Why? Why oh why are people still coming here on holiday?

[Jux]

Devon. We have seen caravans and motorhomes and people obviously on holiday (canoe and suitcases etc on car roof, all that stuff; it's bloody obvious), bikes loaded with camping stuff....

We live 20 miles from the beach and none of us have seen a wave for weeks. DH spends half the day complaining because he can't go to the beach in this lovely weather as he normally does.

Thank goodness the market is not on, or we'd be over-run. Really worried as both dd and I are vulnerable (not extremely vulnerable) and dh freaks out every time he has to go out as our Designated Shopper that he'll bring it home to us.

Why are people such arseholes?

We're going to need road blocks!

I think the problem with this situation is it really does highlight the have and have nots. The lower paid sections of society on the frontline in a huge variety of ways and extremes battling on to keep the country going. Others stuck everywhere in tiny houses and flats stressed and some without gardens, jobs, etc. Throw in the fact so many in Devon/ Cornwall and other popular areas have spent weeks away from their spaces and how poorly funded and provided these places have been for years compared to London in terms of public transport, education, housing etc. When you then see the rich running away out of London to places they have cared very little about in terms of funding, potentially putting those often very vulnerable communities at risk with a view to accessing spaces others are sensibly avoiding its understandably more than annoying.

When this is all over I do hope there is more unity as we work together to rebuild. I hope we start valuing the jobs that are important and recognise those things in society that are not. I also hope we can spread wealth and funding a little bit more fairly.

Don't worry about the little country hospitals being unable to cope, by the time they get sick they should be back home

Yes, after infecting many locals who will then need the little country hospitals

FFS

Or do you just want second home owners to come buy houses pay stamp duty, council tax for your facilities etc and not be allowed to use them ??

TBH - most of us don't want people to buy second houses where we live.

We want those homes available for our sons and daughters so that they can live in the area. We want proper communities, not flying visits from people who will infest the place in summer and leave it like a morgue in the winter.

And we don't much like them being rented out, either, as we never know who our next-door neighbour is going to be, and often those neighbours are noisy, messy and obstreperous and there's nothing we can do about it.

I think it's true that wherever you are we all want people who buy houses to live in them and be part of the community. It's no different in London but here the issue is with people buying property as investment, including people from overseas, and not living in them. It's made housing unaffordable for many people and some communities are very altered by it. Young people in regular wage jobs have no chance of buying property. It's awful.

And we are getting into nice weather, and we are looking at months of this. Of course people want to do the best for their own families, and they look at the lovely pics, and they sit in their flats, and they come to a completely terrible decision, and they climb into their caravans or whatever

The majority who are traveling miles to their second homes won’t be cooped up in a flat they are more likely to have a nice house and garden and just simply think the rules don’t apply to them

We all want our lives back i want to go and sit in the park (I don’t have a garden) but I can’t that’s the way it is

It’s not forever and these selfish idiots should not be excused in anyway much higher on the spot fines should be enforced or car impounded £60 a ridiculously low amount

Car would have to be impounded at a later date obviously they need to get home. Seconds thoughts just much higher fines and maybe a points in their licence type charge

I was served by a lady in my local supermarket who spends all day in the store and is trapped in a gardenless flat on her days off. We were bemoaning how desperate we are for the sea or moor a few minutes away. Why do some city dwellers think it’s ok for locals to be sea deprived but not them?

Some people on this thread are forgetting that most rural locals are lower earners. The countryside has some of the most grinding poverty in the U.K.- with children often trapped in cramped housing association accommodation in small villages all Dummer with no local transport and no local shop.

Many little villages in the Cotswolds no longer have any amenities because the proportion of uninhabited second homes is so high.

The DSL at my school is currently delivering food parcels to families who we know are trapped without transport or access to a shop in little rural villages.

No one thinks of this stuff until it is pointed out to them.

Put it this way, imagine if a load more extra people/families descended into your neighborhood/street walking about.
Extra people in your local shop, buying Cornettos, drinks and footballs.
Walking about flouting the rules, whilst you're staying indoors.

2nd home owner or whatever, it's not right to ignore the rules put out there to try and protect lives.

Rural doesn't just mean some thatched cottage in a village, there are rural towns. These towns have wealth and poverty. Cramped housing, people at risk, food banks. Just like anywhere, but we honestly do not have the infrastructure, we have hardly any police, buses, emergency vehicles.
We cannot cope with any sudden extra people.
People who are ignoring the advice to save lives are making us resentful.
That's causing the anger.

Summary of this thread.......

Government: stay at home, save lives, protect the nhs
Locals in tourist places: #comebacklater

City dwellers: why do locals in tourist places hate outsiders
Second home owners: locals should be grateful for the massive contribution we make to the local economy
Contributors who don't live in tourist places: why are people so mean, I always wanted to visit x but they sound really unfriendly so I don't think I'll bother now.

