Whether we like to admit it or not, the vast majority of people are scared of something.
Even those who claim not to be frightened of anything are likely to have a weakness in some respects, but just what are the most common phobias in the UK?
What are we really all scared of?
Ahead of Halloween coming up at the end of this month, Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire has done some digging and by using Google Search Data for the past four years, has uncovered the 20 most common phobias in the UK based on what people are searching for.
Some of the entries on the list are fairly recognisable and are perhaps the sort of fears that everyone somewhat harbours slightly, but some of the phobias are pretty unique and may even be unheard of.
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This top 10 list shows that trypophobia is, by far, the most commonly-searched phobia in the UK.
This fear of small holes and irregular patterns can seem strange to non-sufferers, but those search figures clarify that it’s a very real and serious phobia. It’s also something that product designers and developers have had to take into account as last year’s new iPhone model reportedly triggered a lot of people’s trypophobia, which probably sales figures.
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Claustrophobia, hypochondria and agoraphobia took up the next three spots on the list and all of these conditions are medically recognised by the NHS, having huge impacts on people’s lives.
Further down the list comes some of the more specific phobias and recognisable phobias.
Arachnophobia and coulrophobia – a fear of spiders and clowns, respectively – are phobias that most people can certainly sympathise with sufferers on if they’re ever unfortunate enough to encounter an eight-legged beast, or a two-legged, red-nosed entertainer.
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As well as looking at the country as a whole, Oakwood Theme Park also looked at how the most common phobias vary from region to region in an attempt to see if certain phobias are more likely to occur in certain parts of the country.
This has revealed that the North West is one of three regions in the UK where ergophobia – a fear of work – made the top 20 list.
What are the top 10 biggest fears and phobias here in the North West then?
When it comes to the fears and phobias most searched for among residents of the North West, it appears that many entires found on the UK-wide top 10 list also feature, with trypophobia again taking the top spot.
Common phobias such as claustrophobia, arachnophobia and acrophobia also feature.
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Trypophobia – Fear of Holes
Agoraphobia – Fear of Leaving the House
Hypochondria –Fear of Illness
Claustrophobia – Fear of Enclosed Spaces
Thalassophobia – Fear of the Sea
Domatophobia – Fear of the House
Arachnophobia – Fear of Spiders
Acrophobia – Fear of Heights
Photophobia – Fear of Light
Hydrophobia – Fear of Water
Does this sound about right?
By looking at the percentage increase of Google searches from 2016 to now, it was also found that every entry in the UK-wide top 10 phobia list had gone up by at least 82%.
Trypophobia was actually the slowest growing fear, followed closely by hypochondria, arachnophobia and agoraphobia.
In fact, it’s the persistent fear of the sea, thalassophobia, which is the fastest-growing fear and it’s also worth noting that nomophobia – a fear of being without a mobile device – also appears lower down the list and is expected to increase quite significantly in modern day society.
For more information, visit the Oakwood Theme Park website here.
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The Premier League and EFL should follow La Liga’s lead and bring Retro Matchdays to the UK
Danny Jones
Following the news that La Liga is set to debut a new ‘Retro Matchday’ round, we can’t help but ask the question: why didn’t the Premier League and EFL think of this first?
Well, technically, neither did the Spaniards, but you take our point.
Anyone who follows the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or even the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) equivalent here in the UK and mainland Europe, will know that the concept is nothing new – but by and large, it seems to be for the beautiful game.
In case you missed it, in an effort to further capitalise on the increasing trend of vintage and classic football kit fashion/the wider nostalgia culture that only seems to be growing every year, Spain’s top two tiers will soon host their inaugural Retro Matchday gameweek next month, and we want a piece of it.
Set to be hosted from Friday, 10 April, over the usual weekend of football in their premier and second division, and running until the final lot of fixtures on Monday, 13 April (no, thankfully not an April Fool’s), supporters will get to see players step out onto the pitch in some of the country’s most iconic kits.
Depending on who you ask, some would argue that Spain has some of the nicest footy shirts all time, whether that be the national side or clubs themselves.
To be honest, we definitely have a soft spot for a proper European throwback – we’re thinking Borussia Dortmund’s 1995/96 home kit, the Napoli kits of the 80s, that amazing Toyota-sponsored Fila Fiorentina kit at the turn of the millennium – and even some of the best 2000s ones now look so old-school.
