Taking painted rocks on holiday

[Rolle]

I recently went on holiday to Centre Parcs and am still in the facebook group for that particular location. I've seen numerous posts from people about to arrive, showing off the 100+ painted rocks they have prepared and will be hiding around the park during their holiday.

We didn't have room in our car for a spare gnats nadger, I can't imagine the look on DHs face if I went "ah, just the rocks to squeeze in".

I guess on the positive, it's a free activity for others to do at CP, where it feels like if they could charge you for farting whilst on the park they would. And it doesn't do anyone any harm. But I just don't understand the compulsion to paint hundreds of rocks and hide them around. I can be a miserable c**t though, so maybe it's that!

When i drop mine, I dont mind if people take them or leave them or hide them

I know that they definitely go, where I dont know. And I was left some back for me on my doorstep and I really love those

There are some right miserable fuckers on here

Blimey, it's meant to bring a smile to someone's face, there are some real misers on this thread. My children love finding these rocks.

Having said that, taking 100 rocks on holiday is bonkers.

YEP total miserable fucker and if I came across painted stones in wood or natural area I would remove them to the nearest bin.

Ha ha @Johnnysgirl my DM was a feisty bugger right to the end maybe that’s what she had in mind! I just tried to ignore as much of that sort of lockdown shite as I could! Just remembered staying on holiday where an aging hippy used to build up piles of stones into towers on the beach each day. Someone used to then dismantle them and spell out on the sand ‘you are an idiot’ !

Precisely.

Agreed, I am, and have no problem with that. It's like those bloody silly padlocks on bridges, the majority of which are probably still there rusting away long after the couple split up.

I might be a miserable fucker - at least I'm not some dimwit carting rocks around as a reasonable holiday activity.

It's a simple as this

Take only photos.

Leave only footprints.

Honestly, the lack of understanding and respect for the countryside code is astonishing.

Agree - nasty litter, masquerading as funky, crafty stuff. Put them in your own garden, on your own walls & windowsills & keep the countryside looking natural.

Me too. They’re been ruined by people.

Absolutely. It's coming up to that time of year when trees in our local park will be draped in plastic tat and tinsel to "cheer everyone up". Just stop it!

Because a stack of environmentally unfriendly bumblebee and daisy rocks isn't anything to do with cairns. And even without them being brought from the immediate area with the environmental impact that carries for disturbing the environment, they've had to come from somewhere.

Our vast local beaches are littered with this sh*te, we are sick of it.

It’s a cumulative impact of microplastics on all living things. When they are inside your unborn baby or in your brain, you should be worried. Not to mention all other forms of life suffering the same fate.

If I find any in the woods, beaches or countryside I will bin them!

This

But when is it environmentally 'safe' paint? I don't believe that people source safe water-soluble, non-harmful paints because... why would they do that when a) they have all this lovely solvent-laden paint and varnish around and b) they want to be SEEN. They have a need to be acknowledged. I don't want to see it either, it's littering.

Nobody wants their 'artwork' to be washed off in the rain. Have you never heard of the plea to 'take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints'?

Since you're so keen on hyperbole I'm happy to be in the 'miseries' group rather than in with the 'vandals'.

Do you dislike other street art?

Depends what that street art is. Mostly around here it seems to be some semi-literate oik spray painting some meaningless tag on any flat surface.

Street art 🙄
It's absolutely graffiti, no matter how talented you think you are.

That is the most centerparcs thing ever, so smug 😄 but i can be a miserable bastard too OP.

I 'm miserable..count me in lol!
what's right about defacing the natural beauty of our earth..leave the rocks as they are and where they are for others to enjoy. Really can't believe that humans do this in the name of 'art'. Tbh they look tacky and cheap and no doubt promote all the wrong values to our future generation. But oh just a bit of fun! Really?

@Johnnysgirl thank you 😊 we definitely kept them in our garden.

Yep, I'm 100% with the miserable buggers. Stop imposing man-made shite on the environment. If I go to the countryside or a beach, I want to try and be with nature without having people put their stamp all over it.

I hate the rock pile shite on beaches. I loathe fecking fairy doors in local woods. I would hate pebbles..painted and dotted around in the countryside. I also fucking hate the new trend for postbox knitted toppers.

Just stop it. It's not yours. Why do you get to impose your poor taste on me?

Please restrict your nafness to your homes and Facebook pages.

Argh yes the fairy doors!!! I didn’t know what the hell I was looking at when first sighting these suddenly springing up; thought it was some Blair Witch type activity 😂

Because they are usually painted with plastic paint and which leave microplastics behind as they weather. Those microplastics can get into water sources and intonthe food chain.

In addition some areas where there are a lot of pebbles are being damaged by people removing them - eg causing erosion.

You know when you put the painted stones in the bin, they end up in landfill. Where their dangerous paints all mingle in with the other landfill and create methane and all sorts of other gases.

The microplastic damage is much worse from other sources. Eg actual rubbish and litter dropped on the ground. Or from artificial grass. Or recycled plastics made into clothing. And so on.

In terms of taking stones on holiday, I couldn't be bothered. If I found one, then it would most likely make me smile. Maybe I would take it home. I wouldn't spend my own time painting them to take with me though.

I did paint some with the kids during lockdown. We dropped them in the woods for others to find. Most fun.