Everywhere is England is rammed

[Hyperfish101]

Maybe different elsewhere in UK but Covid has certainly wiped out options for a peaceful day out anywhere. Or so it seems.

Went to a local beauty spot for a walk yesterday. At 10 am cars queuing for the car park. All the NationL Trust type places swarming. Even little walks by our local river are overrun with people.

Had a week in a usually quiet place in the Scottish Borders. Nope. Jammed. The usual quiet beach was overrun. Car park rammed. Rubbish everywhere.

It’s horrible. I realise I was there too so limited grounds to complain but I’ve been going to these places for years and suddenly I can’t even park.

That’s even before mentioning the ‘wild camping’ we saw in the Lakes. Tents abandoned, rubbish everywhere.

I’m hoping when people can stop ‘staycationing’ and go abroad, things will settle down. I feel as if there are no unspoilt areas left now.

I don’t understand why everyone is going on holiday in July and August. It’s not like there has been any school since March. You could have gone in June instead.

@Abraid2

I don’t think we realised how much we owe the spanish for taking some people off our hands in the holiday period.

Absolutely

FFS "lack of imagination" honestly the utter arrogant superiority on mumsnet knows no bounds, it's AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY, it WILL be busy (thank god considering the economic state of this country right now) some of us haven't had a break in months, if we want to go to an area that's set up for tourists or is even a favoured location or one from childhood it is no reflection of bloody imagination but where we choose to spend our bloody money. And NO I'm not the one moaning, I'm glad it's busy, I'm pleased to be spending money elsewhere outside of a supermarket and I assume the restaurants etc are too!

It’s annoying me that all the people with kids are going on holiday and still saying that they should have first dibs on having the best weather in July and August because they are the school holidays, whereas they have been with the children the whole time they have been working.

Bank holidays, attractions are always rammed, traffic a nightmare we stay at home, not worth the hassle trying to go anywhere.

@Splodgetastic

I don’t understand why everyone is going on holiday in July and August. It’s not like there has been any school since March. You could have gone in June instead.

My children had school work to do and I was working with no option for any annual leave until late July. Not everybody has been able to go when it suits them.

I don’t get the Cornwall obsession. Oh, yes, it is lovely but so crowded and expensive - and obviously a million times worse this summer.

I remember a year or two ago someone posting that they couldn’t afford a British summer holiday. I helpfully linked to a few places I knew to be nice with very reasonably-priced chalet accommodation, in the Isle of Wight and Norfolk. The poster snapped back that they meant Devon and Cornwall . That was me told.

@Splodgetastic

I don’t understand why everyone is going on holiday in July and August. It’s not like there has been any school since March. You could have gone in June instead.

Eh?

Mine have had full days of home school every day apart from hols (secondary). Key years too!

oh and we were working flat out too (to add to my pp)

I don't mind people visiting where I live (it's beautiful!) and completely understand it will be busy on a bank holiday. However as many of us have said on this thread,it's the parking, litter and anti social behaviour that is intolerable. I've never seen anything like it since we moved here! There's just no excuse for it.

We have threads that people are selfish going abroad and then threads about the UK is rammed , you can't have it both ways.

I expect the colder than last year's bank holiday weather and the lack of some events such as Notting Hill Carnival and music festivals means that places such as country parks are what people are choosing instead of events or beaches.

As for the behaviour, its a shock for nice middle class people encounter people who normally go to beach holidays abroad and are at home, who don't have the same respect for places hence litter etc. Though bad driving and inability to park is not a class issue, just those too lazy to walk short distance or who should not have a licence in my opinion.

The last couple of days of the schools holidays have been heavy rain in any areas and yesterday was a nice day so probably super busy.

