| Things you never knew about Alston | Alston claims to be the highest market settlement in England, being about 1000 feet above sea level. The Angel pub in the town is dated 1611. Alston is the starting point for the South Tynedale Railway, England's highest narrow gauge railway. The Gossipgate gallery, displaying regional arts and crafts, is housed in the former Congregational Church. |
There's no doubt there's a problem. Young lads outnumber the lasses by ten-to-one. A bleak prospect for any young man with fire in his loins and a Leo Sayer back catalogue on the brain. Alston's single men reckon the "young farm lasses" leave the town for the big cities. A lot of the work in Alston is based around labouring, leaving few jobs for the girls. For 21st century womenfolk that's not good enough so they up sticks and leave. Drastic measures have had to be taken by the desperate and lovelorn single men of the town. They've set up a website to try to tempt young ladies to the village. They hoped the Alston Moor Regeneration Society website would encourage women to head to "The Ibiza of the North". | ""They look at the place and think it's some sort of village backwater. But we have a lot to offer, especially young, fit, good looking men"" | | Vince Peart |
Whether on not Alston is about to have an influx of women looking for love remains to be seen, but one thing is certain. They've certainly got their eye on the place. So many ladies have logged on to check out the talent, that the site's crashed. Local lad Stu Ridley admits he's had thousands of emails since his profile went on the site, and he'll be replying to every one. The campaign leader Vince Peart who's 21, says something needed to be done. "We were in the pub last Friday and there was 17 men and one lady, and the lady was going out with one of the hardest men in the pub so it was difficult to look at her, nevermind have a conversation" The website says the average male in Alston is single, athletic, intelligent, well-groomed, an extremely good sense of humour, owns a vehicle, and in many cases land and property as well. Mr Peart adds "they look at the place and think it's some sort of village backwater. But we have a lot to offer, especially young fit good looking men" | 
