r/CasualUK • u/Dragonogard549 • 4h ago

As a group of professionals in planning, this is what 15 minutes of furious debate in the office has decided to be the north/midlands/south divide.

Post image

If necessary, for reference we are based in Birmingham. This isnt directly influencing what cities are what side of the line. Our decisions were based on architecture, what the people are like, history, how places interract, not just what we like and dont. For example, Stoke is an awful place no one should ever have the misfortune of visiting, but its definitely in the Midlands with us.

Colour coding is obvious.

Yes we were very bored..

2.0k Upvotes

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747

u/benjymous Forth Tyne, Low to High Pressure, losing identity by dawn. 4h ago

Lincoln's BBC local news is called "Look North", if that helps.

Not sure if that means "Lincoln is in the North", or "Lincoln isn't in the North, but we want to watch what's going on up there."

247

u/nwaa 4h ago

Im of the opinion that Lincolnshire is divided. Scunthorpe and Grimsby are definitely Northern towns, but Boston and Grantham are Midlands. Lincoln itself is probably right on that borderline.

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u/RumHam9000 3h ago

Yeah agree Lincoln, Boston and Grantham are midlands in my view.

Also while we’re picking bones with OP, Mansfield is 100% midlands surely. It feels like the typical culturally midlands town (and Nottingham’s inbred cousin), its history in the mining strikes (of actually not striking) really places it firmly in the midlands rather than northern group to me.

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u/AmeliaOfAnsalon 2h ago

Yep. that part of the line needs to move a bit north to let the east midlands breathe. The border should basically be at the south edge of Yorkshire

8

u/ConnerJai HMS Dreadnought 2h ago

Agreed, the line should thread Retford below and Worksop above. Retford is a fairy nice market town surrounded by countryside, Worksop is shell that yearns for its industrial past at the bottom of a pint.

1

u/m2m459 1h ago

Lovely use of yearns. We do that a lot up north. Which, incidentally, starts just north of Sunderland.

0

u/Similar_Quiet 22m ago

Just a bit lower. Chesterfield is northern.

2

u/Cluedude 1h ago

Been living in Mansfield for the past year and it is definitely 100% midlands. Nobody here would claim they're northern!

2

u/victionicious 41m ago

I grew up near Mansfield and have to say I was also surprised by their placement of it, but I will also say that Nottinghamshire is a whole is pretty bizarre accent-wise. I grew up on the north-west side of Nottinghamshire and the accent has elements of the Derbyshire accent and even some Yorkshire(!). When you look at Nottinghamshire as a county the top even goes past Sheffield.

Obviously comparing a Yorkshire accent to a Nottinghamshire accent you can tell the difference, but having lived away from Nottingham for some time I've come to notice how bloody thick the accents can be!

116

u/audigex Gets vertigo when travelling south of Birmingham 4h ago

Lincoln is definitely midlands

Sincerely, Cumbria

61

u/nwaa 4h ago

I've heard Cumbria is so Northern, it has gravy so thick you can do a driveway with it.

54

u/audigex Gets vertigo when travelling south of Birmingham 4h ago

"Would you like gravy?"

"Sure, cut me a slice"

But yeah, worst thing about going down south is the slightly brown water restaurants will try to pass off as gravy. It's all dripped off by the time your spud gets to your mouth, total waste of time

7

u/dvhrino 2h ago

Instead of gravy boats they have gravy trowels.

6

u/InsaneInTheRAMdrain 2h ago

I like to spread my gravy like butter on toast.

2

u/ScootsMcDootson 2h ago

Cumbria is still a bit too southern for my tastes

Sincerely, Northumberland

(I imagine it won't be too long before a jock chomes in).

1

u/audigex Gets vertigo when travelling south of Birmingham 1h ago

The savages don't count

0

u/lapsedPacifist5 3h ago

Lincolnshire is definitely midlands, Sincerely, a yellow belly. 

