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The Trossachs are absolutely heaving the last few weeks.
I was thinking, are we seeing folk who would have been on a cheap Torremolinos break, folk who would have been sat watching the rugby, folk who would have been at the football and folk who would have been in the shops now heading for the countryside?
A bit like the extra folk out walking, running and cycling at the start of lockdown, I am really positive about this. It is getting folk out, will be good for the economy, and long term might remind people what a great countryside we have in the UK.
However it is bringing a lot of challenges. A colleague from Aberfoyle was relaying this weekends road closures due to accidents, cars parked blocking driveways and main roads, rafts of canoes and wild swimmers, near fights for a picnic bench, gardens being used as toilets, 'mobs' of cyclists, and queues up the high street to access the bakery and co-op at lunch.
That said, it is easy to find quieter spots if you avoid the 'obvious' and known places.
How is it round by you?
Disturbing thing on the South Downs is that some people, who I presume are new to this "getting out in the countryisde" thing, seem to think it's ok to park their cars in the most convenient spot for themselves, sod whether it is a sensible or legal place to park. Like actually ON the South Downs Way, or on the entrance to footpaths. Kinda moronic really.
But, yeah, there's a lot of em out there.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53469337
I was in the Peak district Thursday/Fri/Sat and it wasn't too bad, apart from the bird watchers - but I can imagine it was heaving over the weekend.
The normally quiet Northumberland coast was heaving at the weekend! Thankfully we had to head home, as by lunchtime yesterday it was unbearably busy. Likewise, pleased people are out enjoying themselves outdoors, but not enjoying some of the behaviour or the rubbish everywhere!
East Lancashire isn't generally a popular tourist destination.
I think generally a lot of people are going a bit stir crazy, so the first chance people have to do something different they're taking it. I expect the novelty will quickly wear off. It's like when McD's reopened and there were like half-mile queues on the drive-thru, rather than people thinking "I'll wait till Wednesday."
We went to the pub for the first time in months at the weekend. Distanced from other punters, table service for your drinks, it was fantastic.
i live over on the western edge of dark peak (chinley) and don't normally see that many others when out for a ride other than getting in and out of hayfiled, but numbers a deff up. went for a ride round derwent / ladybower weekend before last and i've never seen it so busy in many many years for riding in the area. the issue was compounded by it being the first decent weather weekend for month or so and hundereds of people looking for an errant vulture. at the top of every climb / bottom of every descent / around every gate and natural stopping place there were big groups of bikers and walkers - the peak was most definitely full and cars where parked in ever available (mostly inappropriate) space, over all not very pleasant. even this last weekend when the weather was back to being unpleasantly crap on saturday, it was still busier than normal on the flanks of kinder
Currently looking at a few days somewhere for a family of 4 of which 3 are not outdoorsy unless it includes 30 degrees sun and sand, which seems to alternate between a £1200 cottage or £400 static caravan/house thingy depending on where you go. Likely the quality of the neighbours is reflected in the price.
Might go for a Caravan park near a beach and take enough wine to blur out the fat bellied tattoo'd 60yo's.
How is it round by you?p
The Peak District yesterday was horrendous. Traffic around Dovestones was solid, the car park was full so a lot of pissed off people turning around and roaring off to dump the car on a random verge somewhere. The ride out through Strines was nice - a few motorbikes razzing it round but basically OK.
Got to the southern end, junction with A57 and it was gridlock. Loads of people parked up on verges, telescopes and cameras on tripods all over the place to try and spot that vulture. Traffic down to Yorkshire Bridge was at a standstill.
Got through Hope (busy but bearable), Edale had cars parked all along the verges making an already narrow road effectively single file and up at the summit of Mam Nick, it was a car park as far as you could see. Cars parked all over the road at the top of Winnats and Broken Road.
They go out there, sit in traffic to get there, find themselves unable to park, sit in traffic out and then get annoyed at cyclists. I mean, WTAF?! As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing positive about it at all and the sooner they all **** off back to the pub / Benidorm / the shopping centre, the better.
Peaks last Sunday were busier than normal, but not terribly so
It's a catch 22
Pretty tricky to keep these parts of the countryside unspoiled, at the same time add 1000s of parking spaces, toilets, cafes etc
Extra problem is that trains & buses are covid incubators so it excludes people without cars whilst increasing the numbers driving there
Around our way (NYM) it has definitely had an effect on who you see out and when.
