Scotland’s “ugliest” town has been named in a new list. Earlier this month, The Telegraph published an article ranking “Britain’s prettiest (and ugliest) towns”.
As we previously reported, Queensferry near Edinburgh came out on top as the most attractive town in Scotland. Meanwhile, according to The Telegraph, Cumbernauld is the country’s “ugliest” place.
The town, located in North Lanarkshire, received a score of just 20 out of 50 based on factors such as shop fronts and architecture. Cumbernauld is the 10th most populous destination in Scotland, home to approximately 50,000 people.
It dates back to the 1950s, when it was built as a population overspill for Glasgow. The town was criticised by The Telegraph for its “spirit-sapping brutalist architecture” and “concrete-savaged centre”.
Its town centre is widely regarded as Britain’s first shopping centre, as well as the first multi-level covered town centre in the world. The Centre Cumbernauld features more than 50 shops, mixing national chains such as Boots and Argos with local independent stores.
It also has a range of food and drink venues, including Wetherspoons, Italian restaurant La Bella, and Chinese takeaway Lucky Garden. Elsewhere, Cumbernauld boasts popular attractions such as the historic Cumbernauld House Park and the Cumbernauld Outdoor Activity Centre.
Other highlights include the Cumbernauld Museum and the Cumbernauld Theatre. The town also includes a wealth of green space including Palacerigg Country Park and Cumbernauld Glen. It even received a Garden for Life Biodiversity award in 2017.
The Telegraph wrote: “Few, bar the most committed fans of spirit-sapping brutalist architecture, would describe the concrete-savaged centre today as fabulous. Cumbernauld retains the unwanted distinction of being the only Scottish town labelled Scotland’s ‘most dismal’ twice by the Carbuncle Awards.
“In 2001 they dubbed the centre ‘soulless and inaccessible, something like Eastern Europe before the wall came down’, its landmark shopping centre ‘a rabbit warren on stilts’.
Elsewhere, Telford in Shropshire and Merthyr Tydfil in Wales were also named among the least attractive destinations in Britain. Meanwhile, with a score of 12 out of 50, Slough in Berkshire was found to be the ugliest town in the nation.
The full list of “Britain’s prettiest (and ugliest) towns” can be found on The Telegraph website.
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