Dying Villages.

[oldwheels]

It did strike me as odd that the Craignure Spar didn't stay open for just another ten minutes to catch any custom from the ferry that arrives just before 6pm, but I guess you've got to draw the line somewhere. The inn up the road was doing decent business though, all of the few pubs I went into had staff who seemed to be enjoying their jobs.

I doubt there would be any custom from a ferry arriving as all are keen to get to their final destination rather than hang around a ferry terminal. You can generally tell local vehicles by the speed they leave the area.
It serves the local community and does get some business from the queue of vehicles waiting for a boat.
Not been in any pubs for a long time now but never met any staff who did not appear to enjoy their work.

 

[All uphill]

Maybe I'm lucky here in this corner of Somerset. There seem to be a growing number of community cafes, shops and pubs which provide important services, a place to talk with people and a positive activity for people who would otherwise be stuck at home.

It's not every village, of course, or every day of the week, but it does bring a village to life.

I fondly remember calling in to a volunteer run village shop and post office a couple of years ago to find it very ably staffed by a 93 year old lady and a teenager with, I think, a learning disability. It seemed to work well.

 

[Slick]

I doubt there would be any custom from a ferry arriving as all are keen to get to their final destination rather than hang around a ferry terminal. You can generally tell local vehicles by the speed they leave the area.
It serves the local community and does get some business from the queue of vehicles waiting for a boat.
Not been in any pubs for a long time now but never met any staff who did not appear to enjoy their work.

Especially in the Mishnish.

 

[oldwheels]

I have to say, I've never lived on the islands but I have worked on most of them and I think its clear that few fully understand the real challenges that can bring.

Very true.
I used to get letters from job applicants who expressed the opinion that they wanted to work somewhere with a more relaxed pace of life.
In fact life here can be more difficult and stressful than on the mainland.
There are compensations obviously which go a long way to keep us here.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I think you can extend this upwards to small towns, ours is dead on it's knees it just won't lay down, we used to have a good sprinkling of the national shops, but they have all one by one pulled out. This has only left charity shops, vape shops, a few local shops have hung on but only just.

It all started in the 80's when they allowed Tesco's to build out of town, this was then followed by Sainsbury's, then Morrisons, they fought Asda but eventually they took the council to court & they were allowed to build the biggest store. But all it has done is accelerate the decline of the town as there is no reason to visit it, when the supermarkets have it all with free parking, along with online shopping.

I tried to remembered the last time I went down town, it was last October to pick up some US dollars as a wedding present for a nephew who was spending his honeymoon there, but before that I can't think how many years it was.

 

[Drago]

Mini D #3 has just moved to a small town. A co-op, pub, 4 charity shops and 4 estate agents. Seems the be the template these days.

 

[classic33]

On Mull a lot of the settlers are cock a hoop that Morrisons have started doing deliveries to the local ferry terminal. Spoilsports point out that they are destroying part of the local economy and village shops cannot compete on price but will put an order together for a customer to be either collected or delivered.
Many bemoan the loss of butchers, greengrocers and general stores but if they all buy from elsewhere what else do they expect?
On the mainland I can see the attraction of doing a big shop in a supermarket but why come and live in a place like this and expect the same?

Mind you some do not help themselves. The cafe at the Fishnish ferry terminal is closing for a week's holiday next week. If you run a business like a cafe at a ferry terminal people expect you to be there from first sailing till last every day, particularly at the peak of the tourist season.
It offends my business instincts that they just play at it and deprive somebody else of the opportunity to make a living running a proper business.

Most UK ports are the same. Used to travel through Liverpool and Holyhead on a regular basis. Early hours, captive "audience" for two - three ferries, and no-where to buy anything to eat or drink. Holyhead railway station relied on vending machines. During the daytime it'd be open for normal working hours.

 

[rogerzilla]

Money is now needed to buy a place in the country, but money also buys several cars. Village shops survive when the nearest big town is too far away to bother popping there for a top-up (the village where I grew up is about 8 miles from Newbury and 9 miles from Basingstoke, and retains shops to this day).

Village shops were also propped up by stay-at-home parents where the only car was taken to work during the day, but that's now rare.

There are worse cases where the villages are mostly second homes and empty during the week (lots of the Cotswolds) or, worst of all, being depopulated completely. Upper Weardale is an example of the latter. It's not much of a holiday destination due to the weather and remoteness, there's no work so few younger people stay, and unwanted houses just fall derelict. Few shops manage to hold on even though it's a long drive to anywhere else.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Money is now needed to buy a place in the country, but money also buys several cars. Village shops survive when the nearest big town is too far away to bother popping there for a top-up (the village where I grew up is about 8 miles from Newbury and 9 miles from Basingstoke, and retains shops to this day).

Village shops were also propped up by stay-at-home parents where the only car was taken to work during the day, but that's now rare.

There are worse cases where the villages are mostly second homes and empty during the week (lots of the Cotswolds) or, worst of all, being depopulated completely. Upper Weardale is an example of the latter. It's not much of a holiday destination due to the weather and remoteness, there's no work so few younger people stay, and unwanted houses just fall derelict. Few shops manage to hold on even though it's a long drive to anywhere else.

Authorities in the former east Germany have been coming up with solutions to this; one is to offer abandoned houses for pocket money or even free to people willing to live there for a certain period of time. This is backed up with grants for rennovation and investment in local infrastructure. I'm told it has limited success.

 

[biggs682]

Last 2 villages I lived in one has now lost its village shop but still has a pub which is only part time.
The other has lost two pub's , a hardware shop , a petrol station and workshop, a car body repair shop, a bookies but still has a news agents and a small supermarket.
New homes are being built but no extra services provided, and people won't walk to the shop they would rather get the car out and drive to the shop then complain about the lack of parking and eventually go to the nearest out of town supermarket.
We have killed villages nobody else

 

[Alex H]

What happens nowadays is you just build the village with no amenities in the first place - example Nothstowe, Cambridge. 1200 occupied homes - no shop, no cafe, no GP surgery

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/15/whats-the-point-of-northstowe

 

[All uphill]

What happens nowadays is you just build the village with no amenities in the first place - example Nothstowe, Cambridge. 1200 occupied homes - no shop, no cafe, no GP surgery

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/15/whats-the-point-of-northstowe

That's terrible.

It all feeds into a society which depends on car ownership. Must be awful for people who don't drive.

 

[Andy in Germany]

That's terrible.

It all feeds into a society which depends on car ownership. Must be awful for people who don't drive.

And yet as soon as anyone suggests building alternative infrastructure, or restricting private motor vehicles they're met with "But what about disabled/poor/unemployed peope?" as if reducing car dependency will harm these groups more.

 

[MichaelW2]

My sister lives in a fairly ugly village but is has a pub, shop, butchers, fish n chip, social club, infant and primary school. Most people work in nearby town. Very few 2nd homes which are the real killer.

 

[DCLane]

My parents moved to Bottesford in the Vale of Belvoir 4 years ago, partly because it was the only 'village' house that had amenities.

However that's being extended quickly and will lose the village feel.