Come this summer it looks like I may need to spend a day or two around Luton (London) airport. Is there anything of historical/cultural interest in the area? I'm not sure I want to head into London itself but am curious as to whether I can entertain myself and teenage kids.

I'm sure I'm not the only one asking himself, "why do you want to stay around Luton?" But it's not far from St. Alban's which is a delightful town with a beatiful park, ruins of an old Roman city, supposedly the oldest pub in England (one of several), beautiful rose gardens, and a very nice High Street.

St. Albans is not really that much closer than central London - if you're here you may as well make the most of things and catch a bus into the centre. Luton is a modern, unappealing, unattractive town, why anyone would want to go there (even for the airport which I detest) is beyond me.

I agree w/ Patrick and m_kingdom. Unless you are there on business - which doesn't seem to be the case since you mention your kids, there isn't anything at or particularly near Luton except watching planes take off and land.

Of course, it depends on why Zeus says he "may need to spend a day or two around Luton airport", but I assumed he was trying to avoid going into central London. St. Albans is approximatley one-third the distance from Luton Airport that the center of London is, (sorry, I guess I don't understand what "not really that much closer" means). If Zeus has a car, it is a lot easier to drive the 14 miles or so into St. Alban's and park and explore as it is to go into central London. I was just trying to suggest somewhere easy and closer with some "historical/cultural interest in the area".

I found this for you, in case you have no choice but to be there.


http://www.stchris.edu/living_luton.htm

Wow!!! I didn't realize I was staying in the cesspit of England! The only reason I'll be in Luton is because of a nasty connection I'm making into Madrid. I'll have to spend a night in Luton so I was looking for something other than sitting in the hotel room watching documentaries about cheese making on the BBC (like the Griswolds). We've been to London in the past and we were hoping to find something new and exciting. Sounds like we'll stick with the tried and true and head into town.

Luton isn't quite the cesspit of England but it's a pretty dull town... and I should know - I grew up there.

Sadly the areas near the airport are some of the least pleasant - some consist of "ticky tacky" houses put up quickly and cheaply following the second world war and intended to last only 10 years or so, others are more recent but equally ugly.

Other areas, further out, are perfectly nice suburban residential areas.

I think the suggestion of a visit to St Albans is a good one - there is certainly a lot to see there, from the cathedral to the Roman ruins to some good shopping.

If you want to stay in Luton just the night before your departure you could visit the entertainment complex that's been built since I left Luton - it's just a multiplex cinema, I think it might have bowling too. That's in the centre of town.

It's perfectly feasible to stay in Luton and visit London - it's about 30 mins on the train from Luton into King's Cross station - we used to do it all the time, and very occasionally I still do, when visiting my parents, who are still in Luton. Usually I drive though.

If you have more than one night I'd not choose to spend both there.

Last month, I went to a travel exhibition in London for people organising day trips, and various tourist attractions in the south east of England had stands. The one stand that was always deserted was the one labelled "Visit Luton". It really is a dreary place with nothing worth visiting. In the area, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park might interest kids. Woburn is nearby as well.

And even those are a little dire if it's a winter visit...

This from the magnificent craptowns.com. Pretty grim reading:


Crap Town/Village: Luton
Alumni: Pub-singer-got lucky, Paul Young. The poet John Hegley (apparently still in post-Luton recovery).
Amenities: Hookers, drugs

Once home to a thriving hat-making industry, Luton's main asset is now its airport which, given the current popularity of flying, is perhaps not the greatest strong-point to fall back on.

People there still take pride in re-enacting the infamous 70s Lorraine Chase advert (Martini? Bacardi?) where she namechecks the place. Jesus.

This is an archetypal conurbation town with no basic infrastructure or ammenities for culture or entertainment. No sense of history. Nothing to inspire or stimulate, just houses. Everyone is in the same sinking boat and tensions inevitably arise.

Too close to London to warrant building anything approaching what the capital has to offer, yet just far enough to away to offer a sense of other-worldly, neglected isolation, Luton is out there.

The centre is dominated by a crappy - surprise, surprise - Arndale shopping centre and a clutch of generic theme pubs and wrist-slittingly moribund nightclubs which, when I was last there four years ago seemed to be named after piss poor 80's cocktails drinks - Mirage, Manhattan Skyline etc.

There are also plenty of opportunities for fighting - I got in four or five in my three year tenure in Luton, none of which I instigated I should add.

What else?

Nope, sorry that's it.

Ben Myers

NO REDEEMING FEATURES

Dreary, concrete and polluted. A lot of towns/cities have this image but they still have redeeming features eg Birmingham has art galleries, theatres and semi-decent nightclubs. Despite the presence of good F.E. colleges, anyone who's reasonably educated flees this dumping ground as soon as they can.

What a Lutonian really loves the most is agro. You're not normal unless you relish agro. Indeed, one of the most commonly used words is 'attitude'. If you answer a stupid yobbos lager-infuelled question with a polite, intelligent answer you are automatically accused of being stuck-up, even though Luton people think materialistic features such as new cars and tacky modern houses are of great importance.

Once, a large group of scum thought it would be fulfilling to beat up an old man outside a nightclub.

Luton is the only place I know where men will leer at you even if they're accompanied by their girlfriend, who will be meekly accepting.

That's quite amusing, though I have never met a Lutonian who doesn't hate the Lorraine Chase line being trotted out - so very very tired now.

Though he's quite right about the Arndale Shopping Centre and the sad nightclubs. And about the dull architecture - though, as I said above, away from the airport there are perfectly normal residential suburbs that are pretty much identical to most of suburban England.

I expect the reason there is so much aggro is that there is f*ck all to do for entertainment! Personally, I'm not one for aggro - probably why I left?