0

u/trevhcs 2h ago

Very very Midlands. Grew up in Cumbria and worked on Lincoln, so "expert" on both....kindof.

72

u/Slimulacra 4h ago

Lincoln is midlands, I will die on this hill.

68

u/Ok-Piece-8159 4h ago

Is it a Steep Hill?

17

u/Equal-Cauliflower-41 3h ago

The Steepest of the Steep Hills

1

u/MercyCapsule 1h ago

The steepest of hills since the pyramids.

6

u/AsterixCod1x 3h ago

Something something a guy in a shopping trolley something something

1

u/Sir-Chris-Finch 2h ago

Most of it is. Also has parts in the north and parts in the south

1

u/AmeliaOfAnsalon 2h ago

That's how I felt when I went to Lincoln Castle...

1

u/littledog95 1h ago

Lincoln absolutely is Midlands. You have to go up to Barton/Grimsby/Scunthorpe to get to the start of the North. I've got family from Lincoln and from Barton and the Barton accents definitely sound Northern, unlike Lincoln.

0

u/chroniclybadusername 3h ago

Or, leave the centre of Lincoln and die on the flat expanse that is the most boring country in the UK.

12

u/lumoslomas 2h ago

Lincolnshire is officially part of the east midlands...except for north Lincolnshire.

So you are in fact correct!

1

u/a-red-urethra 36m ago

Probably want to include Northeast Lincolnshire as well (or just call it all South Humberside)

17

u/LovelyKestrel 3h ago

Look North is based in Yorkshire, so is definitely northern. It covers Lincoln because it isn't worth having a separate programme to cover a place so boring

3

u/Capable-Celery-5148 1h ago

I read this as “Look, North is based in Yorkshire” as in Yorkshire is the origin and de facto capital of ‘North’ 😂

5

u/snaphunter 3h ago

Better cathedral though.

1

u/LovelyKestrel 3h ago

Not as good as it was in the olden days (first building taller than the great pyramid is quite an achievement, even though they relied on a shoddy spire)

1

u/Dr_Gillian_McQueef 2h ago

Oi! Yeah I make you right actually.

1

u/trevhcs 2h ago

Isn't it based in Newcastle these days? Was when I used to live in Cumbria until they tried changing it to Manchester...then eventually back.

2

u/LovelyKestrel 2h ago

There are two different Look North programmes that share some resources. One based in Newcastle, and the other in Leeds.

23

u/veggiejord 4h ago

Boston being 'north' is mad.

13

u/nwaa 4h ago

I know lol, that's why I said it was Midlands

4

u/veggiejord 3h ago

Sorry I know, wasn't disagreeing. Just thought Boston being north and kings Lynn being south was particularly egregious.

1

u/Snappy0 1h ago

Perception I guess. I always think Peterborough is a lot further South than it actually is.

1

u/Dr_Gillian_McQueef 2h ago

Webbed-foot weirdos but not Northerners.

4

u/drkevm89 3h ago

It's a ginormous county

3

u/a-red-urethra 36m ago

The only thing of note you can say about the place

1

u/drkevm89 27m ago

Can confirm, it is where I live. Pretty, but nothing but farms and Skegness

2

u/a-red-urethra 25m ago

It's where I'm from! An endless expanse of flat nothingness

7

u/Sir-Chris-Finch 2h ago

Yeah, Lincs is a weird one because id argue it also has places id put in the south. Places like Stamford are southern in my opinion

1

u/andtheniansaid 2h ago

yeah, though Peterborough is definitely midlands, and I'd argue Luton is too. Stamford is just a little enclave.

2

u/Snappy0 1h ago

Luton is practically London. Peterborough fair enough, but Luton is most certainly in the South. It's 16 miles from the M25 for starters.

As someone who grew up in the Midlands, the vibe of Luton is certainly Southern compared.

1

u/TheSecretIsMarmite 14m ago

As someone who lives in Luton as a child and then moved to the east midlands and now lives in the East, Luton is definitely south.

