Series 12 Episode 8 - PORT GLASGOW (# 997 Visited 25/08/2025)

Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 14,620 (Rank # 697)

Get yourself filled in on Port Glasgow's shipbuilding as we go diving for pearls of wisdom.

MUSIC

Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills

Shipbuilding - Robert Wyatt

THANKS

The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 12 Episode 7 - BARRHEAD (# 996 Visited 25/08/2025)

Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 17,610 (Rank # 592)

Save your thankses; we're flushing out Shanks's... and other elements of Barrhead's industrial past.

MUSIC

Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills

Carry On At Your Convenience (Opening Theme) - Eric Rogers

Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker

THANKS

The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 12 Episode 6 - NEWTON MEARNS (# 995 Visited 25/08/2025)

Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 26,600 (Rank # 401)

Bagpiping suburban fact into travelogue fiction.

MUSIC

Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills

Scotland The Brave - The Auld Town Band & Pipes

THANKS

The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al

F Edgar

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 12 Episode 5 - BONHILL (# 994 Visited 24/08/2025)

Dunbartonshire, Scotland : Population 9,050 (Rank # 988)

Is the Leven going to get us down, or will we distract ourselves with the not-so-great library of Alexandria? The first half of the final season winds up in Dunbartonshire.

MUSIC

Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap

Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Belle & Sebastian

Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 12 Episode 4 - ERSKINE (# 993 Visited 24/08/2025)
Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 15,510 (Rank # 658)

The one where we pay tribute to the late Anne Gregg, for no obvious reason.

MUSIC
Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap
Get On Up - James Brown
The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker
Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker

THANKS

Anne Gregg (1940-2006)
BBC Holiday 89 (Episode 11 - 16/03/1989)
The staff of Spar, Erskine
The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 12 Episode 3 - JOHNSTONE (# 992 Visited 23/08/2025)
Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 16,090 (Rank # 639)

What local lad Gordon Ramsay might've made of my black pudding supper is anyone's guess and, as he'd probably have peppered Callum's karaoke with profanity, it's just as well we didn't invite him.

MUSIC
Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap
Smalltown Boy - S3 Klassiker (orig. Bronski Beat)
I Am A Cider Drinker - The Wurzels (orig.)
Forever In Blue Jeans - Neil Diamond (orig.)
Some Girls - Racey (orig.)This Town - The Go-Go's
The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker
Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker

THANKS
The staff of Sandro's, Johnstone
The staff and patrons of Callum's Bar & Kitchen, Johnstone
The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 12 Episode 2 - GIFFNOCK (# 991 Visited 23/08/2025)

Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 12,300 (Rank # 802)

Don't panic! My AI companion makes an unexpected return to the fray, but Giffnock has coped with worse in the past.

MUSIC

Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap

Panic - The Smiths

The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker

Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker

THANKS

The staff of the Giffnock Cafe

The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 12 Episode 1 - CLARKSTON (# 990 Visited 23/08/2025)

Renfrewshire, Scotland : Population 9,860 (Rank # 939)

The final season gets underway in this slice of Scotland's suburbia where things can occasionally get explosive.

MUSIC

Durham Town (The Leavin') - Roger Whittaker

Heartsong - Gordon Giltrap

This Town - The Go-Go's

The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker

THANKS

The Buildings of Scotland (Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire) - Pevsner, N. et al

Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

Series 11 Episode 9 - TEIGNMOUTH (# 989 Visited 14/04/2025)
Devon, England : Population 15,597 (Rank # 652)
We pay homage to doomed single-handed sailor Donald Crowhurst as we, like him, wave goodbye to England for the final time.
MUSIC
Sailing By - Ronald Binge
The Deception - iLiKETRAiNS
Eternal Father Strong To Save - Portsmouth Cathedral Choir & Congregation
THANKS
The staff and patrons of The Ship Inn, Teignmouth
The Buildings of England (Devon) - Pevsner, N. et al
Visit the UK's 1,000 largest settlements with Alexander Rennie. For full details of both challenge and podcast, see https://forgottentowns.org

We find simmering local hostility beyond the elegant wildfowl and picture postcard scenery of this Devon seaside resort.