Dovedale - am I remembering it wrong?

We visited on Monday for the first time in 30years
very upset to see litter everywhere (even bags been put in the trees )
we won’t come again but clearly the British public will get the countryside they deserve
we were always taught leave no trace when visiting beauty spots
how difficult is it to take your rubbish home and also why aren’t these people fined

Because every location is named online (see also Hampstead ponds, once a well kept secret) and also lockdown forced more people into doing stuff outdoors. Which is good if only it was spread out more

Actually I am not at all surprised there has been a fight, had to happen one busy day. It can be a nightmare waiting to cross. We usually cross the river at the bridge near the car park instead. TBH we rarely go to that end now as it is too busy and has been for years and years.

Bakewell also busy but lots of parking available. We usually park there to start a walk rather than go round the town.

Lots and lots of other nice places in the Peak District anyway. As others have said Lathkill Dale is lovely. Also the area around Chatsworth. Also White Edge.

Go when it’s rainy or in winter, on a weekday. All the knobheads who make it shit aren’t there. This is my rule for any beauty spot/ tourist place. Never fails me and I’ve only been caught up in one storm so bad I had to drive in my pants all the way home.

A lot of very touristy locations get very crowded (we're in the North York Moors) but if you walk less than a mile in either direction away from them it can be deserted. People don't seem to want to walk much, they like to stay near where they can get an ice cream and find a toilet. So maybe go to somewhere nearby and walk to the tourist attractions. You might have to forgo the ice cream but you can park much more easily and you might even find somewhere you prefer to somewhere that's touted in all the tourist literature.

RTFT

hhmn, I went to Dovedale as a child, and it was always very popular in the summer. I remember there being lots of people, ice cream sellers etc. The crowds were "nice" though, if that makes sense... it didn't seem packed to the gills and I don't remember litter... though I perhaps didn't notice litter when I was a child.

This would have been 30 years ago.

I remember going on a lovely sunny day about 15 years ago. It was tranquil and nothing like the pictures in the Daily Mail. What a shame.

It’s always been busy in the summer. I live about an hour away and remember having an accident there when I was about 10ish and there being loads of people around and my mum getting really pissed that no one would help. It has become even busier though, I don’t think lockdown helped. Summer 2020 was awful. People were super inconsiderate with their parking and general attitude to others, especially locals

It's HEAVING during summer months! Beautiful though, but rammed.

Posted upthread

You might want to read today's Daily Mail on line. Dovedale features.

We made the mistake of visiting the lakes on a Sunday - the number of people were not the problem but the cars were…..parked everywhere, blocking others in even in car parks, parking in passing places on narrow roads, entrances to farmers fields, on wildflower verges. No respect for the countryside or anybody else.
Don’t get me started on uncontrollable dogs not on leads, chasing other dogs, children, sheep etc. Times have certainly changed.

I remember the same as you, years ago (decades) it was much quieter for sure. I have photos from peak season with almost nobody there! Went back with the kids about 10-15 years ago and there were queues to walk across the stones. I can’t imagine how bad it’s become now.

We went last month and it was fairly busy on the main bit up to the stones, there were a couple of school parties, but after that it was really quiet - and only us and one other couple doing the looonnng upward walk on the circular route 🥵

The queuing on Mam Tor is crazy at the busy times!

@Proudbitch Did you go up past lovers leap and then the big steep hill over to mill Dale?! It is beautiful!

I don't like Mam Tor and Castleton because it's like a supermarket!

Everywhere is busy in nice weather because people want to be out and about. We went to Thors Cave not long back and it was busy, we managed to find a parking spot but we took the last one.

Social media probably plays a part, someone posts a photo of somewhere nice that isn't in your area and it gets put on your list of to do things.

I live in Scottish highlands and as a child we always went to the north west coast in the summer holidays, I don’t really ever remember seeing other tourists there. We camped and played in the beaches all day and had the absolute best time. I have stopped travelling west at all with my own kids since the NC500 though because it’s just a horrible, stressful, campervan filled nightmare now! I guess it’s the same everywhere. Unfortunately we live on the nc500 route so can’t escape it even at home 😬

I did an absolutely glorious long walk around Dovedale though. A bit terrifying as it was wet and slippy so I had to keep going down on my bum!! 😂 but it was glorious and it avoided the crowds (though of course we still did use the carpark…)

Even in the early 90s I remember there were discussions about restricting parking at Dovedale due to pressure of visitors. It's at a strategic point for many city dwellers who want a breath of fresh air.

OMG - the DM!

It isn't a 'huge brawl' but an unpleasant scuffle (still totally unacceptable of course) over in about a minute. And only a couple of people are actually scuffling, the rest are milling round. And not that many.

If it wasn't for the endless filming and SM it would never have made any newspaper.

I live 10 minutes from Dovedale and you couldn’t pay me to go on a weekend/school holidays!
I went a couple of weeks before the schools broke up for summer on a Tuesday afternoon and even then it was heaving.
It wouldn’t be so bad but we have a real issue with visitors leaving litter and generally disrespecting the countryside. I think some people forget that the national park is working farmland, several times up there I’ve seen dogs disturbing sheep, gates left open etc etc and it’s really not on.
A few months ago we saw a car had actually driven onto a field and they were sat on the bonnet taking photos with the sheep. Mind boggling.

Everywhere has got busier. Can't go on a day out anywhere without traffic, struggling to get parked, queues at cafes and the toilets etc.
I think it's partly due to increase in population. But also people go out more and travel further (more disposable income, more people have cars, more free time etc). When I was a child we rarely went out on trips..we mostly just played on the street, our own garden or round at our friend's house! But now there's pressure to go places all the time (maybe social media plays a factor too).

I visited in the 80s and I have the same memory of you - pretty much having the place to myself.

I have since been back in 2021 and 2023 and yes, it was much much busier.

However, I now wonder if it was simply the time of year and even time of day that mattered. I think in the 80s I went in October half term. These recent times I went in August, when it was obviously going to be much busier.

It also depends upon the time of day you go.. in 2021 I rushed there early in the morning because I'd heard that the car park fills up. We arrived at about 8:30 and it was virtually empty. I managed to take the photo below at about 10am. By the time we left at 12 it was heaving

Likewise, in 2023 I went there about 5pm, and it was pretty quiet.