Town so bad a hole in the wall next to hole in the wall is the top tourist attraction
‘We visited this iconic landmark in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2024,’ wrote Robert.
‘As always, it didn’t fail to impress. The neon lights and street lighting made haunting shadows on the road and the light rain only added to the ambience.
‘It is a truly magical place and one can only stand in awe at the architectural genius.’
This is the only review Robert has written for TripAdvisor, a platform that allows people to review local attractions and recommend their top picks for things to do.
But Robert wasn’t describing London’s Big Ben, Paris’ Eiffel Tower or New York City’s Times Square.
No, he was talking about the ‘NatWest Hole’, a literal hole in the wall by a branch of the bank in Ilkeston that is the town’s number one thing to do, according to 143 TripAdvisor users.
The wall on Bath Street was built during a 1990s refurbishment so people using the ATM could see if anyone was standing on the other side eyeing up their PIN.
Since 2018, the some 38,000 people in Ilkeston, a former coal mining town in Derbyshire, have come together to flood the hole’s TripAdvisor page with five-star reviews.
Popular mentions include, among other things: ‘Buckingham Palace,’ ‘unforgettable experience,’ ‘hidden gem’ and, of course, ‘wall’.
With so many raving reviews, the hole is the number one tourist hotspot in Ilkeston, beating the Erewash Museum and Bennerly Viaduct.
TripAdvisor even had to briefly suspend the tongue-in-cheek posts in 2020 after an ‘influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience’.
On a recent solo trip to the NatWest Hole, user Sunshine67605635779 was floored by what she saw.
‘A truly remarkable experience, architecture that would grace the palace of Versailles let alone Ilkeston,’ she wrote.
Disco F, who swung by the hole last September, said in his more than 350-word review: ‘Picture, if you will, a sojourn to the Great Wall of China, an awe-inspiring marvel to be sure. Yet, the Nat West Hole affords a narrative equally enthralling!
‘As you draw nigh, an air of palpable anticipation envelops you. Will it be in operation this day? Will the queue be an arduous affair or a fleeting respite?
‘These mysteries, akin to the enigma of an ancient scroll, are unravelled at the Nat West Hole.’
Though, with the bar so high, it’s hard to blame some users for poking holes in the hole’s reputation.
‘What is going on here, a round hole in a wall which is part of the NatWest branch next to a cash machine,’ wrote John in 2019.
‘Whatever, next.’
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