Underwhelming...

Pross

I'm sure we did this in times gone by but can't find it. So, anything you found underwhelming after looking forward to seeing / doing it? This was inspired by Countryfile tonight and Stonehenge. As a Civil Engineer I certainly appreciate how difficult its construction was thousands of years ago, even bringing together the required workforce when villages were probably only a few dozen people is incredible but having pictured the stones being about 50' tall I was underwhelmed by the scale when I first saw it up close and it wasn't helped by the setting. It felt a bit like I'd found the Spinal Tap set by accident.

Similarly, when I first went to New York in 2012 it was just after the hurricane and we couldn't visit Liberty Island so viewed it from the Statten Island ferry instead. I thought we must have been further away that it felt but then we went again last year and went onto the island only to realise that it actually is much smaller than I'd always thought.

Finally, Concorde. The outside design and engineering were superb but having gone onboard it really was tiny and, compared to even walking through business class on a 747, really quite cramped and basic

ballysmate

In a similar way, the Grand Canyon. Quite underwhelmed standing at the edge. Perhaps it's because we see so much imagery now of supposed wonders and sights that we are in some way inured.

Pross

I'd also throw in the original Disneyland in Anaheim and Las Vegas (although the latter was more a disappointment than underwhelming).

apreading

Know exactly what you mean about Stonehenge. Go to Avebury - much better in my opinion.

I remember standing in the empty bays where the engines would normally be on a Concorde at Filton - THAT was more impressive than inside the cabin!

Have to disagree on the Grand Canyon though - that was truly AWESOME in every sense of the word.

Niagara was a huge disappointment though - with tacky blackpool style shops & fast food chains right up to the edge - I wanted to see it surrounded by wilderness in all its glory, not dwarfed by takeaway wrappers...

ballysmate

Yes, I hated Vegas and yes the area of Niagara was tacky, but I was impressed by the falls though.

tangled_metal

Stonehenge was an expensive waste of time. We queued up for over half an hour then IIRC under.the road to a path around the edge of the henge in a loop and back to the gift shop. We were longer in the queue to get in! Can't touch the stones or walk among them when I went.

I went with two overseas students and compared to the delights of Thailand and Malaysia Stonehenge must have been a complete nonentity.

Anyone seen the small Castlerigg stone circle in Cumbria? Whilst not a big, celebrated part of our nation's pre-history as Stonehenge it has something if you're there at a good time of day (early or late without a crowd). I've been there in the mists and dewy grass of.early morning. Setting is pretty good.

BTW my family lived over.the hill.from Stonehenge, IMHO The best view was.from that ridge looking down on the setting of Stonehenge and surrounding terrain. Better then visiting it up close.

ballysmate

Tangled Metal wrote:

Stonehenge was an expensive waste of time. We queued up for over half an hour then IIRC under.the road to a path around the edge of the henge in a loop and back to the gift shop. We were longer in the queue to get in! Can't touch the stones or walk among them when I went.

I went with two overseas students and compared to the delights of Thailand and Malaysia Stonehenge must have been a complete nonentity.

Anyone seen the small Castlerigg stone circle in Cumbria? Whilst not a big, celebrated part of our nation's pre-history as Stonehenge it has something if you're there at a good time of day (early or late without a crowd). I've been there in the mists and dewy grass of.early morning. Setting is pretty good.

BTW my family lived over.the hill.from Stonehenge, IMHO The best view was.from that ridge looking down on the setting of Stonehenge and surrounding terrain. Better then visiting it up close.

Yes, I'd forgotten about the eye watering cost of admission. :shock:

webboo

Ballysmate wrote:

In a similar way, the Grand Canyon. Quite underwhelmed standing at the edge. Perhaps it's because we see so much imagery now of supposed wonders and sights that we are in some way inured.

Walking in and out in 40 degree heat with very little water I was somewhat overwhelmed.

gethinceri

Merthyr Tydfil. I was expecting it to be pretty shit before I went but it turned out to be utterly shit.

ballysmate

Gethinceri wrote:

Merthyr Tydfil. I was expecting it to be pretty shoot before I went but it turned out to be utterly shoot.

Never been. But following your review, I will scratch it from my bucket list.

Wheelspinner

The "Mona Lisa" painting in the Louvre. Size of a postage stamp when viewed from 50 yards over the heads of 400 tourists.

Meh to the power of 10!

Pross

Wheelspinner wrote:

The "Mona Lisa" painting in the Louvre. Size of a postage stamp when viewed from 50 yards over the heads of 400 tourists.

Meh to the power of 10!

Good one, so underwhelming I'd forgotten it!

Stevo_666

Gethinceri wrote:

Merthyr Tydfil. I was expecting it to be pretty shoot before I went but it turned out to be utterly shoot.

If you include Bike Park Wales its rather good actually

mamba80

Tangled Metal wrote:

Stonehenge was an expensive waste of time. We queued up for over half an hour then IIRC under.the road to a path around the edge of the henge in a loop and back to the gift shop. We were longer in the queue to get in! Can't touch the stones or walk among them when I went.