In fact, we actually had a taster of these kinds of special matches in the past, including here in 0161 for the likes of the Manchester Derby.
Reminds me of the Manchester derby in 2008 where they played in retro kits due to it coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster. Looked absolutely brilliant. pic.twitter.com/TLRjKHThbG
When you also take into account that, besides collectors already creating a whole new craze in filling their cupboards with classic kits, the likes of Nike, Adidas and more now regularly turning to old designs like the ‘Futura’, Total 90′ and various ‘adi Originals’ revivals of late, it’s more the rage than ever.
Birmingham’s recent ‘penguin’ remake, Port Vale’s traditional 150th anniversary one, based on their 1953-54 season jersey, not to mention countless other lifestyle fashion collections inspired by historic releases, you can’t move for the stuff – so why not get them wearing it on the grass?
As mentioned, the likes of local ice hockey outfit Manchester Storm have been taking a leaf out of the NHL’s book for ages now, with the annual ‘Retro Nights’ proving to be some of the most popular dates on the calendar, even selling off original shirts in the stadium itself before, during and after the match.
We genuinely can’t think of a single football lover following a team at any level in the English football pyramid that wouldn’t LOVE this. In fact, plenty of them already go to the ground wearing their dad’s second-hand away strip, which has turned out to be a modern cult favourite among the next generation.
These are the kinds of ideas we can see fans actually getting behind; you can find out more HERE. Would you like to see a retro Premier League and/or EFL match day featuring your favourite kits from down the years?
Liam Broady is on the comeback – here’s why you need to watch out for him at Wimbledon
The Manc
Local tennis player Liam Broady is quietly rising back up the ranks on the ITF Tour, and here’s why we think you should watch out for him come Wimbledon 2026 this summer.
He is physical proof that the ATP Tour ranking means so much to a player’s career.
The Stockport-born tennis player has suffered many injury setbacks since turning pro in 2014. With a host of ankle and back injuries plaguing his playing career, he has had to turn to the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Tour to climb the rankings once again.
He is currently placed at 283* on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour after reaching two semi-finals in the space of a month.
With wins on two of Portugal’s hard courts in Faro and Santo António, the 32-year-old has climbed from rank 303 at the start of the year to under the threshold in less than three months.
His hard work on outdoor courts is paying off as his seeding is slowly improving, and his opponents are becoming less of a challenge.
For the unititated, the ATP ranking is decided by a points system that determines your playing level, and therefore who you can possibly draw, with lower seeds getting tougher games as they need more points, and vice versa.
These point tallies factor into every win, loss, serve, and shot as it propels you up or down the table.
With an injury over Christmas, the Stopfordian Team GB player came back stronger for the start of the annual tournament calendar and now looks to be in fighting form on the ITF Tour.
He’s definitely had to tackle some obstacles over the years, both on and off the court…
Competing solely on outdoor hard courts to gain his fitness levels back is necessary, but the grass courts – his speciality – will come around with time and consistent form, with Wimbledon being his home tournament and his highlight of the competitive calendar.
His career best ranking was 93, after becoming the first British wildcard entry to beat an ATP top five player in 2023 when defeating Casper Rudd on Wimbledon’s centre court.
His win against the Norwegian in round two sent him into the top 100 rankings for the first time, and into the shining spotlight alongside British tennis stars.
The adverse effects of time away from the tour are clear to see with Broady’s peaks and dips in the table below; this means taking a hit to player motivation, game-to-game momentum and teamworking within doubles pairs.
Liam Broady’s career rankings progression chart. (Credit: ATP Tour)
It is a likely situation for players to neglect their doubles career without the added stress of injury, so if they are to arise, it does not just impact individual physicality levels but also communication between doubles pairs.
A fellow British player with similar injury problems is Emma Raducanu, who rose to fame with a shocking US Open grand slam win as a qualifier. Since her win, she has had multiple surgeries, which saw her plummet down WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) standings due to time spent off court.
The issues that come with injury upsets can make a career really difficult to reclaim, even at a young age; tour rankings can be brutal on game time and match opponents, such as Broady’s Wimbledon draw against Holland’s Van De Zandschulp and Raducanu’s recent draw against American no.3 Anisimova.
We hope to see Team GB’s athletes fit and ready to fight on tour, and we have a strong feeling we’ll see native talent Broady back in the spotlight where he belongs.
Emily Sergeant -
5th October 2020 
