Forgotten Towns

Series 12 Episode 11 - LARGS (# 1,000 Visited 25/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 11,260 (Rank # 858) The show that sees us reach the end of the trail: Will your narrator escape with sobriety or dignity? Will he be bludgeoned by his AI sidekick? All will be revealed in this feature-length final episode. MUSIC So You'll Aim Toward the Sky - Grandaddy We've Been Everywhere - Forg...

Series 12 Episode 10 - GOUROCK (# 999 Visited 25/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 10,350 (Rank # 909) An emergency episode of '999' heralds the 999th town on our list. MUSIC 999 BBC1 Theme Tune - Roger Bolton I Can See For Miles - The Who THANKS Michael Buerk The staff of Cleats Bar, Gourock The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al Visit th...

Series 12 Episode 9 - GREENOCK (# 998 Visited 25/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 42,680 (Rank # 249) Our antepenultimate excursion takes us 'doon the watter' to Sugaropolis. MUSIC Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills This Town - The Go-Go's The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker THANKS The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevs...

Series 12 Episode 8 - PORT GLASGOW (# 997 Visited 25/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 14,620 (Rank # 697) Get yourself filled in on Port Glasgow's shipbuilding as we go diving for pearls of wisdom. MUSIC Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills Shipbuilding - Robert Wyatt THANKS The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al Visit the UK's 1,000 largest se...

Series 12 Episode 7 - BARRHEAD (# 996 Visited 25/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 17,610 (Rank # 592) Save your thankses; we're flushing out Shanks's... and other elements of Barrhead's industrial past. MUSIC Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills Carry On At Your Convenience (Opening Theme) - Eric Rogers Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker THANKS The Buildings of Scotl...

Series 12 Episode 6 - NEWTON MEARNS (# 995 Visited 25/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 26,600 (Rank # 401) Bagpiping suburban fact into travelogue fiction. MUSIC Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills Scotland The Brave - The Auld Town Band & Pipes THANKS The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al F Edgar Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Ale...

Series 12 Episode 5 - BONHILL (# 994 Visited 24/08/2025) Dunbartonshire, Scotland : Population 9,050 (Rank # 988) Is the Leven going to get us down, or will we distract ourselves with the not-so-great library of Alexandria? The first half of the final season winds up in Dunbartonshire. MUSIC Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Belle & Sebastian Durham Town (The Leavin')...

Series 12 Episode 4 - ERSKINE (# 993 Visited 24/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 15,510 (Rank # 658) The one where we pay tribute to the late Anne Gregg, for no obvious reason. MUSIC Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap Get On Up - James Brown The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker THANKS Anne Gregg (1940-2006) BBC Holiday 89 (Episode 11 - 16/03/1989)...

Series 12 Episode 3 - JOHNSTONE (# 992 Visited 23/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 16,090 (Rank # 639) What local lad Gordon Ramsay might've made of my black pudding supper is anyone's guess and, as he'd probably have peppered Callum's karaoke with profanity, it's just as well we didn't invite him. MUSIC Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap Smalltown Boy - S3 Klassiker (o...

Series 12 Episode 2 - GIFFNOCK (# 991 Visited 23/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 12,300 (Rank # 802) Don't panic! My AI companion makes an unexpected return to the fray, but Giffnock has coped with worse in the past. MUSIC Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap Panic - The Smiths The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker THANKS The staff of the Giffno...

Series 12 Episode 1 - CLARKSTON (# 990 Visited 23/08/2025) Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 9,860 (Rank # 939) The final season gets underway in this slice of Scotland's suburbia where things can occasionally get explosive. MUSIC Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap This Town - The Go-Go's The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker THANKS The Buildings of...

Series 11 Episode 9 - TEIGNMOUTH (# 989 Visited 14/04/2025) Devon, England : Population 15,597 (Rank # 652) We pay homage to doomed single-handed sailor Donald Crowhurst as we, like him, wave goodbye to England for the final time. MUSIC Sailing By - Ronald Binge The Deception - iLiKETRAiNS Eternal Father Strong To Save - Portsmouth Cathedral Choir & Congregation THANKS The staff and patrons of...

We find simmering local hostility beyond the elegant wildfowl and picture postcard scenery of this Devon seaside resort.

Series 11 Episode 7 - KINGSTEIGNTON (# 987 Visited 14/04/2025) Devon, England : Population 10,857 (Rank # 877) We find out all about the King's Town on the Teign... or Kingsteignton as we like to call it, to save time in another jam-packed 5 minute episode. MUSIC Tubular Bells Part II (Sailor's Hornpipe) - Mike Oldfield London Girls - Chas 'n' Dave THANKS The staff of The Kings Arm...

