Sick of some Cornish people bleating on as though they are the worlds only tourist destination

[Endlesssummer2022]

Just read the article below and found a few gems such as these:

’ have you ever wondered where the local people live? Or have you noticed that many of your holiday neighbours are recognisable in the narrow lanes of the pretty fishing villages because they are the same people you live near in London?’

and…

‘Despite what you may have read, we Cornish do welcome visitors and are happy to share our love of our land with you. But it might help if you do a bit of research – Cornwall is fiercely independent and has a proud and unique history and heritage…* *And try not to be rude to local people. If you’ve been asked to not drink from a glass bottle on the beach, there is a reason for that. Don’t forget to tip waiting staff. ‘

What patronising bollocks. So Londoner’s (as those are apparently the only people who visit Cornwall) are so untraveled and boorish we need to be told not to be rude to people, pay tips, not to smash glass bottles in sand, that we’ve bought all of their houses, that it’s ‘their’ land and we’re the ones who are rude?

I’d already decided I wouldn’t go back there after how some of them carried on during Covid but this article has pissed me off. Why would anyone go there when they can go to equally lovely places in the UK/World and not be treated with contempt?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/29/welcome-to-cornwall-please-dont-ruin-it-for-us-local-people

Just don't go to Cornwall for your holidays?

I’m a Londoner (since my early 20’s) and visit Cornwall regularly. And yes, I bump into a lot of people I know from London, as do my teens.

I completely understand the local
sentiment. I grew up somewhere similar and it drove me mad.

We are respectful and sympathetic to the locals. Unfortunately, a lot of people aren’t. The London teenagers have a lot to answer for wrt bottles on the beach etc.

YABU

@1dayatatime it would need primary legislation yes. But any time it has been brought up the backlash from industry has been massive. Towns could charge a voluntary levy on beds though- lots of places in Europe do it.

From 2024 councils will have the powers to increase council tax on second homes- will be interested to see if Cornwall Council actually do it.

I don't think it's comparable to say 'London has 9 million people'. Most tourists aren't heading to Dollis Hill or Croydon. They hit up a 5 mile Square area in Central London. It's not a race to the bottom anyway. London has extreme child poverty and wildly unaffordable housing. Solidarity is better no?

It's a ridiculous comparison. Have you been outside of London? You know that London is incredibly built up and that Cornwall is not?

No I'm not joking. It's a beach in Cornwall. It doesn't belong to the locals any more than than the local park or beauty spot where I live belongs to me. I just happen to live near it.

It doesn’t depend on tourism.

Very well said, ExtraOnions

In fairness I've found nothing but lovelliness among Cornish people and this isn't exclusive to that county, but the "second homes" whine is pretty irritating when they're the ones doing the selling

Agriculture (including food production too) and Tourism are it's two biggest sources of income.

It would be even more deprived without the tourist pound though.

I used to live (big emphasis on used!) in a very popular North Norfolk market town. Tourists are truly vile mostly (sorry if you are a nice one getting lumped in with the idiots!).

Absolutely no respect for people working there, or the beauty areas. I just don’t get it? Although has made me never be a knob when on holiday so that is something.

So should we just put up with the bad behaviour? Surely it's OK to speak out about the things that go on?

As a Scot, I'm with the Cornish. Tourists are ruining the Highlands, especially with their giant campervans and complete lack of self-awarneness

I just think it's unresolveable. It's fine to not like "Londoners" moving in and changing the place you like, and the prices you can afford. It's fine to be from London (or wherever), have money and move to Cornwall. It's fine to sell your house to a rich outsider. You'd be a hypocritical, probably, to fall into two of those categories (don't be a Londoner who in five years' time moans about Londoners moving in; don't sell up to a Londoner and then moan). But all three of these types of people are acting according to what suits them, but it inevitably generates conflict.

Absolutely speak out but do also recognise everything you deal with other areas deal with too.

Perhaps we need a national campaign on how to treat the countryside and how to drive through country roads and how to generally not be a twat on holiday.

What was the behaviour during Covid?

This whole setting Cornish vs Londoners against each other is extremely unhelpful, and that part of the article is quite unfortunate. Both places suffer massively from overinflated house prices, for different reasons and with different potential solutions.

Speaking as the daughter and granddaughter of working class Londoners, and someone who has lived in Cornwall for over 20 years, I think the elephant in the room is class.

Some Cornish have profited from the property boom- but rarely the working class ones. Some Londoners benefit from living in what are now very expensive properties- but rarely the working class ones.

(Hums the "Internationale" 😆)

Totally agree, ffs who was there 100s or 1000s of years ago? I have no clue but maybe not their own ancestors.

It just screams of ignorant, small mindedness. The world has moved on…global society and all that.

I haven’t been to Cornwall or Scotland for years but they’re beautiful and I’m bothered about them being ruined even if I never go. Why go to a beautiful place and wreck it? People have to be told…if you take that personally then that’s your problem.

A good part of the blame for this lies with the Scottish government and local authorities, who keep mounting campaigns to encourage tourism, but refuse to spend a single bloody penny on providing adequate infrastructure.

I tell a lie, Highland Council did shell out for ten trowels to leave in laybys.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/toilet-stops-highlands-trowels-lay-bys-a4522776.html

Tourism is absolutely not a 'cost free' endeavour. You have to provide decent roads, accommodation, infrastructure, facilities, information.

Or you end up with people piling up to see the beautiful views and shitting in laybys.

I live in Cornwall , the infrastructure is not cut out for mass tourists , especially the roads . Getting anywhere in the summer is horrendous unless we leave the house at dawn and get home early lunch time! All beauty spots are packed , no parking spaces the supermarkets are empty it’s pretty shit. I stay because my family are all in Cornwall , but it’s no fun living here in the summer! If you need to travel west on a Friday you can be stuck in slow moving traffic for hours so we try to avoid .

Exactly! Even less space. Plus the majority of tourists are in inner London which has an area of 123 square miles. So 20% of the tourists in 10 x the area.

(No I’ve never left London, ever).

Welcome to London…traffic, packed with people, no parking…

Totally agree. Also it goes without saying that many tourists are respectful and pleasant, it's the few bad ones that ruin it for everyone

The argument about the differences between Cornwall and London is silly. They are totally chalk and cheese

Like I think that the reason that Cornwall suffers is because of lack of infrastructure but I know that the case on London too but in different areas

Hate and distrust of London is hundreds of years old. There's nothing new about it. Ingrained in generations of Kernow folk. I actually found local folk friendly and welcoming, although I'm from another tourist destination, so I usually get comments along the lines of 'thought you had good beaches there'