'We live in UK’s most beautiful place - but it becomes mini-Blackpool at night'
A picturesque village in the Lake District is being turned into a hedonistic mix of stag dos, drugs and hen parties, according to those who live there.
Bowness-on-Windermere sits by the shores of Lake Windermere and sees millions of tourists flock there each year to enjoy a taste of the scenic setting. However, its popularity is a double-edged sword for the area. Its residents have had enough of the litter, traffic and anti-social behaviour as a result of all the visitors. They also say soiled nappies have been left out on the beach, bags containing dog poo are left hanging on trees and drunken people openly urinate on the streets.
Bowness-on-Windermere is one of the main tourist spots in the Lake District (Lancs Live)On top of this, the bucolic location reportedly attracts more than just tourists. The late-night partying has brought with it drug dealers from Manchester selling cocaine and ecstasy to the revellers, according to the Sun. A councillor has gone as far as claiming that Bowness has been turned into a “mini-Blackpool”, the famous seaside Lancashire resort just over an hour away south of the Lake District.
Parish councillor Christine Cook, 67, said: "They can go out on boat trips on the lake and enjoy all the pubs and live music. There is a lot to entertain them. But Blackpool is all geared up for it and we're not." She added that there is also a "real problem" with wild camping during the summer, with people leaving behind bottles, barbeques and even tents.
While former Bowness mayor Adrian Legge said that some "rival" stag dos clash on nights out, displaying "appalling behaviour" and causing problems for other people trying to enjoy a night out. The Falklands War naval veteran also said the council has been contacted on numerous occasions to provide more bins and to stop giving out alcohol licences.
World’s most popular holiday homes include glass cube deep in a forest canyon
A Save Windermere anti-sewage campaign event in Bowness earlier this year (PA)Elsewhere in the nearby village of Ambleside, former MasterChef star Ryan Blackburn runs the Michelin-starred Old Stamp House and admitted that he had to install padlocks on his bins to stop people dumping rubbish in them. The 43-year-old said that his young staff receive abuse from people urinating in the restaurant’s backyard. He also complained of poor transport infrastructure, a lack of parking, public toilets, public bins and poorly maintained roads for both residents and visitors.
The UNESCO-listed Lake District in Cumbria sees around 18 million tourists each year from countries as far away as Japan and China. The area is for being the home of Beatrix Potter, who wrote the much-loved Peter Rabbit children's books. A museum dedicated to the writer and her creation is located in Bowness, which makes the village one of the main tourist hubs in the area. In recent times, more and more Airbnbs have appeared to help cope with the demand of visitors.
Yet barmaid Fiona Wilkinson, 50, who works at the Hole in t'Wall pub, lamented that rent price have been driven up by Airbnbs, forcing local to move elsewhere as they can't afford to live there anymore. She added that the sewage system, which is pumped into the lake, cannot cope with the amount of people. This has led to concerns over the quality of water in Lake Windermere. Comedians such as Steve Coogan, Lee Mack and Paul Whitehouse have all recently joined a campaign to protest against pollution in the lake.
The lake is used by wild swimmers, sailors and paddle boarders and last year there were a reported 246 days when sewage was discharged into the lake from storm overflows . A Westmorland and Furness Council spokesperson said the council is working with residents and businesses to make Westmorland and Furness a "great place to live, work and thrive". It has also increased the number of litter bins being emptied in tourist hotspots to six times a day as well as installing extra bins in busy areas.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