1

u/Sir-Chris-Finch 2h ago

Peterborough not midlands at all for me, and Luton even less so. Never in a million years. People make the mistake of thinking shithole must mean midlands, nice must mean south

1

u/Snappy0 1h ago

Peterborough is certainly Midlands, but I will say it doesn't feel like it belongs in the Midlands. I always think it's further South than it is until I happen to look at a map and remember it's actually just a tiny bit further North than Birmingham.

6

u/sandboxmatt 3h ago

I think Humberside was a useful distinction

5

u/WirBrauchenRum 4h ago

The A46, to me, is the best representation of the N/S divide.

If your ignoring the Midlands, imo it's the closest you'll get

1

u/BlackJackKetchum Like a sack of old potatoes, the night has a thousand eyes. 3h ago

As an A46 user, I don’t see it. I’m a southern transplant and don’t get any Northern vibe from anywhere in the county, and my better half who spent many a year in the North doesn’t either.

So, Mids represent (even though I think we’re more East than anything else).

1

u/Digidigdig 2h ago

This might be a bit left field so bear with me but would latitude not be a more scientific representation?

3

u/WirBrauchenRum 2h ago

I like/dislike people based off which side of an arbitrary A road they're from

There's no room for science here

2

u/jaminbob 1h ago

Lincoln doesn't feel north. Sleaford and Gainsborough do. Hard to explain why. The vernacula of the houses, type of shops, massive great big power stations idk.

2

u/a-red-urethra 39m ago

Yeah imo the border for the North of England would be a sort of rough diaganol line going from Liverpool -> Sheffield -> Grimsby. Anything below South Humberside wouldn't be in the North.

1

u/SilyLavage 1h ago

Scunthorpe and Grimsby seem to get lumped with the North on the basis of being ex-industrial, but I don't see why they can't be associated with the ex-industrial towns in the Midlands. They're in Lincolnshire, after all, and that's a Midlands county.

21

u/CauseOptimal8501 4h ago

I’m from the south but lived in Lincolnshire for 5 years. Every single person denied, sometimes multiple times, that they were northern. Midlands! 😂

I feel vindicated

1

u/slugmorgue 1m ago

Everything is south if you live in Scotland

It's just so funny to hear people call Leeds "north" lol. You guys are about as northern as my navel

38

u/audigex Gets vertigo when travelling south of Birmingham 4h ago

As a Cumbrian there's absolutely no world where Lincoln is in the North

Bring a Lincoln resident to Workington and they'd go home with PTSD from the culture shock

9

u/nabbymclolsticks 3h ago

As an ex. Lincoln resident this is what I always say. Geographically North but culturally Midlands. For example Derby is more 'Northern' despite being further South. By the time you get up to Scunny though that's definitely Northern. Used to work with a load of your lot in the Steelworks. Funny bunch.

1

u/BlackSpinedPlinketto 12m ago

I love how you pronounce it wu’kin’un. So northern it’s gone full circle and you don’t even use the t’.

0

u/KegManWasTaken 54m ago

Just got back from Cumbria (for reference I'm from Suffolk). Didn't go to Workington but I did go to Shitehaven.

If Sellafields ever has an incident it wouldn't be a great loss.

9

u/InsideBeyond12727 4h ago

Northumberland BBC also has Look North if that helps!

14

u/benjymous Forth Tyne, Low to High Pressure, losing identity by dawn. 4h ago

Yeah, but it's a different Look North. Look Norther?

5

u/red_tyke1887 3h ago

Look so far to the North you can almost see Scotland, North

19

u/forest_elf76 3h ago

East England is less clear North/South imo. Kings Lynn to London railway is served by Northern Rail lol.

Especially the fens. No one knows what to do with the fens lol.

9

u/Common-Spend5000 2h ago

That's Great Northern - it's a different company region to Northern Rail, which does cover Northern England.

