Impressions of Wrexham from a first time visitor

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  • #54259

    de ddwyrain
    Participant

    Well, I managed to visit Wrexham for the first time over the weekend. I’ll limit myself to a few impressions, as I don’t have much to say that hasn’t been said before on this forum.

    My overall impression of the town was positive. Over the course of a two day stay, the town endeared itself to me and I am just as positive about the town after visiting it as I was before. My impression is that its bad reputation is undeserved. Certainly, it feels a little depressed, but still has a lot of attractive features and the potential to improve on what it has.

    The most positive aspect of all was the people: everyone we (that is, my wife and I) spoke to came across as friendly and open, and with time to talk to you.

    The town felt safe, safer than I was expecting, but also quieter and smaller. In fact, there were times when the town centre seemed virtually devoid of
    people (Saturday early evening and most of Sunday).

    Since our trip lasted from Saturday to Monday, we got to experience Wrexham in a variety of contexts: Saturday afternoon shopping (in the rain), a very quiet

    Sunday afternoon and a much livelier Monday morning, with the market in full swing.

    On Saturday we went straight to the museum to see the Mold Cape exhibition. The Museum struck me as a very welcoming and accessible building. I liked the way the reception/shop/cafe area was open to the street and drew you in.

    We had then lunch in the Horse and Jockey. Walking into a pub for the first time, it was nice to have the staff behind the bar immediately make eye contact, ask if we wanted lunch and send us straight through into the eating area. The staff were very friendly. I asked whether they served Wrexham Lager, and was told exactly which pubs sold it in town.

    While visiting St Giles Church, we were again given an impromptu history of the church, without asking for it, by a very pleasant man who saw us looking
    around the church.

    We were staying at the Lemon Tree, and again, found the staff to be very friendly, relaxed and efficient. Overall, the service was friendly and pleasant in all the shops, pubs, market stalls we visited.

    We didn’t witness any acts of antisocial behaviour, but we admittedly didn’t go out in the town centre on Saturday night.

    As I said, the town seemed smaller than I was expecting. I think this is because google street view makes distances seem longer.

    The markets – I can now fully understand why markets are such an integral part of Wrexham – the interconnecting covered markets and arcades absolutely came across as the town’s most distinctive feature, together with the tower of St Giles Church. The town was at its most appealing on Monday morning, when the market was on. By contrast, the town centre was pretty dead on Sunday afternoon. Having the markets and arcades closed seemed to cut off the town’s lifeblood. I can’t help thinking that if they had a more mixed usage, more of a combination of shopping and eating/drinking, then perhaps it would be viable to keep them open on Sunday.

    Walking from St Giles Churchyard, along Temple Row, through Overton Arcade, into the Butchers’ Market then the Central Market, then back onto Bank Street and around the Central Arcade back into the Butchers’ Market strikes me as Wrexham’s most atmospheric walking tour.

    I particularly liked the part of Llwyn Isaf immediately adjacent to Rhosddu Road and Queens Square. The trees make Queens Square so much nicer than it would otherwise have been, as the buildings adjoining the square are pretty unremarakable on the whole.

    As for Hope Street and Regent Street, the historic buildings there, like in so many towns, suffer from the fact that their ground floors are hidden behind
    dreary plastic shop signage. The bank building on the corner of Bank Street gives a glimpse of how much better the historic buildings on Regent Street and Hope Street would look if adapted to their commercial use in a more sympathetic way. The High Street looks great.

    When the site of the Cambrian brewery is redeveloped, hopefully this will serve to better link the Pen-y-bryn area to the town centre.

    There was a good standard of exhibits on display at Un-deg-un, which I think is an excellent initiative. A permanent exhibition space in the town centre
    would be an opportunity to renovate a town centre building and bring in a different kind of activity, as the Regent Street/Hope Street doesn’t offer much in the way of shopping at the moment, as has been discussed here many time. With an art college right on the doorstep of the town centre, Wrexham has a permanent supply of young artists.

    One other question I have is whether the atmosphere in the town centre is different during term time? I presume that there aren’t that many students around in August.

    The visit to Eagles Meadow was perhaps the most dispiriting part of the trip, but then again, we only got there at about 5.30, when the shops were closing and and it was raining. There certainly is a problem regarding how it joins up to the historic centre of the town. It felt weirdly cut off, and indeed, the view as you walk back to Yorke Street is pretty grim.

