National Trust

[UncleBillyLostHisWilly]

AIBU to think the National Trust have made the wrong decision to allow free entry in the current Covid-19 pandemic?

I live near a NT site and the place has been swarmed today, cars abandoned all over the place and mass swarms of people of all ages congregating in quite a small area.

Surely this goes against the advise of social distancing?

What were the NT thinking when they made this decision I do not know but there is a difference between going out to get some fresh air on a country walk as opposed the opening up well known tourist attractions for the masses to descend on and socialise.

I thought they would be quite quiet, I agree. They shouldn’t be open.

YABU. They have closed the houses and parklands (so the parts with playgrounds) plus their shops and cafes. The only bits people can access are the wide open spaces which is fine.

It is only accessible open spaces, not parks or properties.

I agree. We have a local beauty spot popular for walkers near to where I live and it is absolutely rammed there today. One of my friends has just posted this on Facebook? How on earth can this be considered social isolation???

YABU, they are doing their bit. All of the shops,cafes and buildings are closed but the grounds are open. We live in a heavy agricultural area and all the land is inaccessible apart from the National Trust places - there are right of way footpaths of course but given that all they do is force people all onto the same narrow path down the edge of a field they are not recommended at the moment.

@Lilypods
Same round here!
Which park is that photo taken at?

@Whoareyoudududu
Yes, they were open spaces but not anymore with the amount of people who are visiting.

Lilypods is that Ashridge woods?

I agree. One near us this afternoon has announced that they’re losing the grounds after all because it’s too busy and people aren’t adhering to social distancing. I expect they introduced free entry so members didn’t have to get close to volunteers to scan cards but sadly it’s backfired and places are swarmed by the sounds of it

Closing not losing!

UncleBilly I agree. At first I thought it was a great idea, but then thinking about it I knew that those with a "if it's free I'll have it" mentality would abuse it and the places would get overrun. See also: emergency school places for key workers.

@WishUponAStar88
Same with the one near me, gates are closed now.

Ours is mental too. I think they envisioned people going for a walk for an hour or so; they’ve closed all the inside places and taken away the picnic benches... sadly it looks like mayhem, people are still picnicking and there’s far too many people to make staying apart easy.

They had a lovely idea but I don’t think we’re used to staying inside enough yet. I really don’t want them to close completely as I have no garden or outside space and my mental health is going to suffer massively if I can’t get out at some point; but they’ll have to at this rate.

I do agree OP and thought this would happen. People just can't be told can they and can't be bothered to walk further from a few minutes from the car park to actually be isolated anyway- or look for spots local to them which are less known.

Most NT properties have lots of land surrounding them that visitors barely bother which, which is what you'd assume they hoped people might take advantage of rather than being idiotic and selfish and ramming in the main grounds car park and planking a picnic down a few metres away as though this some lovely spring jolly we are all in together. A
Most of the NT properties here join footpaths once the NT boundary ends and it doesn't take a great deal of skill or intellect to look at a map and find a quieter place to walk.

The point is to distance so if you get there and it's full of cars- bloomin well drive on! The country is full of green spaces that are empty while the NT is full.

Oh, ours has closed too. Just coastal places open now I think.

@SansaClegane
Yes I thought at first it would be a nice idea, however the NT attraction around here open up on bank holidays and have free entry for local residents with the areas postcode and it gets swamped to full capacity every time so I would of thought they would have learnt from that.

They had the right idea and General Managers have full discretion to close if things get too busy.

YANBU. They are no longer wide open spaces if every man and his dog is turning up.

They shouldn't be opening.

I'm just wondering if members are going to get their money back, as they pay a lot per year to go there, and it's just open to everyone free.

They had a good idea but people take advantage

They should close it supports the theory of some stupid people that this is a holiday.

Yes. I live next to a national park and all the popular places are ram packed with people. Its freezing cold today too. We will go out in the week early morning to avoid the crowds. To some less well known areas.

@TabbyMumz I read someone on twitter had asked that question and the NT responded no as they are a charity and need the money from the memberships and there is also no option to pause membership either.

If families arrive in their cars (assuming they are all well) and spread out away from other families on arrival that’s ok. The DC were all at school yesterday cooped up together.

Looks like Ashridge to me and there is a lot of space there to spread out and the cafe will be closed. It would be easy to maintain a lot of space between people.

It’s also the novelty isn’t it? We live on a bridleway and we have seen groups of 4,5 and 6 people going by all having a chat. People with DC and babies and not all from one family. If people spread out at Ashridge, or similar properties that’s fine. There has never been a parking charge at Ashridge.

I’ve been spreading out in my own fields.

this is such a shame! It is such a lovely idea but seems to being abused liked so much else at the moment.

I’m must admit I was a bit when I saw they were opening to everyone for free, why am I still paying for membership then?