Surrounded by rolling fields and humble villages, Stamford boasts its grand Georgian architecture and rural country living making it hard to argue with its title as “Best Place to Live in Britain”. However, sixteen-year-old Elise Chowdhury explores the pros and cons of being raised in such an idyllic environment
(Half) Growing up in Stamford The perks of a Stamford upbringing As someone who was brought up for half of my childhood outside of Liverpool and the other in a small village outside of Stamford, the diversities of both ways of life are as clear as black and white to me. Once one has gotten used to the pungent smell of manure from the fields, the benefits of a country life can be revealed but also its weaknesses. As the stress of modern life takes its toll, there is nowhere better to relieve ourselves of our hectic, technology-driven lives than the historic streets of Stamford. With stories festering behind every brick of archaic Stamford Stone, Stamford offers both culture and restoration of traditional values. Not forgetting Burghley House featured on the outskirts of town attracting both tourists and families in their masses. I doubt there is a single Stamford-bred person who cannot remember summer picnics and dog walks around Burghley Park or a day out at the Horse Trials. The most memorable for me however, is a day of relaxation with friends in the summer on The Meadows, eating ice cream and walking towards the weir for a dip and a cool off. It is fair to say a summer in Stamford is one no one fails to remember. But are young people sheltered from reality? Our more serene and carefree lifestyle, where day to day issues concern the impracticality of the new self-service machines in Tesco or the price of coffee in our many coffee shops, is sadly
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slightly unrealistic. Despite being just a short drive up the A1 from popular tourist cities London and Cambridge, Stamford generally avoids the bustling crowds and traffic, unless it’s market day of course. Unfortunately, this is both a blessing and a curse, suggesting that the town is perhaps a little too quiet and enclosed for young people, especially those with ambitions that exceed its walls. How can we understand the ways of the world if we haven’t properly explored it? Perhaps with a little encouragement more and more young people of Stamford will venture further outside of Stamford and experience life. What do the younger generation really think? Rather than taking my word for it, I found out what other teenagers had to say about their country upbringing. Speaking to a small group of 15-16-year olds I was given mixed opinions. “Shopping in Stamford is extremely difficult,” one of the girls said. “There is only really Newlook for trendy girls’ clothes at a reasonable price. Everywhere else is either too expensive for people our age or targeted at the older generations.” In agreement with this, I admitted that I too find clothes shopping around town difficult. Most agreed that Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough is the best place to go locally unless you can travel further afield to Cambridge. One of the boys expressed: “I find that Stamford tends to appeal to the older generation rather than the young. There is only
the ‘Rec’ (recreational ground) that has been built especially for us. I guess one day this quieter sort of life will appeal to me but not yet, not when I’m still young with a life ahead of me.” Clearly Stamford summers aren’t enough to satisfy the youth all year round. On the other hand, a few others felt slightly less negative about their upbringing adding: “We are lucky to experience country living and all its benefits. We live in a pretty safe area which allows us a lot of freedom. Even though it may be quieter and more secluded than most of us would like, it encourages us to want more out of life since not everything is on our doorstep, we have to go get it. We can move to a city when we’re ready but also come back when the time comes to bring up our own kids in this safe environment.” It seems surprisingly common for old “Stamfordians” to return during adulthood when the money has been made and the need for a traditional family lifestyle beckons. Despite the town’s struggle to feed the adventurous appetites of some of its youngsters, clearly Stamford’s roots run deep. Drawing us back in years to come when we surprise ourselves by missing the stench of manure and the country walks our parents religiously dragged us on every weekend. So perhaps we shouldn’t be so soon to criticise the peace and quiet Stamford offers, you never know, one day we might be back to take advantage of it as the older generation we swore we’d never become!