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.

@BubblesBuddy
I'm near Fountains Abbey but there is a similar scenario of cars abandoned all over as in @Lilypods photo.

I'm just wondering if members are going to get their money back,

Well the cynic in me thinks that this whole idea of keeping grounds open was a ploy to not have to extend membership at no cost. I have English Heritage membership and had a lengthy e-mail yesterday informing me of all the ways I would still be able to enjoy my membership even though all their buildings were closed. Well I’m sorry but access to a few podcasts or virtual tours are not good value considering the annual membership fee. I know these are difficult times but I think both NT and EH are pre-empting requests for refunds by being able to say ‘ah, but we were open’.

It was a bad decision. Our NT places are always rammed with the members as it is, no idea what logic was being applied on the decision to open to all.

I wish pp on here would stop being so negative about others. People are off work, kids off school and the virus hasn't really become noticeable yet. They've been encouraged to go by publicity from NT so they're going. People are doing the right thing to get out in the air and get exercise, it's healthier and the risk of transmission is greatly reduced.

It's early days, as Bubbles says, so people are all going at once. If the predictions about the impact of the virus on uk are correct there will be a lot less people about soon

@AlexaAmbidextra
I never thought of that!
I guess they can now say they were open and no refunds, I just don't know why free for all though as they won't be making any money through food,gift and beverage sales so surely they could of just kept it open for paying members?

I agree OP. Hen I heard the news my initial reaction was ‘great, I can’t wait to go explore’ then someone in my nursery group mentioned going there next week and they’ve all agreed to go together. Defeats the purpose of closing nursery and there’s no way you can keep 2 and 3 year olds a suitable distance apart unless they are in buggy’s. Which again defeats the purpose of closing nursery.
Someone on my Facebook feed posted a picture of all the cyclists at Richmond Park like normal. All congregating together, queuing up for their takeaway coffees.
Totally irresponsible.

On busy weekends, the cars are always like that at Ashridge and have been for decades. I’ve known this area for decades! It’s just like an early Easter. They are not abandoned cars. They will belong to people spreading out in the vast acreage of woods. It’s very possible to safely spread out there.

I’m must admit I was a bit hmm when I saw they were opening to everyone for free
It's only the car parks that are free presumably? The houses/indoor buildings are closed.

@BubblesBuddy
I didn't mean literally abandoned with no owners coming back for them but more dumped all over the place because they can't get in a car park.

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

We were at a local NT place last week. I thought they would have introduced some distancing measures but no, all guests still filtering through the tiny shop to have cards scanned. I thought they would have at least introduced outdoor scanning.

In a huge acreage of woodland of course you can keep children apart! Honestly woodlands are not classrooms! None of the cars have children playing together around them. The parents and DC will be off in the woods separate from other families. That’s ok.

@TabbyMumz I don't resent continuing to pay my membership as it goes towards the upkeep of the grounds/properties

I don’t know. I’m in isolation now as symptomatic but after that ends I will be going round parks with the kids.. we can’t stay at home until September. No playgrounds, no cafe breaks, none of the usual park trip stuff but fresh air and physical activity is surely important? Especially for children.

Just because cars are parked near each other doesn’t mean everyone is crammed in next to each other on picnic benches.

Surely we need to isolate as much as we can but if we go too far people will tire of it quicker, best to isolate 90% but for longer?

That IS the car parking at Ashridge!!! On busy days. You obviously don’t know it! There are a couple of tiny areas for parking which are near the cafe and halfway up the drive but at busy weekends the cars are always like this! A bit busier maybe but not exceptionally so.

There are no picnic benches at Ashridge. The cafe is the only source of benches. It has open space and loads and loads of woodlands that goes a long way!

I agree- parents are near Langsett at the edge of the Peak District and this is the scene over there today. Absolutely fucking mindless. I think a lot of people are taking social isolation from 9am Monday? Like they're not doing any damage right now? I've seen a few people on Facebook suggesting their last hurrah is Mother's Day tomorrow.
Yeah - infect your mum and then self isolate, that's sensible 👌🏼

YANBU, it was a nice idea made with the right intentions, but having people gather in car parks and all head to the same bit of open space is still dangerous. We should be going into our gardens for fresh air, and to quiet spaces locally so not travelling unnecessarily. I appreciate that this isn't possible everywhere, but those cities don't have NT parks anyway.

@SansaClegane yep...Ashridge! Good spot 👍🏼😄

@Whydoesit local parks and observing social distancing measures, yes. By parks I don't mean swings etc, it can live on surfaces for quite a while. But encouraging people to travel to the same place as it's open for free is wreckless really.

The car parks at Formby in the North west, were unusually full but there is plenty of room for people to walk, play and picnic, with their children and dogs. We walked for nearly 2 hours, saw lots of people but didn't get less than 3 yards from anyone.

It’s not mad to go out if you can separate effectively. So sad we cannot share the countryside at this grim time for all of us.

The advice is to get children outside for exercise. Unless you live very rurally it’s not going to be possible to do this without being around loads of other people. Every open space near us is busy on any decent weekend and will only be busier now there’s nothing else to do. If I go to a park within walking distance it is guaranteed my children will see their friends there and social distancing will be impossible.

We went to the beach this morning. Plenty of space on the beach itself but car parks are rammed, there are queues for the toilets etc. It’s hard to know what to do really.

They are supposed to be limiting the amount of people (at least that's what they told me in the email they sent to volunteers)

Exactly queen. If DC are not using playgrounds and people observe safe distances is it all bad that they go out? It’s in the open air and safe enough as we are not being asked to stay inside.

@LittleRootie
Exercise and fresh air are great I agree, but no way can the amount of people who are visiting certain parks be able to spread out to a safe distance and in visiting these places in such large numbers will only accelerate infection rates.
Lots of gates to pass through and multiple people touching them isn't the best way to prevent spreading of the virus.