Hi Les
I noticed your commenting on US/UK differences, but clearly got the wrong end of the proverbial.
The Dreaming Spires is Oxford!
and once every Preston Guild, I actually go there. Knee deep in tourists, usually, though I've only ever once been asked "Where is the University?" and, being the helpful peeps I am, I tell them.
The pong probably is Birkenhead, once a boom town!
R