Upside Down

More than seven million Britons have never ventured across the nation's north-south divide, with two thirds of southerners claiming the north is 'bleak' and half of northerners assuming that southerners are arrogant snobs.

Almost five million southerners - 15 per cent - have never visited the north, while 2.3 million northerners - one in 10 - have never been south. And three quarters of British people admit they discriminate against those from other regions and use common stereotypes inspired by such soaps as Coronation Street and EastEnders, according to a survey of regional attitudes.

Half of northerners associate the south with 'wide boys' and pinstriped businessmen. Two thirds brand southerners snobs, with more than half citing arrogance as a southern characteristic. James Howison, a 35-year-old electrician from Oldham, said his only trip south was to London and he wanted never to go again.

'It was an awful experience. I felt like I couldn't look anyone in the eye. No one talked to each other,' he said. 'Southerners are stuck up and prejudiced towards anyone without a posh accent.'

And southerners appear just as scathing. One in five says they see mining villages and chip shops as defining images of the 'bleak' life 'up north'. Only one in five southerners has ever visited Liverpool, while fewer than one in 20 have been to Newcastle or Leeds.

Loren Sullivan, 29, an office manager from Stratford, east London, vowed never to travel north. 'It rains a lot more and is much colder. People from the north are a bit behind the times,' she said. 'I doubt the nightlife is anywhere near as good and I imagine the pubs are all a bit grimy and old fashioned. The north is less advanced than the south. London has everything I need.'

Richard Sharpley, professor of tourism at the University of Central Lancashire, described the generalisations as 'disappointing', adding: 'Differences should be celebrated.' And Guy Parsons, chief operating officer at Travelodge, which conducted the study of 2,000 British adults, said: 'This shows a worrying trend towards parochialism. We are travelling abroad more frequently than ever before, but at the cost of abandoning what's on our own doorsteps.'