‘Prettiest and most isolated’ UK town where nearest shop is 40 minutes away

It's got picturesque beaches, opportunities to spot bottlenose dolphins, and connections to the famed poet Dylan Thomas. But for those living there, its remote location a double-edged sword. New Quay in Wales has become a sought-after destination for tourists.

It was recognised last year as Britain's "prettiest town" due to its "unspoilt" coastline,Wales Online[1] reports But the town in Ceredigion has also been dubbed the most isolated town in England and Wales due to its distance from nearby amenities. The 1,045 people living in the quant town face a long trip to a major supermarket.

The town has a Costcutters and a nearby Morrisons Daily. But it's a 20-mile trip to visit the nearest major supermarket - Tesco[2] or Aldi in Cardigan - while the closest train station is 40 minutes away in Aberystwyth. New Quay has its own primary school and GP surgery but younger residents have to travel outside the town to secondary school.

David Burnip, a YouTuber known as the Wandering Turnip, visited New Quay to find out what life is like in the "most isolated" town. In one of his videos, he exclaimed: "It is absolutely gorgeous isn't it? " He also added: "One thing you notice is the colour of the houses are so absolutely beautiful, each one is like individually painted and they clash so beautifully with the one next to it."

Another distinctive feature that caught David's attention was the limited major road framework within Wales. Mostly surrounded by residential streets or B-roads, New Quay relies on the A487 for connections to both Aberystwyth and Cardigan, reports the Express.

He remarked: "What you notice looking at Wales [on a map of UK motorways] and especially driving through it is there are barely any motorways there. And I noticed it driving from Manchester to Wales. "I've never done this drive before and it was pretty much entirely done on country roads.

No main motorways connect the very mid section of this country and that must add to the isolation that these towns on the west coast must feel, for good or bad." One local told the YouTuber he was set for an operation later in the year, and faced a 20-mile trip to Aberystwyth before a 116-mile round trip to Swansea for the procedure itself. He explained: "They've got to pick me up in Aberystwyth and then they will take me and somebody else as well probably, drive us all the way to Swansea, I'll have an operation there and then they'll bring me back to Aberystwyth and I have to make my own way home."

David discovered that the town was missing key amenities such as a proper bank, supermarket, and train stations, noting the scarcity of cash points: "There is literally nothing nearby at all, a lot of mid-Wales has no train stations, so unless you drive, you are getting everywhere by bus." Originally established as a quaint fishing village known for its herring catch, New Quay has seen a shift in its local economy, as one local informed David that it's now lobsters and prawns that keep the remaining fishermen afloat. The town was where poet Dylan Thomas penned his most well-known play, Under Milk Wood, and David soon discovered why he thinks the writer chose the quaint village.

He said: "You can see why this place would inspire you, there is just something so charming about it, so beautiful, so peaceful, so isolating.

Maybe that isolation is what a lot of people actually want and being far away from stuff doesn't scare people."

References

1. ^ Wales Online (www.walesonline.co.uk)
2. ^ Tesco (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)