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

I live in the Lake District.

I get it. Not every tourist is a bellend.

But honestly, in the last few years the behaviour of a significant minority of tourists has been a nightmare.

Going "wild camping" and leaving their tents, chairs, and litter behind because they can't be bothered to carry it back.

Chopping down trees to use as firewood. Starting fires in woodland.

Parking along narrow lanes with no thought given to how people will pass, blocking farm gates and causing congestion that means that locals are then late for work etc.

Not being properly prepared for walking in the fells, subsequently getting lost and then relying on the volunteer rescue teams to help them when if they had worn the correct clothing, learned how to use a map and compass, or not left it until 2pm in winter to walk up Scafell Pike, it could have been avoided.

Letting their fur baby dogs worry pregnant ewes.

Yes it's a beautiful part of the country but it doesn't exist solely for your enjoyment. People who live and work here are left behind with the consequences of the selfish actions of a small group of tourists and we're fed up with it. So forgive us for getting a little frustrated!

Some (usually posh English sounding, which makes all English people targets, do behave very, very badly when on holidays in parts of the UK) My DNs are big into sailing, DB took them to Cowes last year and said never again due to the behaviour he witnessed from other visitors. He was really embarrassed, he's a working class Manchester lad done very well and he was horrified at the way shop keepers and bar staff were treated. (Our DF has a market stall)

Ok there are lots of incidences as stated on this thread where tourists are dicks.
I was out with my family food shopping and sitting in a cafe.
Did I deserve to be spoken to in a belittling manner?
I'm sure here are some lovely Cornish people but that was not my experience today.

What was said?

I wonder where we are actually allowed to go on holiday these days without someone criticising our choice!

That beach is more the locals than those that go there, use it, and then fuck off. They also tend to be the ones who care for it.

This ⬆️

But for Devon, large parts of the Highlands and a huge part of the beautiful Northumbrian coast too. People who don’t respect the sea or landscape piss me off - our lifeboat station is fairly quiet Oct - March and is only usually called out for fishing boats in distress, and even that’s a rarity.

However come summertime HM Coastguard, the RNLI and the beach volunteers are run off their feet every single week. In the highest point of the season, it’s every single day. It staggers me that people let their kids go into waters they have NO IDEA about, play under dangerous cliffs ( that have DANGER signs in bright red along them ) or themselves lighting fires in moorland during the peak dry season and then looking baffled that things catch fire.

It isn’t a problem with tourists we have here per se , it’s their complete disregard for respecting the rules of the sea ( TIDE TIMES ANYONE? ) and the land then acting offended when the very obvious is pointed out to them. We have 3 major hospitals serving a n absolutely massive area - Plymouth, Torbay & RD & E - all of which come under incredible pressure during the summer months from the tripling of the population. The rest of the year they’re under strain due to social care pressures. So please, do by all means visit us here in this amazing part of the UK but use common sense!!!

Me too! Although I visited Wigan for a wedding recently and everyone was so friendly and kind! Maybe we could start a trend....

@BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah the premise of the post was Sick of some Cornish people bleating on as though they are the worlds only tourist destination so we don't hear that much about the Lake District, because it's not in Cornwall.

Tourism benefits a very small proportion of the populace.

Perhaps ask the Cornish people on this thread where they go on holiday and go there. They must think some places are okay for tourists, just not Cornwall.

Stupid article by in large, its not just Cornwall affected!.. I live in a tourist hot spot in Pembrokeshire.. our whole economy depends on tourists, the vast majority of holiday lets are owned by locals, it is a tricky balance though.. the worse part imo, is during what we locals call 'the silly season', is the drivers, so many dangerous drivers in huge cars! So many accidents on the roads, and an increase of pedestrians hit by wing mirrors each year.

What we dislike more then tourists are the 2nd home owners who appear 3 times a year, leaving properties empty the rest of the year, they bring nothing into the economy or community!

@Paperlate who pissed on your chips?

Try living in Cambridge when we have the students causing mayhem and mess, I mean having a splendid time, after their exams.
We're not actually allowed to complain about it, though, as they run the city. Apparently.

We got the muttering about tourists once and the impression we weren't welcome
Which really really pissed my dad off
I was born there! My dad ran a pub there for years. Might be tourists but my dad did a lot for the community running a local pub for so long

Agree. Think of it from the perspective of the Cornish (or anyone who lives in a tourist destination). They're not just making this stuff up to be mardy. It sounds hellish.

Haha we went to Cornwall in 2021 and it was because we couldn't go abroad easily. It was OK but I probably wouldn't go again. It was a long drive for us, rained a lot, and only had one nice meal the whole time we were there.

Managed not to shit on any beaches, call the coastguard out, dump litter, burn anywhere down or dump my car in anyone's drive. And that was without reading any articles in the Guardian. Go me!

And do you think tourists only inconvenience those in Cornwall? Do you hear Londoners complaining about tourists cramming into the tubes during rush hour with all their children whilst Londoners are trying to get to and from work?

Or those tourists who clog the roads in London?

The tourists who block the paths in London.

Do you realise how ridiculous it sounds??

Oh yeah we do moan about tourists and 2nd home owners on this side of the border too. And the Spanish do, and I reckon just about anywhere that gets inundated with tourists over the summer.

Honestly, treat the place like your own home unless you get blind drunk every night and piss/vomit in the streets, in which case stay at home. And for the love of God put some clothes on if you are going shopping and learn to reverse.

paperlate
Yes, I love to go on holiday all the time. I either camp or stay in people's spare rooms via AirBnB. I either drive to out of the way rural places (when camping), take public transport or walk.I am polite and courteous. I try to avoid tourist honeyspots. When we went to Rome (via train), we avoided things like the Colosseum and researched lesser known, equally interesting, attractions (some were almost completely deserted). When we went to Venice, even though I used to live there and understood everything the locals were saying about tourists unbeknown to them, I didn't take it personally. It's fucking tough for them- far more intense than it is in Cornwall, even.

Funnily enough, I'm always recommending Cornwall to the international bunch on the Interrailing Facebook group I frequent, but that's because by its very nature they're the kind of folk who are going to take public transport and walk/ stay in hostels/ have a genuine openness and curiosity about where they're visiting etc.

Shockingly poor article (but that's what you get from the Guardian these days). I expect living in Cornwall does give you a high exposure to a large number of irritating and selfish people and it must be quite grating when you can't get away from them. Ditto also Devon, the Lakes, Scottish Highlands etc.

I have to say, though, that this seems to tap into a particularly venal strain of anti Londoner which I think is pretty unconstructive. It's open season on Londoners at the best of times.

You're a model tourist and would be welcome in my town anytime 👍

Tourism benefits a very small proportion of the populace

No it doesn't. Tourism benefits thousands of businesses who employ hundreds of thousands of people, who trade with other businesses employing millions of people. It benefits the whole economy and absolutely everyone. £106bn to GDP and employs 2.6m people. 2016 figures, it will be a lot more now.

I go on holiday to Cornwall every year. Cornwall is unique and separate. It is special. The Romans didn’t really get a foothold there. It is more like Brittany and Wales than England. It had its own language. It is our Venice and we only protected it in 2014 which was pitifully late. We didn’t recognise the cultural significance of this area and some of it has been eaten up by tourism. I have visited padstow and I didn’t like it. The shops were mostly chains, the harbour part of the town was all non local business so the money won’t stay. Locals seemed to live in the estate up the hill, the harbour houses were all second homes. This isn’t ok, it was soulless. I would be pissed off if I were Cornish.