I went with two overseas students and compared to the delights of Thailand and Malaysia Stonehenge must have been a complete nonentity.

to experience all wiltshire has to offer, you need to go to Chippenham on a saturday night, rivals anything in Phuket

stonehenge expensive? no way, i ve spent many a friday evening on the A303 admiring the stone circle for hours on end... all for free.

but for canyon lovers, try Colca in Peru or for a truly weird experience, Etosha pan in Namibia, i was there in the late 80s, cant imagine its changed much.

BelgianBeerGeek

Interesting...I love Stonehenge/Woodhenge and Avebury etc. If you just pop along for a squint, then yes, you won't get it.
But. Some bunch of hairy dudes 5000 (yep five thousand, or whatever) years ago brought stones to this place.
And as clocks go, it's fairly accurate. But then again, my friends seven year old has an iPhone. So, ice-age losers, stick that in yer pipe.

chrisaonabike

Ballysmate wrote:

In a similar way, the Grand Canyon. Quite underwhelmed standing at the edge.

What????

Soulless peasant.

BelgianBeerGeek

I'd like to add Bath. The town. Couple of OK boozers, yes I had a swim, and in one rather excellent bookshop I found a book I had been looking for for a while.
Town itself. Shithole. What a dump. If this is what brings people to visit the UK, then we are doomed.

verylonglegs

Pross wrote:

Finally, Concorde. The outside design and engineering were superb but having gone onboard it really was tiny and, compared to even walking through business class on a 747, really quite cramped and basic

You need to think of it as a Caterham car, insanely fast and built for raw speed...but look elsewhere for comfort.

crispybug2

"Stonehenge was an expensive waste of time."


Drove past Stonehenge on the A303(?) when there was a traffic jam, saw it from my car, felt that that was good enough and it cost f*ck all.....result!!

mcstumpy

Ballysmate wrote:

In a similar way, the Grand Canyon. Quite underwhelmed standing at the edge. Perhaps it's because we see so much imagery now of supposed wonders and sights that we are in some way inured.

interesting, I experienced a very opposite reaction

Pross

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

Interesting...I love Stonehenge/Woodhenge and Avebury etc. If you just pop along for a squint, then yes, you won't get it.
But. Some bunch of hairy dudes 5000 (yep five thousand, or whatever) years ago brought stones to this place.
And as clocks go, it's fairly accurate. But then again, my friends seven year old has an iPhone. So, ice-age losers, stick that in yer pipe.

I did say I appreciated the engineering achievement, it was just way less impressive than I imagined it in terms of scale.

apreading

Pross wrote:

I did say I appreciated the engineering achievement, it was just way less impressive than I imagined it in terms of scale.

Angel of the North was just the same. Every picture of it seems to be a huge shining beacon on top of a green hillside. Reality was a small piece of rusting cr*p below the hard shoulder of the motorway.

sungod

little mermaid in copenhagen, walked bloody ages in the drizzle...

yep, it's little

...can we go now, the bar will be open and there's elephant beer

Garry H

Giant's Causeway

surrey_commuter

Venice

awavey

Lands End, even ignoring the chintzyness and unrelated rubbish shops or the pay to have a photo taken by a sign post, it isnt even the most spectacular part of the Cornwall coast....and its a flippin long way to go to get there too.

FishFish

I went to university and saw the civil engineering degree and was unimpressed and seriously underwhelmed. I read physics up to part 3 and everyone was overwhelmed!

bbrap

verylonglegs wrote:

Pross wrote:

Finally, Concorde. The outside design and engineering were superb but having gone onboard it really was tiny and, compared to even walking through business class on a 747, really quite cramped and basic

You need to think of it as a Caterham car, insanely fast and built for raw speed...but look elsewhere for comfort.

Having flown Concorde I can concur with this. Acceleration like you would not believe. Mach 2.02 at 65,000 ft, sky is jet black and the curvature of the earth is clearly visible. Wonderful memories which unfortunately are never likely to be repeated. Although only 4 seats wide (two either side of the aisle) you do get plenty of leg room and the leather seats are very comfy. Lobster and champagne was nice too :P

ddraver

I think the problem with some of the Grand Canyon is that is so big, you cant see the whole thing, which makes it hard to judge the scale. Some of the canyons in Utah look more impressive as a result.

I'd like to add Mont St. Michel, tourist hell hole.

gethinceri

Stevo 666 wrote:

If you include Bike Park Wales

I don't.

pinno

The Sacre Coeur and Monte Marte in the middle of July.
Would have been good but for the very loud tourists (mainly American 'doing Europe').

Returned with the then gf at 2am and it was stunning. Eiffel tower was all lit up at the time and crossing the Seine on Le Metro and seeing at night was superb.

Same with the Sagrada familia - overwhelmed by tourists ruining the place but you can see it from afar and it's an incredible structure.

The London eye - magic, far better then I expected.
Gamla Stan in Stockholm, worth seeing and spending time wandering about or getting on a boat and seeing the archipelago. Even better when the snow is falling silently on near empty streets in Stockholm, halo's from lights, street lights and shop windows reflected in the snow.
Glen Coe, Glen Nevis, Loch Maree, Spittal of Glenshee, Pass of Killiecrankie (especially in Autumn), Bruar Falls.. what an endless list of great places that won't ever get on the list of 'wonders of the world' and won't cost you to see it but awe inspiring nonetheless. You don't have to do all these over commercialised bucket type list venues.