A popular destination for UK holidaymakers has been called a "sea of concrete" after it was claimed to contain a number of "turdtowns". As part of a series on the worst spots in the country, Youtuber Turdtowns blasted the Isle of Wight in a video where he listed his least favourite spots on the island.
In a clip, he criticised the lack of investment, which he said was visible through the number of derelict buildings. Despite there only being nine towns on the island, which is located off the south coast of England, he branded five of them "turdtowns".
According to the Mirror, he described the town of Ryde as "shabby" and full of "Grimy terraced houses that line the street... covered in seagull faeces". Wroxall "sounds like a weeping wart", he claimed, which is an "appropriate way to describe the place".
He said he "can't imagine any person ever having a reason to visit" Shanklin, where "the high street is one of the blandest places I've ever been". The county town of Newport was also judged to be "dreary and expressionless".
Turdtowns said in the video, that has been watched by over 170,000 people, that the seaside resort of Sandown was the worst of the lot. He described the once-thriving town, which the local tourist board advertises as being home to the Isle of Wight's "finest and most recognised beaches", as "depressing, bleak and sad."
The Youtuber said he had "lost count" of the amount of boarded up and derelict hotels in the area, including one that a local claimed had been open "just the other day". Upon visiting the promenade, he said that he found "nothing to do", and a short trip to the High Street brought him into contact with locals he claims were "unwelcoming" and "spat on the floor" as he walked past.
One commenter underneath the video blamed the "greed" of over-charging ferry companies for a marked decline in Sandown's economy over recent decades, and said: "It never used to be like that; when I was young it was rammed during the summer.
"All the shops would stay open until 9 or 10pm, the guest houses were thriving, and there were far more arcades and way fewer boarded-up buildings."
Another added: "All those towns look the same: just sea of concrete with little life other than cars honking around – certainly not nice places to live or visit."
The Isle of Wight was a highly fashionable tourist destination during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Queen Victoria regularly stayed at the former royal residence at Osborne House.
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