AIBU to expect people to stay away from our AONB?

[Llig]

I live in the North East, a village within an area of outstanding natural beauty. AIBU to want people to stay away for the time being?

People need exercise for sure, totally agree with that. But the swarms of people descending on us right now is an absolute joke. As a village we have (mostly) followed all government guidance, particularly as we have a lot of elderly residents who are at hig risk. Since the rules have been slightly relaxed, our village feels overrun. No social distancing measures by these visitors either. A friend even caught a bloke weeing behind the public toilets as they're currently locked. What is wrong with people?

Anyway, what are your thoughts?

Direct your concern / anger at the government that tells people it's OK to go out and about. Not at the people who do what they believe, as a result, is safe.

Have you contacted your MP?

OP I agree with you and would never be so thoughtless.

But you need to blame the government for allowing this. Not the people.

I understand your worries. I live in a national park, although not a honeypot, and it has been a lot busier than usual. The toilets are closed, the campsite is closed, no pubs or cafes open and the queue to get into the local shop was over half an hour. However even though we are not a tourist area we need visitors long term to keep the facilities we enjoy open. We are also one of the are areas where the NP / Ramblers Association came into being. We are very conscious and proud of our heritage in the access movement. Also we need people to come back.

So when the new travel to exercise directive was issued the village turned out to move stock to areas where few people walk, gates were propped open on popular footpaths, hand sanitiser tied to gates and notices put out to advertise alternative routes to divert walkers away from gardens. We can't keep people away so we are trying to make it as safe as we can for people. Both residents and visitors. Most residents chose to stay at home today because we can enjoy here everyday. We are lucky and we know it. I couldn't do this in an urban area and I suspect a lot of people living in urban areas feel the same. I am happy to share.

I live close to the centre of Newcastle. Staying in my area involves staying in an urban area. I chose to live here because I could afford it and don't believe it is good for the environment to live very far from where you work.

The countryside belongs to us all. Because I live in an urban area I have no right to spend time in rural areas?

I do think tourism to aonb can be detrimental as lots of people own second homes, locals work in precarious seasonal employment and house prices are high. But these aren't the issues you are complaining about. You just don't want people in 'your' area which you are fortunate enough to live in.

It is not yours, and government have now said it is ok to drive out somewhere to exercise.

Oh and personally I'm not doing this. The numbers are too high up here for that. But generally speaking elsewhere

I'm in an Official Oasis of super extra something or other to do with birds.

Some years ago we got swamped due to a summer madness of Holy Magic Miracle Water. Madonna sightings and everything (Mother of Christ, not ageing pop star).

That was shit. Track blocked solid in both directions, press, chaos. I know most were fragile mentally and some very ill, but my sympathy wore very thin after three days trapped in the house and I wanted them route marched all the way home. Poked by bayonets if necessary to speed them up out of here.

Now the regulations have been eased suddenly my area has gone from The Farm The Zombie Apocalypse Forgot (season 2, Walking Dead) to Piccadilly Circus. Families trotting around. People on bikes. It makes me smile. Yes, I can no longer wander for KM in my pyjamas talking to my walk reluctant dog like she understands me. The herds of deer have disappeared. People do leave litter. We have to pick our times carefully to make sure we don't bump into lots of people.

But it's so nice to see our world coming back to life. And god knows it's been so much harder for them in the towns and cities, in flats with no garden, trying to wfh, with increasingly unhappy littles under their feet 24/7

I can't begrudge them the air, space and beauty after everything they've been through.

We'll be careful obviously. Not everybody keeps their mask on. A couple of the cyclists forget there might be people on the narrow woodland tracks and one nearly ran me over. Good job I'm used to rapidly hopping out the way when I hear a noise in case it's Rudolf The Evil Bastard (not a rein) Deer coming to pick on me again.

But I'd rather lose some of the super safe freedom we had before and have them here than go the other way. It's not like last time which felt like a horrible swarmy invasion. Different atmosphere, and we've all been through such a lot.

