UP ON THE ROOF The North Western Evening Mail has criticised local web sites for publishing things like Coronation Street style houses and the Job Centre as well as other dismal things about the Town. Once again, it must be stressed that this isn't a tourist site and even if it was then what is wrong with telling the truth and showing the town in it's reality. At this point if you don't want to read about my own personal views or you think this site is not for you then please accept that this site is NOT a tourist site and if you don't like it then you don't have to stay so please use the pull down menu at the top and look at the links and maybe you may find one that suits what you are looking for.
All tourist guides promote the good side of any town or city but would you really like to come to a town that has,as the Evening mail quoted "Coronation Street style Houses". What is wrong with that. They are here and you can't just blot them out for the tourists.
This has really somewhat annoyed me as this site is for ex-Furness folk who remember the town as it was and like to look back at their memories as well as comparing them with how the town is today. Therefore I don't see why I should only publish photos of the tourism type when in reality the Furness area has it's good sides and not so good sides just like any other town. There's two sides to everything, or so it is said.
The Evening Mail reported people didn't want to see these Coronation Street houses and lets be honest, Barrow has had these houses for years and its a part of Barrow Life. Without terraced houses in the town then Barrow just wouldn't be Barrow. We are trying to show Barrow as it was as well as showing how it is now and how the changes have affected the town.
These photos that you are viewing now were taken from the roof tops of Barrow Town Center and show how the town looks from the rooftops. They may not be brilliant photos but I don't admit to being a professional photographer so you'll just have to accept them as they are.
If you want to look at web sites about Barrow from a tourists point of view then click here and when prompted enter "barrow in furness" exactly as you see it including the quotes.
If you are interested about the History of the Barrow and Furness peninsula then click here and visit Darren Jeffersons highly acclaimed site
Barrow, like any other town isn't all glamour like some people expect it to be. Currently it has undergone a lot of changes with fresh new employment in the area but like any other place there is unemployment as well. If we are going to be honest and in all truthfulness I wouldn't have published this page if it wasn't for the Evening mail publishing a viewers comments and therefore I think it's only right that the Ex Furness folk that this site was set up for should know whats really going on in the town.
There is good and bad in everything. The good things of the town include fresh new employment in the area with the new Portland Walk shopping center which houses a Littlewoods and a Debenhams store as well as numerous other places. The new Hollywood Park complex which consists of a Bowling Alley, Bingo Hall, MacDonalds and KFC drivethroughs, a Pizza Hut, A 6 screen Multiplex Cinema, a health and fitness centre to mention a few.
The down side of the town is that although new jobs have been created there are still a lot of people out of work and the crime rate is quite high compared to some places but again lower compared to other places. It's ironic the Evening mail can publish a story about Internet web sites giving a false image of the town when they print the Headlines about Drugs and Barrow being the "Heroin Capital of the North"
To sum things up from my own personal point of view, I live in the town. I like it although there are certain things I don't like. Overall I think it's a great town with a lot of potential if only the local council would listen to it's public. Lets help each other out, lets fight for what we believe in and put Barrow on the map but above all lets be honest with each other, after all if I didn't like the town then I wouldn't be living here.
If you would like to add any comments to this page then please click here and email your comments to me. Any comments will be posted on this page anonymously if you so wish. EDITORS NOTE:- This web site has been designed by me and is maintained in my spare time as a hobby. I make no money from it whatsoever and it is not to be viewed upon as a professional site because I don't believe it is. This site has brought many Furness Folk back to it's roots and has also brought long lost friends and relatives back together. If you do not like what you see here then please leave and find somewhere else. Everybody is different and we are all looking for different things but this site has already done a lot of people a lot of good. Please go and read the guest book and see what people have said about the site and maybe add your views/comments.