h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Could you *be* any more negative?

Ashford is a great place. It has a number of very pretty suburbs which are largely unspoilt by development. It now has improved rail links with the capital putting it on the map and the central town has all the mod cons you'd expect for a town of that size. What are you complaining about? Sure, it's not London and it hardly has the architecture of Canterbury, but it's a lot more happening place than say Whitstable.

I think you’ll find there’s a helluva lot more going on Whitstable.

Justin

Hehehehe, I knew I'd get someone standing up for Whitstable if I said that

Do you take my point that the article is a little harsh on poor ickle Ashford?

I was a bit disappointed to see a negative review of Ashford. Although, to be fair, I haven't been there in a long while. But I thought its strength, or advantage, lay in the countryside. Now I'm from Yorkshire, and you know how we are about God's own country , but I thought Ashford & surrounding area was beautiful. Not far from Canterbury, Margate (good for a day out now and then), Herne Bay (great chips and that lovely pebble "beach"), easy to get to the big smoke (if that took your fancy) and (in my day) very close to France and the rest of the great things which the continent has to offer.

There was a pub (which we frequented), can't remember the name, which was conveniently situated near a cash machine, a Kebab shop and a taxi rank. Perfik.

The pub has to be the "Man of Kent" in the centre of town.

Yes, Ashford was a nice small market village and is really going to suffer under all the new houses/businesses moving into the area, but given its location with the M20 and Eurostar links, its not surprising it has been chosen to expand.

I mean what do you expect from a Kent town. Apart from Canterbury (which is overrun by students ) and Hastings (decent pubs in the Old town), most of Kent is dropping dead as they are becoming homes for people working in London, who wanted a cheaper house with cleaner air. (As I did - but Ashford is where my family lives).

The 1)ring road and 2)bingo hall is what killed ashford -
1) by singlehandedly preventing the expansion of the town centre and
2) giving people no real reason to come into town as there is no longer a cinema.

Ah. The Man of Kent. It's all flooding back to me now. Thank you, it has been bugging me since I saw the Ashford thing.
As I remember though, the centre of Ashford was dying a slow death even then (1988) not many good shops (with interesting things rather than necessary things). But the countryside was beautiful. I loved it.