- I suspect total numbers are down (few attractions, cafes, pubs and restaurants open). Also some people put off from attending those that are open due to actual / perceived CV19 risk.
- You see lots of families out, and I mean all types of families and even in rank weather. This seems like a good thing but obviously comes with more litter, dodgy parking etc. I suspect with so few other activities available - no swimming pools, very few sports clubs for kids, no shopping, no soft plays etc that people are taking advantage of the great outdoors.
As you say it is easy to find quieter spots, and you can usually avoid the worst by getting up early or going a bit later. I love taking the kids out in the bike trailer - you can park up a bit out of the way and ride right where you want to go and avoid the parking stress and bother.
Noticeably busier up here on Speyside plus there’s lot of agricultural traffic on the roads. Witnessed some complete bell-endery driving overtaking on blind bends and summits - usually from cars with bikes, roof boxes and canoes strapped to the top.
That article saying a park and ride needs to happen to solve or ease the problem isn’t really considering the virus and how easily it will spread on a bus!
We scrambled up tryfan yesterday and although it was busy I think no more so than usual really with most cars keeping the road clear so traffic could get through easily. I certainly didn’t think ‘my god that’s dangerous’. I was more concerned with the people who thought it appropriate to stop and sit down in the middle of the path, one of whom after I said excuse me, moved about five cms and then said oh is this ok to which I replied it is if you don’t have coronavirus. We also did the lakes for a week before that and didn’t really come into contact with the ‘parking like idiots’ brigade despite fear mongering that it would be awful and we shouldn’t go. Maybe we were just avoiding the hotspots though.
How is it round by you?
Shit (literally, actually). The local fire brigade would be as well installing hydrants along the side of Loch Morlich as they're up there so often.
It is getting folk out, will be good for the economy, and long term might remind people what a great countryside we have in the UK.
Is it? If people have replaced shopping, cinema and a pub lunch with a walk and lunch from a bakery, plus a bit of burnt diesel to get there, the needed cash injection isn't going to be huge.
Everyone who actually enjoys the countryside has probably already discovered it, and we don't actually have enough of it on this island for everyone.
Looking at how much time and space my outdoor hobbies require, I'm (and all of us MTBers) actually being quite selfish with the amount of country we require.
Aviemore busy, but working fine, despite bizarre decision to keep some campsites closed.
AJW That's quite an odd view, me and my bike take up about 2m squared, local landowners have hundreds of acres.
I'm cool with my selfishness by comparison.
Dark peak yesterday- parked in Hope at 2 on a side street. A bit more parked cars than normal. Hardly anyone on win hill.
Drop down to the shores of ladybower and it’s heaving. Parking on all the usual spots close to Sheffield rammed and grass verges all taken up. Drive for 10 more minutes and you can easily lose the crowds. People have little imagination
I parked up at the upper derwent visitor centre car park on Friday around 10:30 and by the time I'd paid for my parking and got the bike ready the 30 odd spaces around my car had filled up. Loads and loads of people on BSO's and families with 6 bikes, 2 dogs etc so I can imagine the lower cycle path around the reservoir was packed.
Was pleasantly quiet once you got out onto a decent high trail though, just mtb'ers, a few walkers. Doing cut gate on Thursday evening I saw 4 trail runners the whole way out and back.
Stopped in Hathersage on Saturday morning to have a quick look in the alpkit shop and that was busy, found an onstreet parking sport for the 30 minutes I needed though.
Will definitely be avoiding weekends next time I'm up.
its not just you with wide open spaces, i can report the exact same issues in the Chilterns.
possibly eased a bit this weekend, as people go further afield......
I don't live in a tourist honeypot so I can't really add, but I did visit Sutton Bank a couple of weeks ago. When we arrived the car parks were very busy, but if you were prepared to walk more than 500 meters along the Cleveland Way you only met the usual folk who would go anyway, walkers, bikers and trail runners. Very few go beyond the best view in England spot.
Also in Aviemore this week. Place is busy but not overly so. Not that many eateries open and those that are aren’t busy. Popular paths are very busy, was up at Green Lochan yesterday on the bikes with my teenage sons and have never seen it so busy. Was good to bump into nobeer for a natter tho.