    The King Street areas was also pretty bleak, but I supposed that’s understandable if it’s about to undergo major redevelopment.

    Another negative sight was all the boarded up buildings on Grosvenor Road. Are there plans to reopen them? I certainly hope they aren’t knocked down, as they all have architectural value.

    Well that’s all. I’m afraid this post has been far too long. Like I said, my overall impression was positive and I hope to come back in the future. Shame our visit didn’t coincide with Wrexfest, it sounds like it will be fun!

    #64461

    wrexview
    Participant

    Thank you for taking the time to write about your visit and I am so pleased you found us to be friendly and welcoming! Wrexham has much more to offer than many people realise . I hope you will come back and visit again soon.

    #64469

    Welsh Dresser
    Participant

    Thank you for taking the time to review your visit. I think High Street is my favourite part of Wrexham. The trouble is I spend too much time looking up and walking so I think I am a hazard to other pedestrians! Grosvenor Road is much neglected at the moment which is a shame but who knows what the future holds for it. Glad you enjoyed your visit, come back soon :)

    #64473

    Rondetto
    Participant

    Excellent post and review of the town.

    #64468

    jimbow
    Participant

    Excellent post of Wrexham.The Butchers and General Market get a mention but the Peoples Market seem to have not been seen.I hope WCBC take note of de ddwyrain’s comments,and act ASAP in the Peoples Market in trying to make this a contact with the rest of the town centre.

    #64476

    de ddwyrain
    Participant

    @jimbow 8836 wrote:

    Excellent post of Wrexham.The Butchers and General Market get a mention but the Peoples Market seem to have not been seen.I hope WCBC take note of de ddwyrain’s comments,and act ASAP in the Peoples Market in trying to make this a contact with the rest of the town centre.

    Yes, we didn’t go in, partly because judging from the discussions of it on this forum it sounded like a dispiriting place, and particularly because I didn’t much like the look of it from the outside. Probably to do with when it was built. It also felt marginal to the town centre. Linking it to the other markets through another arcade, as has been previously suggested on the forum, strikes me as a good idea. By the way, why was the original Vegetable Market knocked down? Was it unsalvageable or did it just fall prey to developers?

    #64466

    Speediecars
    Participant

    Nice for someone to have something positive to say about good old Wrexham for a change as so many people around the town put the place down!

    Wrexham isnt too bad of a place to live as there are alot more worse areas to live than Wrexham

    Really good to hear someone thought from outside Wrexham.

    Good Job De DDwyrain!

    #64485

    Sketcher30CM
    Participant

    @speediecars 8839 wrote:

    Nice for someone to have something positive to say about good old Wrexham for a change as so many people around the town put the place down!

    I’m also an ‘outsider’ – or at least, I was!

    My husband and I moved to Wrexham ten months ago, relocating here from Derby (80-miles away).

    Our sole reason for relocating was a 14-year passionate love for North Wales. Honestly, we would have rented anywhere in North Wales, just to be able to live out here. We had barely heard of Wrexham, it was not on our radar, and we had no opinions of the town either way.

    It just so happened that the first job my husband applied for, and was subsequently offered, was in Wrexham. We found a house to rent, put all the wheels in motion, and hoped for the best, not really having a clue about where we were heading!

    I can honestly say that Wrexham has not let us down and has in no way disappointed us. First and foremost, Wrexham’s biggest plus-point is the people who live here. I have never known such a friendly place, truly. Even now, ten months on, I still find it amazing to walk around my local area and have 98% of the strangers I pass by say hello to me, or acknowledge me in some way. People here have a warmth about them. I feel welcome. I feel safe. I feel lucky to live here.

    Another plus is the beautiful outdoors – scenery and landscapes. Vibrant hills and valleys, enchanting woodland walks and forest trails, many opportunities for a leisurely picnic by the river, and numerous local parks. We’ve never spent so much time outdoors as we have since being in Wrexham.

    I enjoyed reading this review too… sorry if it looks like I’ve hijacked the thread for my own… just wanted to add my thoughts.

    #64460

    Rob
    Participant

    Its interesting you say friendly as I am sure there was a mystery shopper survey where the town got a near perfect if not perfect score in friendliness.

    Likewise you do notice random people happy to chat or ‘alright?’ you compared to other places in the UK!

    #64462

    thewayneinspain
    Participant

    I must say i’m very impressed how many names of roads you mentioned as well as independent shops.

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