I wonder if the people defending their right to visit these place under the current conditions would maintain their point of view if they actually lived in a tourist destination. This morning I saw several people dressed for a nice coastal hike, it's a small town I know they're not local, they were all in the over 70 age group, a couple had their faces covered with bandanas like bandits from a country and western film.

My neighbours are taking this seriously and following the lockdown rules. We know our nearest hospital is 40 minutes away and serves a large geographical area and population. We do not want to be arriving there when capacity has been reached and have a doctor calculate our chances of survival before deciding if we get a ventilator. Why would anyone put themselves in that position?

I think some posters need to understand this is not personal. I have a year round friendship with my part time neighbours (second home Owners) but they respect the local area enough to leave their house empty just now. Hopefully I'll see them later in the year. If you own a second home then please consider the local business owners who lose out the longer lockdown continues. B+B owners restaurants, take aways and shops will all struggle to survive if they can't salvage something of this year's tourist season.

This is not all about you.

@thesunwillout

Exactly. Those who are castigating us rural town/village dwellers should read your post. And reflect.

Well said Corabel

Stay away for now. If you come here, too right we'll be angry and unwelcoming.

Come back when all this is over.

Cumbria has one of the lowest density populations in the UK. But we have one of (if not the highest) number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 outside of London.
Our hospitals are already transferring patients over to Newcastle because we are running out of ITU beds and we don't have any Nightingale hospitals

DH and I had noticed the terrifying cumbria numbers Frangipani - we're keeping an eye on the northern areas. I said "It'll be those second-home owners. They just don't give a damn."

I hadn't realised that your overflow victims had had to be moved to Newcastle (my area) but it doesn't surprise me. Our numbers are soaring, too. It's dreadfully worrying.

Praying that this peaks soon and gives communities a chance to settle again.

I'd like to think that when we are through this, we'll be in a more generous and equal society as awareness of suffering permeates ALL levels - but sadly the indication is that we won't.

God bless and keep you all. Everyone.

I should be with my family today in Cornwall (we all live in various bits of Somerset) scattering my Granny's ashes in the village my family has holidayed in for over 100 years.

Instead we are all at home and haven't seen each other in weeks.

Selfish fuckers the lot of them.

@FOJN succinctly put. Right now our local businesses are suffering untold damages as many use the revenue gained in the tourist season to see them through winter. We do need the holiday maker and day trippers - just not right now. The sooner people do as they’re asked and stay home, the sooner the lockdown will be lifted and they can come and enjoy what the town offers.
On a personal note, my 5 yo son is desperately missing his grandparents and they him. They live around the corner but due to being high risk are isolating. Mine and my son’s best friends live 2 hours away and it would be amazing to see them but we’re staying local as instructed.

Personally, I’d like to see a lockdown same as in Spain where you essentially get a permission slip to leave your home. I realise that those who live in properties without outside space will likely suffer more for this but blame those who think the rules don’t apply

Well, the police have posted on Facebook this morning that they won’t be taking retrospective action against second homers who arrived after lockdown and flouted the clearly stated guidance. What a kick in the teeth for all the front line workers who have little or no PPE and were described as “low skilled workers” just a few short weeks ago.

@Hippogrog

I'd test the vaccine on them.
They obviously like to take risks!

That's disgraceful Privacy - is it just that there are so many of them, and so few police thanks to cutbacks in this other vital area of public service, as well as the NHS ?

Well obviously they would need clear evidence to be able to charge them with any offence retrospectively as they will all just say they arrived before lockdown. The Police don’t have the resources to deal with crime as it is and now they have a massive additional burden of clearing groups and people out and about, but not doing the agreed essentials. Where do the resources come from to deal with such a massive task across the country. And also, they don’t get the gratitude and praise that the NHS get, they get abuse for telling people to go home to save lives. Told they’re abusing their powers by one person and that they’re being too soft by the next. Dammed if they do, dammed if they don’t!

I live near a beach, the car park has been closed but the beach is still available for exercise but local vigilantes are getting together aiming to let tyres down/slash tyres in nearby roads. That is going to be a great help with reports of criminal damage to the police and call outs to AA/RAC or similar to get people moving.

I assume they have decided anyone using the beach by car is a holidaymaker but we drive down there so my disabled husband can have a walk. Govt have said people are able to take short car journeys to access open spaces so these vigilantes are just adding to the problems.

Bang on, Schadenfreude, precisely that.

I’ve seen people pulling suitcases looking at their phones (so looking up an address I assume) until very recently. I assume it’s air B&B types? We are in a very touristy area and they don’t look like locals coming home.

I'm in favour of paintballing, preferably with indelible paint!

Stupid is as stupid does!