Series 11 Episode 6 - NEWTON ABBOT (# 986 Visited 14/04/2025)Devon, England : Population 26,951 (Rank # 395)What links Charles I, Serge Pizzorno, William III and David Vine? The answer is Newton Abbot, and you may now add me to that list. MUSICTubular Bells Part II (Sailor's Hornpipe) - Mike OldfieldDrag Racer - The Doug Wood BandProcessed Beats - KasabianPop Looks Bach - Sam FonteynFire - Kas...

Series 11 Episode 5 - BRIXHAM (# 985 Visited 13/04/2025) Devon, England : Population 16,977 (Rank # 607) Ever confuse Brixham with Brixton? Today's trip to the seaside helps identify some basic differences. MUSIC Tubular Bells Part II (Sailor's Hornpipe) - Mike Oldfield The Guns Of Brixton - The Clash Down To Margate - Chas 'n' Dave THANKS The staff of Rockfish, Brixham The staff o...

Series 11 Episode 4 - PAIGNTON (# 984 Visited 11/04/2025) Devon, England : Population 66,878 (Rank # 142) Amidst beery distractions of the nearby CAMRA AGM and a visit to Paignton's own brewery, we take a stroll around this popular Devon resort. MUSIC Classical Gas - Mason Williams Painter Man - Boney M THANKS The organizers, staff and attendees of the Campaign for Real Ale AGM 2025 The congre...

Series 11 Episode 3 - IVYBRIDGE (# 983 Visited 11/04/2025) Devon, England : Population 11,727 (Rank # 827) Find out whether one hour's parking is enough for us to properly get to grips with the 'Gateway to the Moors'. MUSIC Classical Gas - Mason Williams London Girls - Chas 'n' Dave THANKS The Buildings of England (Devon) - Pevsner, N. et al Visit the UK's 1,000 largest set...

Series 11 Episode 2 - PLYMSTOCK (# 982 Visited 11/04/2025) Devon, England : Population 25,610 (Rank # 419) Do you think you could have bettered our host on the 'Plymstock Charity Shop Challenge'? MUSIC Classical Gas - Mason Williams Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division London Girls - Chas 'n' Dave On Broadway (Live) - Gary Numan F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. - Pulp with the...

Series 11 Episode 1 - TAVISTOCK (# 981 Visited 11/04/2025) Devon, England : Population 12,504 (Rank # 795) This sunny season opener sees booksellers battling for my custom as we return to South West England. MUSIC Classical Gas - Mason Williams London Girls - Chas 'n' Dave THANKS The proprietors of The Bahamas, Torquay The staff of The Book Stop, Tavistock The congregation of St Eustachius...

Series 10 Episode 10 - CAMBUSLANG (# 980 Visited 24/02/2025) Lanarkshire, Scotland : Population 29,100 (Rank # 366) We give the Scottish government a bloody nose but fail to impress Midge Ure during this farewell to Lanarkshire. MUSIC Moscow - Orange Juice Vienna - Ultravox THANKS Scotrail The staff of The John Fairweather, Cambuslang Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie....

Series 10 Episode 9 - BLANTYRE (# 979 Visited 24/02/2025) Lanarkshire, Scotland : Population 16,900 (Rank # 611) As the rhetorical question has it, who shall explore the birthplace of the explorer himself? The answer: me. MUSIC Moscow - Orange Juice Loaded - Primal Scream A Horse With No Name - America The Quiet Man O' Lanarkshire - Alexander Brothers Walk Like A Panther - The All Seeing I (ft...

Series 10 Episode 8 - EAST KILBRIDE (# 978 Visited 24/02/2025) Lanarkshire, Scotland : Population 75,120 (Rank # 122) We chart the development of our largest previously unvisited town via the music of habitually underappreciated local band, The Jesus & Mary Chain. MUSIC Deep One Perfect Morning - The Jesus & Mary Chain April Skies - The Jesus & Mary Chain Happy When It Rains - The Jesu...

Series 10 Episode 7 - HAMILTON (# 977 Visited 24/02/2025) Lanarkshire, Scotland : Population 54,080 (Rank # 179) Forget Lewis or Alexander. This is the original Hamilton. But is it the best? Take five minutes listening to find out. MUSIC Moscow - Orange Juice Tiptoe Through The Tulips - Tiny Tim A Horse With No Name - America The Quiet Man O' Lanarkshire - Alexander Brothers Pawn Shops And A L...

Series 10 Episode 6 - LARKHALL (# 976 Visited 24/02/2025) Lanarkshire, Scotland : Population 14,740 (Rank # 690) We head to the terminus of the Argyle Line to get outside a 'full Scottish' and inspect a tall crumbling viaduct. MUSIC Moscow - Orange Juice A Horse With No Name - America The Quiet Man o'Lanarkshire - Alexander Brothers THANKS The staff of The Laverockha Visit the UK's...