"Pothole Land" – UK residents give up on repairs, turn the village into a satirical tourist spot

"Pothole Land" is the hottest (and possibly deepest) new attraction in North Wales. Pontfadog village in Wrexham has officially turned its disastrous road conditions into a tourist experience. The locals, clearly done waiting for the council to acknowledge their suffering, have embraced the chaos and named the area “Pothole land”.

The selling point is “the two kilometers of award-winning potholes with very little actual road to spoil your fun.”

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Years of inaction, decades of suffering

As per the report by Sky News, for years, residents of this pothole-ridden paradise have watched their roads slowly crumble into something resembling the surface of the moon.

Local resident Russell Kirk summed it up best, calling the roads "dangerous" and noting that the lack of proper maintenance has left people stranded. Speaking with BBC, Kirk says:

“People won't come up here anymore and that includes the bin men sometimes.”

“We are cut off from life, forgotten about.”

Even the garbage collectors occasionally wave a white flag and refuse to brave the terrain. But instead of despair, the villagers have turned to satire.

Kirk added:

“It's better not to get angry... let's bring the humour and raise the profile of this, so something can be done.”

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Daily life: Like an obstacle course, but less fun

Driving through Pontfadog is more of a survival sport. Farmers struggle to move their cattle, tractors are practically off-roading vehicles at this point, and morning commutes take three times longer than they should.

Jan Gilchrist has resigned herself to the fact that visitors refuse to drive to her house, and delivery services have noped out of there completely. Amazon’s two-day shipping guarantee is not possible in "Pothole Land." Even a pizza delivery is a mythical event.

In a conversation with BBC, Gilchrist revealed:

"We have to leave the house early to get to work. It should only take five minutes to get down to the village, it takes 15."

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The council’s "fix"

(Image via Pinterest/ Zach Turner)

After getting roasted by their own residents, Wrexham Council finally caved and attempted some pothole repairs. "Attempted" is the keyword here.

According to Tim Raddock, who spoke to Sky News, the fixes are basically half-hearted Band-Aids that will likely disappear with the next frost.

"So you could say it's better than nothing but it's not going to take long for the frost and the weather to break them up again and we'll be back to square one."

Meanwhile, the council has opted for the silent treatment —probably hoping that if they ignore the problem long enough, it will magically disappear.

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The price of survival

Living in "Pothole Land" comes with a price—literally. Councillor Trevor Bates has already spent £600 on two broken car springs.

Even Gilchrist confirmed the destruction, calling the car damage "phenomenal."

The AA reported that pothole-related vehicle repairs across the UK have cost a staggering £579 million in 2024. Potholes are committing highway robbery, and nobody is stopping them.

(Image via Pinterest/ Bri)

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The bigger picture (because this isn’t just a Pontfadog problem)

Across England and Wales, the estimated cost to fix all the neglected roads sits at a casual £16 billion. The roads are in such a state that, at this point, it might be cheaper to just declare the entire UK an "off-road" zone and hand out free 4x4s.

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Will anything change?

Local resident Edd Rayner remains hopeful that "Pothole Land" will grab enough attention to finally force some action. His offer is if the council supplies the tarmac, the residents will patch the roads themselves.

"But, they're not potholes, they're bomb craters. It takes years of concerted council inaction to get to where we are now."