I’m with you. Our elderly have been disease free but are very vulnerable. They can go out for daily walks but over today we’ve been overrun with inconsiderate numpties, in large groups, wandering around and generally being a nuisance. We don’t usually have a litter problem but the hordes bring their junk with them and leave it behind. Our old folk are trapped during the day at the moment.

I live in an AONB on the coast and think you should check out the pics of city parks overrun with people trying to exercise safely and then be ashamed of yourself. You've just got too used to the peace and quiet, so need to think yourself back into normal. YABhugelyU.

Appreciate lots of people are getting hung up on the use of the word 'our'...
That aside, YANBU, although we don't have an area of outstanding natural beauty on our doorstep I would feel the same as you if we did. Makes exercising outside locally riskier for local residents and frankly it's just unnecessary.

FFS ! OP said" our" not hers or mine. Everyone knew what was meant by it but piled it with the nasty comments.

I live in a village next to an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Up until now the car parks have been closed, as have all the facilities.

I drove through the main part late this afternoon and I’ve never seen it so busy with cars now in the main car parks but every verge full and cars packed along the side of the road.

Drove back through 2 hours, hardly any cars but piles and bags of litter all the way along the road.
Bags and bags of litter, plastic and nappy sacks ffs.

Visit these areas if you must but show some bloody respect for the countryside, the wildlife and the people who live here.

Who do you think will pick up all the crap that people leave ?
The rangers who earn a pittance or the locals, many of whom are elderly?

Unless the people who live here walk at dawn every morning, the place where we live actually becomes a no go area.

Yes Cherry we have an elderly population too, but it's the slightly younger generation round here who are hijacking that vulnerability for self-serving purposes. The older villagers are far more tolerant and are mostly staying at home, not going out for yomps. It's massively transparent.

BTW it is not any Governments fault. It is the individuals. Laughable to blame any Government for individual stupidity and selfishness.

Hundreds of flights a week still bringing in thousands of passengers to Heathrow, no checks on arrivals. So government incompetence continues and nimbys get to harangue people looking for some relief from walking on a beach. It's completely ridiculous and the rules appears to be made according to whatever appears to be expedient at the time of speaking. If it's safe for children to return to school, safe for people to return to work, then it's safe for peasants to walk on OPs AONB. When I see the chamber of the Commons crowded out as normal, I'll believe it's safe for children to return to school. But people have been told they're safe to drive to a decent place to walk so we must expect them to do so without persecution. Personally, I'll be at home a while longer.

Drove back through 2 hours, hardly any cars but piles and bags of litter all the way along the road. Bags and bags of litter, plastic and nappy sacks

That is appalling. People like that shouldn't be allowed out in their own neighbourhood let alone anywhere else. I am not joking.

PickUp we went out at around 8pm along the beach and found no excess litter (in fact, no litter!), despite alarmist stories on the village fb group of how we'd been overrun. You may live in an AONB but the public areas within it are no more yours than anyone else's.

We have an elderly population too. Some of them were on the original Trespasses. They would be horrified if they thought we co-opted their age to exclude people from the area.

It makes it really hard to agree with you when you people refer to these places as “yours”.

In essence, I do agree with you.
But just because you chose to live somewhere it doesn’t make that area “yours” and that others shouldn’t go there until you deem it ok.

Just grates.

because the paths are covered in people

Now that is obviously an exaggeration.

YABU. They have as much right to be there as you do.

One of our local villages (very pretty) has put a barrier across the road. Probably completely illegally.
I was stopped by a villager (disappointingly he wasnt carrying a pitchfork) who tried to tell me that I wasnt allowed in, even though I was in uniform and going to see a patient.
It makes me concerned re the reception we will get in Cornwall come August.

Sky - I think the OP referred to it as "our" in the way people say they went to our local pub. In a sense of local place rather than absolute ownership. You quite often here people say "we went to our park yesterday and...." They don't mean they own the park, just it is the one that is most local to them.

I am sure Serin doesn't mean that she owns the village either.

@Unescorted not really. I wouldn't say I went to "our park", that implies I own it. I would just say I'm going to the park. As would everyone else I know.

Pinky - maybe it is a local variation. Most people around here refer to local places as "our" as opposed to the same amenity in the next community.