this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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I love asking UK, especially English, people this question; the answers vary wildly. Once had a Londoner describe the north as "anywhere north of the M25".

So, lemmings, where is 'the north' to you?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Here's a relevant map men video about this very matter.

https://youtu.be/ENeCYwms-Cc

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The Midlands do exist! :P

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Roughly north of a line from the ~~Mersey~~ Dee to the Humber. If we use counties then the southern borders of Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire form the line.

It's essentially this:

I highly recommend Rory Stewart's documentary Border Country: The Story of Britain's Lost Middleland if you can find it anywhere as it does a good job of looking at the North and how it is so strongly connected to Scotland, it's really Hadrian's Wall that divided us along an arbitrary geographical feature because it was easy to defend.

edit: as much as I'd like to exclude Cheshire I am allowing them into the North, so changed Mersey to Dee.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Yup, this looks about right to me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You could argue that some parts of North Lincolnshire are in the North. If you draw a line across, you'd be in the heart of Lancashire.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You could use the same argument to suggest that most of Norfolk is in the Midlands, but it isn't.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I was actually going to mention that in my original comment. In my mind it kind of is in the midlands seeing as it aligns with the rest of the midlands.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

In my mind geological barriers trump all imaginary lines. Latitudes means little when there's 25 kilometers of water between you and the other side of land. Counties have irregular shapes mostly due to geographic features making it historically difficult to easily traverse over the areas that would become boundaries between two counties; cultural differences between these counties are a phenomenon that arises because of on-the-ground geography rather than imaginary latitudinal lines and to me, that's why they take precedence.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Those bloody Northerners in Westminster!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yep, whenever I cross Dartford bridge I always comment to my wife that we're currently in the Midlands. She doesn't find me funny...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

There's definitely a Middlesex joke to be had crossing the Thames at some points.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Once had a Londoner describe the north as "anywhere north of the M25"

I mean, London's a big city but I've never heard any Londoner say this in all my life living there. It's always been "comedians" usually Northern ones as a cheeky insult to Londoners: "Oh look they don't even know geography". Which, to be fair, we probably don't.

Personally I'd say anything North of Sheffield is da Naaarth. Roughly anything above Wales.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This would mean that Liverpool isn't in the North, and Manchester just barely squeaks by (though most of Manchester is at or below Sheffield Latitude). They all dance around 53.3-53.5^o Lat.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Roughly anything above Wales.

Roughly my friend, roughly.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

North of the Thames. This means I can claim I moved from South to North.

In actuality the line is somewhere above Nottingham but below Stoke.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

For me the North is where you play tig, the South is where you play tag

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Where I come from, we played It. Pretty sure that was the south, even south of Thames.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Yorkshire and up for me

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

North of Northampton because I don’t believe in the Midlands

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

above the belly button

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Sheffield and above is North, Cambridge and below is South, in the middle is Midlands, lines are a bit wiggly.

A lot of people just think about wealth/poshness and tend to think only in terms of proximity to London.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Well I live in the absolute middle of the Midlands, so anything north of me is "The North" and anything south of me is "The South".

Simples.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Anywhere north of me is the north. I’m in North Wales.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I drove past Watford Gap yesterday, that felt like leaving the South.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Draw a line from the Bristol Channel to The Wash. That's the line.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

North of Northamptonshire, as someone in the South

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Good quesy! Having moved to Sheffield I'm started Ng to think of it as the centre of the country (height-wise) and as such, the art of t'north :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m a child from a broken home. One parent lived in Yorkshire, the other in the midlands. When they did handover, it was at Donington Park services, the approximate midpoint. Therefore my North begins not far north of Donington Park services.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Wow, that brings back memories, similar locations with one parent in Stockton the other further south and our 'handover' was a greasy spoon on the A1(M) called Haven cafe (now a just as shitty KFC or something). I think of mid as Leicester maybe, never really thought about a dividing point.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This thread about the most northerly The North sign might be of interest, and possibly even help :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Living in the North of Scotland and listening to people referring to anywhere north of Watford Gap as "The North" will always elicit a raised eyebrow from me.

Oh my sweet southern children, what do you know of the true north? Where the sun hides it's face for weeks at a time...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Northerners are basically Scots, Scots are basically Vikings, Southerners are basically French

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The Wirral is very strongly Viking influenced - there's a Thingwall, after all.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You do realise York comes from the word "Yorvik" and that ze French never made it that far north, right?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I was going largely by geographic proximity rather than conquest. Also if you're suggesting that Yorkshire is in the South then they won't be happy with that!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

If we consider GB as a whole, you're still in the southern half of Great Britain until you get almost up to Carlisle. Manchester, Liverpool, Yorkshire etc. which are all considered "up north" are very much south of this.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Chesterfield is one of the points which is 50/50 northern and southern resulting in a real midlands feels.