Travel writers send American tourists to London's rundown Deptford(New York Times )

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/04/28/travel-writers-send-american-tourists-to-london-s-rundown-deptford-115875-21314990/ ^ | 28/04/2009 | Matt Blake

[grjr21]

Forget Stonehenge and York Minster - South East London is Britain's latest must-see tourist hotspot.

The New York Times dubbed the deprived districts of Deptford and New Cross as "London's Wild West" and urged Americans to visit the area's gritty attractions.

Readers of the respected newspaper are told that Deptford has "that most heady of urban ingredients: an edge".

That edge includes being the tenth most violent place in the country, according to the latest Home Office crime figures.

There were 8,376 violent offences committed against people in Deptford's borough Lewisham.

The figure includes four murders, 1,674 robberies, 135 gun crimes and 101 rapes.

But the article praises the area's indie club scene where "rude boys and art students with asymmetric haircuts party side by side to raucous live acts".

And Deptford Broadway's Bunker Club also gets a special mention as a place where "drinks, in cans and plastic cups are served to sweaty, indie night owls by a couple well into their 50s".

Despite the praise, locals were left puzzled by the paper's claims.

Barmaid Sandra White, 41, said: "With Americans so concerned about their security, you'd think this would be the last place they'd want to come.

"All I can say is I hope they like hoodies, muggers and junkies - there are enough of them here." Even Deptford councillor Heidi Alexander admitted: "It does seem a bit bizarre."

[razorback-bert]

I don’t have to travel to London to or see that.

[razorback-bert]

There is “do” missing, sorry.

[TheOldLady]

Go to Scotland. The whiskey is much better.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

Some people are into ‘danger tourism’...

[Billthedrill]

It’s the gun crime part. We can’t get that here in the States.

[CholeraJoe]

Four murders in a year? Lightweights! I had five murders in a year committed within two blocks of my house when I lived in Louisiana.

[StormEye]

"But the article praises the area's indie club scene where "rude boys and art students with asymmetric haircuts party side by side to raucous live acts"."

In other words, it's a freak show.

[colorado tanker]

Hmmm. I don't know this neighborhood, but I'm getting a whiff of spin both from the NYT article and the Mirror's take on the Times. Deptford is next to Greenwich and across the river from Docklands, the very successful redevelopment. Lewisham is served by the Docklands light rail. So, that area is ripe for gentrification.

Maybe the Mirror couldn't miss an opportunity to put down those daft Americans.

[Darren McCarty]

Reminds me of the the suburban kids wanting to take a trip to the ghetto to feel all big and bad......

[dead]

The swells always feel adventurous when they go culture slumming.

Reminds me of one of the best songs of the last decade, by William Shatner, Joe Jackson and Ben Folds:

Common People

[Old North State]

The New York Times has been absolutely obsessed with junkies for years. They seem willing to print anything by or about junkies. They have never gotten over the whole Naked Lunch, keeping it real shtick, like perpetual underclassmen in college who think junkies are exotic and ‘edgy’, what used to be called cool.