It seems the people of Britain (and the world) have spoken and London is no longer the capital of chic and sophistication – that honour goes to three towns outside London, two of which are in Northumberland.
The Google Streeview Best Streets Awards allowed the public to vote on a selection of streets in the categories “Hippest street in Britain”, “Best shopping street in Britain” and “Most romantic street in Britain”.
A panel of “expert” judges selected the shortlist of streets and roads around Britain from their own personal favourites, and then Google asked the public to vote for their favourite street in the categories above. The results were very surprising as the usual suspects didn’t win any of the categories, and North East England managed to scoop two of them.
Tip: If the streetview images below don’t load, click the link under each as Google Streetview seems to be having problems today.
Best shopping street in Britain award – also went outside of London which must really sting when the capital has so many iconic shopping streets and markets. This honour went further north to the town of Alnwick, high up on the Northumbrian coastline previously most famous for Alnwick Castle which was used in many of the Harry Potter films.
Described as a “picturesque street entered by an archway through a 15th century tower” by the Guardian, Bondgate Within street in Alnwick is the best place to go shopping in the country. This mixture of high street names and local independent shops captured something, although the lower half of the street by the arch seems the nicest.
The view down Bondgate Within street in Alnwick:
(The archway is behind you in this photo)
The hippest street award went to South Shore Road in Gateshead (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) which has in the last 20 years transformed from a derelict former industrial capital, into having some of the most hip and trendy bars, galleries and art installations in the country.
The South Shore is especially trendy having the Lord Foster-designed Sage music centre, The Baltic contemporary arts building and being one side of the “Blinking Eye” millennium bridge. London may have been the cool place to hang out in the past, but now it seems Gateshead is the new South Bank.
If you’re up near Gateshead, don’t forget they’ve also got the Antony Gormley Angel of the North, visible from the A1 passing Gateshead.
South Shore Road in Gateshead:
The most romantic street in Britain was the only award not won by north east England towns and this one went to Copse Hill Road in the slightly unfortunately named village of Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire. If you mis-read the street name as I did several times, it seemed as if “Corpse Hill Road” has won. The street is a mixture of old church and farm buildings, alongside more modern houses and of course someone cutting their grass (almost a requirement for a romantic little English village).
Copse Hill Road in Lower Slaughter:
The full list of finalists:-
These are the top 5 in each category for the Google’s best streets in Britain. You can also see the streets which were nominated by the experts here
Hippest street in Britain:
- South Shore Road, Gateshead
- Call Lane, Leeds
- Whitecross Street, London
- Seel Street, Liverpool
- Henry Street, Belfast
Best shopping street in Britain:
- Bondgate Within, Alnwick
- Market Place, Kingston
- Low Pavement, Nottingham
- Lisburn Road, Belfast
- The Promenade, Cheltenham
Most romantic street in Britain:
- Copse Hill Road, Lower Slaughter
- Front Street , Bamburgh
- The Royal Mile, Edinburgh
- Mwnt, Y Ferwig
- The A591, Grasmere, Lake District
Did they miss any?
Are there any streets you think should have been in the original list or perhaps should have won above what the general public voted for? You can add your street nominations in the comments section.
More UK resources:
Visitor attractions around Britain
Hotels in the UK
Britain self-catering cottages
Campsites and caravans in Britain
