to ask for your DFL (down from London) stories

[holidayspotlocal]

Living in the West Country and we are currently inundated with tourists. Great to have the money in the local economy and I hope they have a lovely time on the beach. However, some are obviously from cities and have no idea what life is like here.
We call them DFL - down from London. (they may be from other places tho)
Most worrying is the lack of knowledge about tides, rips, crumbly cliffs etc, and the sheer rudeness to hospitality staff. Plus they drive shiny 4x4 Landrovers that can't squeeze into a passing place without the parking sensors going off and they can't back up on the lanes.
Last week I heard one say 'Where has all the beach gone? I'm sure there was a lot more sand this morning'

I’m a DFL (or rather a DF Snooty Home Counties Village) and have lived on the south coast for nearly 8 years now. The biggest display of twattery I’ve witnessed down here was the other week, when MIL and I visited a little coffee shop and a bloke with two young children spectacularly queue barged us and the bloke then demanded that their cake arrive as quickly as it possibly could. One of his little cherubs then saw his cake being brought over and trilled extremely loudly “DADDY! THAT LADY BRINGING MY CAKE IS A SERVANT!”

They could have come from anywhere. Really not sure why Londoners and other city folk are apparently the only twats.

@viques, is refusing to make a 4x4 muddy comparable though? I thought that was the point of a 4x4…..

[quote RacistAngst]@viques, is refusing to make a 4x4 muddy comparable though? I thought that was the point of a 4x4…..[/quote]
I’m talking about how people adapt to different driving conditions.

[quote RacistAngst]@Shirleyphallus, thé point is that often on those lanes you have no other choice. If you don’t move aside and take that ‘risk’ you are forcing the other car to do so (not just risking it iyswim).
Or you can both refuse to do so and no one moves

Personally I’m annoyed at any owner of 4x4 who refuses to drive on the grass on the side but expect me to do so with my non 4x4 (and very ‘towny’) car…. I mean surely they are better equipped?[/quote]
I’ve driven on a lot of roads in a lot of countries including on many many country lanes. There is NOWHERE in the world that the only option you’ve got is to drive in to a hedge otherwise the other person can’t get past. Every road has wider point / passing points / lay-bys etc, even if you have to reverse up the road a bit there is absolutely no reason for anyone to have to scratch their car.

Perhaps if you’re having to drive with your passenger side in the roadside hedges you could do with a refresher course on driving and learn some spacial awareness

Or maybe there are roads where you have to do that….. this was an issue raised by a previous poster who didn't want to scratch their car on the hedge… 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I’ve seen single track roads with passing places. Eg plenty of them in Scotland for example.

Where I am, the roads are often slightly wider than single track, no passing place and the hedges are often overgrown. So you have no choice but to pass whilst being close to said hedges.
Note that I said CLOSE, aka there is space for two cars but you can’t leave the same amount of space between your car and the edge than you normal do. If you drive as if it was a normal road, you end up with two cars in front of each other and no one can move!

Plus the grass on the edge of the road isn’t the hedge. But here we go…

I’m wondering why so many posters feel it’s ok to be so aggressive tbh

Where do the 'locals' go on holiday I wonder

@RacistAngst

Or maybe there are roads where you have to do that….. this was an issue raised by a previous poster who didn't want to scratch their car on the hedge… 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I’ve seen single track roads with passing places. Eg plenty of them in Scotland for example.

Where I am, the roads are often slightly wider than single track, no passing place and the hedges are often overgrown. So you have no choice but to pass whilst being close to said hedges.
Note that I said CLOSE, aka there is space for two cars but you can’t leave the same amount of space between your car and the edge than you normal do. If you drive as if it was a normal road, you end up with two cars in front of each other and no one can move!

Plus the grass on the edge of the road isn’t the hedge. But here we go…

I’m wondering why so many posters feel it’s ok to be so aggressive tbh

“I’m wondering why so many posters feel it’s ok to be so aggressive tbh”

You’re right, it’s really horrible when someone starts a thread purely to slag off one group of people and then loads of people jump in with baseless anecdotes about that group of people which are completely untrue and they have no way to back up what they’re saying. Really not ok is it.

