Basingstoke in General

Basingstoke often gets a lot of stick for being a dump. A couple of years back it got voted 15th worst place in the UK!!! I've lived in Basingstoke for many years now and personally dont see what all the fuss is about. Of coursed like any place there are rough parts but generally i think the town has a lot to offer. Basingstoke is huge, the size of a small city, and is an over spill for London. It has easy access to the M3 and A30. Reading in a 20min drive or train ride away and London takes 50mins by train. Festival Place is the new shopping centre which was built about 8 years ago now. Modern in looks it offers a great day out shopping with the ...  Read the complete review

I live in Basingstoke. Well, someone has to!! I am not a native, but have lived here for the last 18 years. It is a large town, which is mostly known for being the butt of comedian's jokes. It even merited a little derogatory comment on that classic TV show "Only Fools and Horses"! In terms of derision it is probably second only to Milton Keynes. It is to towns what Skoda is to cars!! So, if it is so bad why do so many people choose to live here? Well, the answer is that it is really quite a good place to live. I came here almost by default eighteen years ago when I was expecting my third child. We had a rented house in Camberley and ...  Read the complete review

In many ways, I think Basingstoke is under rated. It's at the butt of every joke comedians make about 'bad' towns and that seems a little unfair... If you've visited Basingstoke, you may know it's not ALL that bad. OK, the shopping's not great and the whole look of the place is a little lacking generally in the town centre but I'm told it's all set to change with the new 'Festival Place' now coming and due for completion within the next year or so. This is going to attract new shops and maybe boosy Basingstoke's reputation! Town centre aside, Basingstoke has some great places. Two theatres - one featuring ...  Read the complete review