun’s starting to set now, getting to golden hour, and we’re heading onto the pier, which does look beautiful. It looks a little bit more sort of traditionally seaside-y.”
Gazing across the water from the pier’s vantage point, he continued to describe the sight as “impressive” and “glorious”, while he fondly referred to the pier as “lovely”.
Later on, his tour took him to the university which he found impressive, likening it to a “nice” building and “very sort of Hogwarts”.
It seems Bangor certainly left its mark on the YouTuber. Wrapping up his visit in the video’s conclusion, he revealed he had been “very surprised” by the city, arguing that Bangor wasn’t the UK’s worst seaside town as some might suggest and actually was “pretty underrated”.
Earlier this year, after Bangor was harshly labelled, Bangor City Council responded with disappointment: “It’s disappointing to see Bangor City named as one of the UK’s worst seaside towns. Such rankings often fail to capture the full picture and the unique charms that make Bangor City so special.”
The council was also keen to spotlight other local attractions such as the Storiel Gallery and Museum, Pontio Arts Centre, and St Deiniol’s Cathedral. Within the same county, the enchanting village of Portmeirion was hailed as Wales’ top seaside destination with an 83% ranking, while nearby Llandudno earned a proud 78%.
Click here to watch Ed’s full video review on YouTube