I loved my holiday on the West Country this year, but the people were so rude and I am always polite and we don't sit close to the cliffs or do any of the things the op has mentioned ( we drive a normal car too)
The van drivers were determined to try and chase us off the roads and were tail gating us constantly ( if you don't know an area you do tend to drive a bit slower) and they were just so fed up in the shops and the pubs.
I know it's been tough on tourist areas and some can be a pain, but I was surprised at how hostile it felt at times ( apart from one waitress who was really helpful and friendly )
I would still go on holiday down there , but it's sad that we are not welcome at times when we are bringing money into an area on our holidays.
I'm not sure what the locals really want ?

When all the DFL types can fly off to friendlier ,sunnier places next year and the local economy is on its arse then the country bumpkins should be happy

@jesusmaryjosephandtheweedonkey

When all the DFL types can fly off to friendlier ,sunnier places next year and the local economy is on its arse then the country bumpkins should be happy

Yes. I agree. They obviously think we are all just massive ' 'pitas' !!

A few of years ago, my friend was in a supermarket queue and the woman in front was talking to the checkout person about a "stupid kid" who'd come down from London and broke his leg tombstoning from a big rock at the foot of some cliffs, necessitating a rather difficult rescue when the tide was coming in. There'd been an item on the local news warning people not to do it and everything.

My friend kept her poker face on, and didn't let on that the "stupid kid" was her stupid son, who'd never lived more than 3 miles from that beach in all his 19 years.

Do people from your bit of the coast never move into a town or city?

We live in the Westcountry. Homeowners. HAPPY ONES. But one of our mums is in care in the southeast. It takes six hours to drive there, and six hours back home, so a visit takes three days for a hour's visit. Two nights accommodation costs.Do the mths.

@jesusmaryjosephandtheweedonkey, I think we'll all be fine. Most people who really wanted heat will go to Spain or Greece. I'm less keen on being hot so I'll continue to take my holiday outside the summer months.

In Bruton, Somerset a couple of weeks ago I overheard a DFL telling his girlfriend that she couldn't ask for a Latte with oat milk because they weren't in London now!

@XingMing everyone I know, wanted Greece ect but stayed in the uk this year for ease.

I was born & bred in South London & now live in on the south coast. And yes, I drive a big SUV to get my dogs & disabled mum about. I'd be pissed if someone judged me & assume I was an annoying tourist. I pay my taxes as much as everyone else in the neighbourhood...

@PyjamasAndWellies

Ditto tourists visiting london, standing on the wrong side of the escalator and then stopping dead at the bottom

This! Rushing to get out of the station to catch the bus to work & tourists mooching about with maps, trying to figure out where they're going next! 😆

About the locals being priced out of the market thing ...

Q: Who is it selling these local houses to non-locals for top £££?

A: Oh, it's the locals! The irony ay OP?

and by the way it happens all over the country. Our DCs can barely afford anything in our village (midlands) because of the same issue. It's not Londoners moving in.

Thinking the situation is all because of people from one particular city makes you sound quite thick.

I don't think this thread is necessarily mean-spirited if it's taken in the context that tourists from anywhere, going anywhere, often seem to leave their brains behind at home.

I work in travel and have recently dealt with astounding amounts of smart professional people who are entirely stumped by being asked to complete the very simple Spanish Health Form, or who don't check their passport expiry until the day before travel, and many more. Some of the questions we receive or pickles people find themselves in are astonishing.

I also live somewhere with a huge tidal range, rips and cliffs and emergencies with tourists occur often, the most recent was yesterday. Locals have the dangers drilled into them by the local authorities regularly so are much less likely to be caught out (although sometimes still are). It's a big worry. Being relaxed and laid back on holiday is one thing, but being blind to the dangers of the sea is another.

I grew up in Cornwall, went away for uni and work to London and NY, so I can navigate my way around most cities, and talk a bit of farming. I can do both urban and rural with equal composure.