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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To go to Whitby beach tomorrow

662 replies

BubblyBarbara · 12/05/2020 18:31

I’ve gone to Whitby every year for the past decade or so and I’m missing it dearly. I’ve read Boris’s PDF and it says you are allowed to drive any distance to “open space” from tomorrow so my plan is to go to Whitby and spend the day on the beach - social distancing of course.

But I did a search on Facebook about car parks etc (it’s ok the parking inspectors are furloughed so I can park anywhere I like) and found lots of angry posts on local groups about how the people of Whitby don’t want people coming into their town yet Confused

It’s legal for me to go tomorrow but the locals don’t want us to go.. who is BU here? I say the law is more important than what the locals say.

OP posts:
joystir59 · 14/05/2020 17:14

Foreshore roads are being closed off this weekend. I live in Scarborough. We don't want visitors at the moment and everything is shut.

joystir59 · 14/05/2020 17:15

I've found human shit near the beach.

MarieQueenofScots · 14/05/2020 17:17

just suggesting going to the beach for an hour

You suggested spending the day at the beach...

GinnyStrupac · 14/05/2020 17:21

Going to the loo outdoors in bushes, grass or amongst trees also increases the risk of getting a tick on you and the potential of Lyme Disease, especially March to October. They can be tiny - the point of a pencil - and very hard to spot.

YouTheCat · 14/05/2020 17:26

But it isn't just an hour at the beach. You're an hour away by car so that's an hour to get there, an hour at the beach and an hour to get home.

Itsywitsyteenyweeny · 14/05/2020 17:48

Scarborough sea front was heaving this afternoon. Filey beach busier than it has been in months, police moved some motorhomes on who were planning on staying overnight. A grown man was seen having a shit on the beach. Seriously people, just stay the fuck away for a few more weeks 🤬

JamieLeeCurtains · 14/05/2020 18:00

We have public gardens at our seafront where human faeces, used condoms, vomit and used sanitary pads & tampons have all been found. So a lot of people clearly don't think it through when they set off to visit these spaces, and they can't wait.

I wish politicians would address human ablutions and hygiene more rigorously and honestly.

Public loo closures were already happening before the pandemic because of government cuts to council budgets. Pubs were also closing down in huge numbers.

The current policy of Drive Where You Like But All The Bogs Are Closed is hardly conducive to public health. The politicians could at least say, 'shit in a bag and take it home'.

frasersmummy · 14/05/2020 18:01

Question for those of you saying wait a few weeks
What's going to be better in a few weeks or even a few months. The virus will still be prevalent

So what's the difference between now and then that makes it selfish

aSofaNearYou · 14/05/2020 18:01

Personally I think it's unfair to the people who live there.

ChangeThePassword · 14/05/2020 18:24

What's going to be better in a few weeks or even a few months

Hopefully toilets will be open and businesses getting back to work, so there will be more facilities available to deal with the influx.

FliesandPies · 14/05/2020 18:27

But it isn't just an hour at the beach. You're an hour away by car so that's an hour to get there, an hour at the beach and an hour to get home.

And that makes an hour at the beach.

ErrolTheDragon · 14/05/2020 18:27

If some people wait a week, and others two and others three, that quarters the excess load on an area. Whereas if everyone says, whoopee, we can travel at the same then there will be overload.

YouTheCat · 14/05/2020 18:33

Flies, my point was that that is 3 hours away from a toilet.

myangelalex · 14/05/2020 18:35

I think most places are shut, but check more up to date info. Residents won't thank you though

FliesandPies · 14/05/2020 18:36

Beg your pardon YouTheCat, I thought you were talking about time spent away from the house/on the beach Blush

Itsywitsyteenyweeny · 14/05/2020 18:38

*Question for those of you saying wait a few weeks
What's going to be better in a few weeks or even a few months. The virus will still be prevalent

So what's the difference between now and then that makes it selfish*

Because everywhere is still closed. Seasonal staff have been furloughed, toilets boarded up, council amenities staff redeployed. There are no facilities open for visitors right now. I don't think there will be any town or community in the country at the moment who would be able to cope with a sudden influx of visitors

Gothicashoker · 14/05/2020 18:47

Because our hospitals are struggling enough, we don't need some dippy dora falling down the steep steps and taking up our valuable hospital spaces, stay home and save lives the beach will still be here after lockdown! I want to travel to Newcastle to see my family but I won't because I'm not selfish!

Alilouya · 14/05/2020 18:55

I live in Derbyshire, where we have one of the most visited National Parks in the country, being between a number of major cities. We are really hoping that people will not come en masse to our beauty spots. The problem is that even with social distancing, people are putting themselves at risk by being near crowds. I've noticed that many people have no idea what social distancing is either. You really don't want this virus. At best it's not nice, at worst you could die. It doesn't just disappear at two metres either. Is it really worth the risk? We've still got a huge number of cases being admitted to hospitals. Don't be one of them. Also, the sooner we go out spreading it around again, the longer lock down will be. I know it's a pain, but let's be patient and get this over with asap.

TheGreatWave · 14/05/2020 19:05

If I am a dippy Dora and fall down the steps at the local beach I will be taken to the same hospital as I would if I was a dippy Dora and fell down the stairs at home.

There is probably a significant proportion of 'visitors' who live within a 15/20 minute drive away.

Shockers · 14/05/2020 19:15

We have a shitter here too. I know this because my dog ate the shit, as we walked through the woods. I know the shit was human because there was a wadge of shitty loo roll next to it.

Grim fecker.

1Morewineplease · 14/05/2020 19:19

Unfortunately , Boris Johnson announced that there is now no limit to how far you can travel , so if anyone wants to go to Whitby , they can.
To those who live in pretty, idyllic, seaside locations, you’ll just have to live with it.
The people of Wales and Scotland have their own rules as laid out by their sensible First Ministers.

This thread is such a sad one to read. Yes, most touristy places can’t cope with an influx right now but shouting at people who have felt confined in their flats, crammed housing estates and run down towns is not the answer. Complain to the government.

To those who live in tourist hotspots, why do you live there? Did you visit there from your drab housing and somehow found a way of living there? Or have you lived there for ninety years because your mum lived there for ninety years?

People have faced enormous pressures during the lockdown and are desperate for a way to feel normal again.
Maybe tourist places ought to think not about keeping the hoi polloi away but try to find a way of coping that might benefit the local economy , eg putting up more toilets and hand sanitation stations. ( am thinking Denmark that tried hard to keep going.) Making local shops proactive in enforcing distancing measures while also reviving local bread, fruit and veg, fishing and meat producers . Maybe have open air art galleries that could sell local artists’ work.

1Morewineplease · 14/05/2020 19:22

I have found it so sad that coronavirus has made the UK so decisive.
We’re all in it together and NIMBYISM is not the way forward.

1Morewineplease · 14/05/2020 19:26

Please replace decisive with decisive.

JamieLeeCurtains · 14/05/2020 19:36

divisive?

MarieQueenofScots · 14/05/2020 19:53

Maybe tourist places ought to think not about keeping the hoi polloi away but try to find a way of coping that might benefit the local economy , eg putting up more toilets and hand sanitation stations

Putting up more toilets? We’ve just raised funds to re-open the ones the council closed a couple of miles away. Notwithstanding the prohibitive cost, there is nowhere to put them! We actually get no benefit whatsoever from tourists because there is nothing to spend money on but I have no issue with them normally.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say “please think twice at the moment as social distancing cannot be observed in all places”

Seems like the decision has been taken out of anybody’s hands - they’ve started digging up the public bit of the road today so nowhere for any visitors to park!