But I went up to the borders in schools hols and at the point Scottish schools were still off and it was as quiet as any other Scottish holiday I’ve had! We parked easily, even got a space in the harbour as at Abbs. An instagrammer I follow posted loads from Northumberland coast the week before last and it looked as quiet as it does when I’ve been in the summer. Southern coasts always get rammed if it is sunny but probably had additional day trippers this year

I faithfully promise OP at the end of this pandemic to never set foot at any of the tourist hotspots here again! From where i have been this last few weeks I struggle to see why anyone would want to! Dirty,shabby,run down seaside towns with overpriced tat being sold and extortionate parking fees! Of seaside towns not being equipt to grasp any form of social distancing,with locked toilets and no usual aminities.With locals giving out the evil eye and being unfriendly.With being told to stay home support our economy and doing so and having a thouroughly miserabe time in crap weather for doing so.I ventured to cleethorpes as fairly local the other week..ugh! May god strike me down if I am lying but never again. It felt unsafe to be there,it was grubby and well a complete shit hole if I am being honest. I shall be venturing for weekends away when the kids are back in school to our beautiful Dales but thats it.Anywhere abroad is calling my name and I cant wait to get back to going there! Having had 3 holidays cancelled this year I will gladly be willing to go bak and support their economy as soon as I can.I have tried to support ours but christ its been shocking in doing so.Even the kids aged 8 said why are we here?

Never mind children, I wish the retired would bugger off back on cruises. I had a look at cottages for October this year (not half term) and every bloody one was booked!

First chance dh and I get to go away together in 23 years and we’re thwarted by the smug retirees who always get everywhere first.

I don’t understand why everyone is going on holiday in July and August. It’s not like there has been any school since March. You could have gone in June instead

we were working. We had to take annual leave at the time we’d booked annual leave, which for obvious reasons at the time of booking was in the school summer holidays.

Don’t worry though, we’ll be back to going abroad next year so we won’t crowd your UK beauty spots anymore. Our 5 days in Devon this year cost more than our planned 2 weeks driving round our favourite vineyards in Northern Spain, and it rained everyday.

Live in the Lakes and work in tourism.. it’s always busy yes but this has been on another level. Even the tourists are complaining how bad it is. Just wish people would spare a thought for residents and service providers. We don’t ask much.

We went to Dorset at the beginning of August after cancelled our holiday abroad. We deliberately booked Dorset as knew Cornwall and parts of Devon would be rammed, and we booked a cottage not right on the coast. The only beach we went on was Chesil Beach, late afternoon for an hour to just mess around looking for fossils and enjoying watching the waves. Other than that we went on lots of walks (using a walking guide book) and hardy saw a soul, except for when part of one walk approached Durdle Door from the cliff tops just after lunchtime and there was a tsunami of people coming towards us on the path to head to the beach. We finished the walk early and went back to our lovely quite village and sat in the garden of the holiday house with a gin for a couple of hours in the sun. Lovely.

Lots of people seem completely unprepared when they holiday in this country. At Durdle Door we were in our walking boots etc, but most people were trying to do the long walk to the beach from the car park in unsuitable footwear, with flip flops sliding off or heels of sandals tipping over. Loads of hot wingey kids. I don't know but I'm guessing these are the people who usually go abroad and have ready made promenades to stroll along, not rocky paths!

Most places didn’t open until July, even for day trips. Hotels etc weren’t allowed to.

Busy down here in Cornwall but I think it exposes how little there is to do beyond beaches, walks & meandering around villages, when attractions are v limited and pubs etc are reduced.
Quiet spots are still quiet, but that's because not many people know of them, theres no facilities and not much to do.
It'll all change soon.
I'm glad for the income & that people have a chance for a change of scenery & some sea air.
But yes to the litter - appalling.

I live on the North Wales coast.
I'm glad the tourists are back, the economy needs them, both my dds jobs are in hospitality, but why do people need to park like arseholes?

My dad lives two streets away from a massive car park which charges 3 quid to park for the whole day, but people still park over his drive ALL the time (Seaside village). Most of the residents are elderly like him, last week an ambulance couldn't get through for one of his neighbours.

I don’t understand why everyone is going on holiday in July and August. It’s not like there has been any school since March. You could have gone in June instead

Plus of course that minor issue that we were in lockdown. Hotels/holiday accommodation etc didn’t open until July.

Yes makes me eye roll at those threads where women with 5 kids blithely explain we are not overcrowded 🙄 have they left the house lately?