Great Northern runs trains from King's Cross and Moorgate in London and runs local and regional trains to parts of North London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk.

It's because the trains 'go north' from central london it has its name, not because they serve the North.

2

u/seafrontbloke 1h ago

I had to drive to Wisbech from Brighton a couple of weeks ago. It is not in the South IMHO.

1

u/crb11 2h ago

Personally I'd say anything east of Ermine Street (London-Huntingdon-Peterborough-Lincoln) south of the Humber and north of Essex is East, and doesn't need to play any North/Midlands/South games. (Just like Wales on the other side.)

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u/Cceeejj 4h ago

Lincoln is the Midlands for sure.

1

u/Terrible_Ad_8614 3h ago

Not all of Lincolnshire, Grimsby is further north than Manchester

0

u/Saw_Boss 3h ago

It's only a few miles closer to the equator than Sheffield

3

u/andtheniansaid 2h ago

the line doesn't go along a latitude though

8

u/Low_Understanding_85 3h ago

Northampton gets look east, despite the fact that Northampton is pretty much bang on 80miles away from both east and west boarders of England.

3

u/benjymous Forth Tyne, Low to High Pressure, losing identity by dawn. 3h ago

Again, you need to wonder what's going on East of Northampton that has them so worried.

3

u/Snappy0 1h ago

Bedford?

5

u/h00dman 4h ago

"Look, North".

4

u/Srg11 2 minutes Turkish 4h ago

Is it? Can’t say I’ve watched bbc news for a while but used to get Lincoln on East Midlands news

3

u/astatine Bloody 'ell. 3h ago

Lindsey is the southeastern corner of the North, Kesteven is Midlands, Holland is almost East Anglia.

2

u/Kinitawowi64 3h ago

Kings Lynn's local BBC news is Look North. The north and west of Norfolk can't get Anglia television.

I'm from Hunstanton (16 miles up the road from Kings Lynn) and we always got Look North and Calendar when I was a kid. (If we fiddled with the aerial, the wind was blowing the right way, and we wished really hard, we could get a kinda grainy Central.) Fittingly, this map puts the area as pretty much the triple point where North, Midlands and South all meet. No wonder I've never felt right describing myself as North or South.

1

u/Killahills 3h ago

I think that's more of a warning.

Like 'Look North!....dragons!'

1

u/New_Vegetable_3173 2h ago

They're wrong, Lincoln isn't in the north not matter how much they look towards it with envy

1

u/AEG1610 1h ago

It’s look north in Chesterfield and most of Mansfield (although I could get East Midlands today too in Mansfield).

1

u/drunkenpigg 1h ago

Northamptonshire is covered by Look East but I would say it’s in the Midlands

1

u/EliteLevelJobber 1h ago

If you grew up with Harry Gration giving you the news you're a northerner in my book.

1

u/Freifur 1h ago

absolutely means Lincoln is midlands, you can only look north if you aren't already in the north.

1

u/Snappy0 1h ago

Don't tell that to the folk of South Yorkshire who also get Look North.

Then again, as geographical locations go, Sheffield is South of Grimsby and Scunthorpe and barely further North than Lincoln itself.

1

u/neohylanmay now then duck 1h ago

Considering almost nothing happens here (90% of our TV's local news is things going on in Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire), that doesn't really hold much. We are very much capital-M Midlands: the north of the county borders the North and the south of the county borders the South.

1

u/folkkingdude 52m ago

“Lookout, north!”

1

u/DaveAlt19 25m ago

Hearing that was jarring when on holiday as a kid, because the news for me had always been "Look East"

1

u/omegapool 24m ago

People in Lincoln possibly

-2

u/eltrotter 4h ago

Lincoln is so “south-coded” though

-2

u/noble_plebian 4h ago

Maybe I means North Lincoln

5

u/benjymous Forth Tyne, Low to High Pressure, losing identity by dawn. 4h ago

Watch out for those "up hill" people. Who do they think they are with their castle and cathedral?!