Less central or well known trails are empty; was round Carrbridge and High Burnside this morning and only saw a handful of folks.
Water cannon the manky bastards.
Last week, bit ranty, but agree with above once you get away from the Highlands version of Benidorm there’s still plenty of space to go round.
55 tents on the beach ! Jeez, that’s well out of order, place must be strewn in cinders and shite...
Quite quiet here but we're just out of reach of tweed valley. It's mainly 00s of motorbikes with a proportion of them throwing themselves into the scenery, with unfortunate results in one case.
Pretty busy in the FofD weekdays as well as weekends now. I presume people are replacing their previous town wandering habits with forest wandering ones instead.
This weekend I did a bikepacking overnighter to the Black Mountains and the woods along the Grwyne Fawr below the reservoir were busy with car campers who didn’t look like they were going to be taking all their stuff home with them, but I may be judging them too harshly. Up at the bothy there was already someone camping and then a guy turned up and decided the COVID notice on the door didn’t apply to him and took up residence. At least three other parties pitched up over the course of the night so it was pretty busy for a usually deserted area.
Rode through Chatsworth yesterday - probably quieter than it would be normally on the first weekend of the summer holidays - they have parking limits in force so that may cut traffic there.
Hassop Station cafe was busy as ever, lots of friends and families meeting up there, but they had a great Covid proof system to cope with it.
Bakewell was a little quiet for the time of year - they've taken some of the onroad parking away to widen pavements for social distancing, which worked well apart from by the estate agents where the tourists seemed to be climbing over each other to see what their two bed flat in London could buy them up here.
Did a walk in the White Peak yesterday in the lovely weather, Same old story really, once you're 10mins from the car park/village there's not many people about. If you stay in the 10mins range it's crazy
The coastal path between Llanelli and Pembrey country path was absolutely heaving yesterday, far busier than I have ever seen it before. It was great to see so many people out and about (with the exception of the people not controlling their silly little dogs on stretchy leads). I hope that people are encouraged to continue exercising, continue to visit UK destinations and importantly, do the right thing i.e, don't be a d***. 2m social distancing is still in place here.
I went for a swim near the Devil's Staircase today. Again, far, far busier than usual. Loads of traffic around Llyn Brianne.
Plenty of dirty campers and shit parking on Dartmoor.
Not too hard to get away from it though.
People have little imagination
This is the crux of it.
We have plenty of beautiful countryside to space out more at times like these its just the masses only know about the honeypots because its only those places advertised. They don't know about the quiet just as nice stuff down the road.
I’d wondered why there were so many twitchers about in the peak - vulture explains a lot!
Getting out on the road bike reveals a lot about the business. Hot spots like the Hope valley have been heaving, but a couple of miles out and it’s calm enough. As mentioned above people have no imagination and head for the same spots, leaving the really good bits quiet.
People have little imagination
As do the folk moaning on here who were at the same places...
There were over 20 people wild camping in groups of 2-4 at the top of Fleetwith Pike near Buttermere on Sat night
In Cornwall for a week (near Bude) and it isn't any busier than it would normally be at this time of the year
Hopefully folk enjoy the countryside, persevere, explore further and learn to be responsible.
We were all n00bz once.
Very busy in the Pentlands and a lot of pretty average behaviour in terms of fires, antisocial behaviour and littering. All the usual hotspots of Harlaw, Clubbiedean etc rammed with large groups camping at the weekend. Bit of bother up at Bonaly and I collected 5 black bin bags of litter and sh1te yesterday. If I could shoot people I actually would pick a couple off and hang them up as a warning ! I fail to understand how these groups can afford to leave behind tents, seats and all sorts of other stuff. I actually had a chat with a group a couple of weeks back when I was doing some running and litter combo action - I asked them if they could clean up when they left and they said they had no bags so I left them a couple. To be fair they did clean up but just left the bags in the middle of the woods ! I dunno. Yes it’s nice people are out but frankly if you can’t take responsibility to clean up after yourself then perhaps you should be at home. It’s very sad to see the attitude that someone else will clean up after me, I sound like an old fart but the next generations have a very odd attitude.