Now dozens of illegally parked cars are towed away at Welsh beauty spot after furious neighbours in the Peak District blamed Easter tourists for clogging up the national park …
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By Iwan Stone[1] and Frankie Elliott[2]
Published: 19:25, 2 April 2024 | Updated: 19:32, 2 April 2024
Furious locals who live around Snowdon have shared their anger as Easter tourists saw their cars being towed by police – after parking illegally and clogging up the Welsh beauty spot.
Pictures shared by angry residents showed a huge queue of hikers snaking up to the summit of England and Wales’ highest peak after they descended on the scenic spot.
Icy ground and snow-capped mountains could not deter the dogged explorers trekking to the remote spot – with some even wearing shorts to battle the elements.
Others showed off pictures of illegally-parked cars blocking pavements as they crammed into the road leading up the the mountain’s walking routes.
And they delighted as police were seen towing them away – with trucks pulling unwanted vehicles from the snaking country roads.
It comes after a weekend where rural regions across the UK were left fuming after the country descended on the countryside for the Easter break.
One walker, called Andy Berry, said: ‘I now avoid all the major peaks because I can no longer escape, from those who don’t respect the mountains.’
And they delighted as police were seen towing them away – with trucks pulling unwanted vehicles from the snaking country roads
Pictures shared by angry residents showed a huge queue of hikers snaking up to the summit of England and Wales’ highest peak after they descended on the scenic spot
Icy ground and snow-capped mountains could not deter the dogged explorers trekking to the remote spot – with some even wearing shorts to battle the elements
Pippa Mizen added: ‘Love Snowdon but certainly won’t be going up there with that many people on it! Will find somewhere else to go with less humans on it!’
Another, Anne Jones, said: ‘I’m just so glad I did all the main peaks years ago before social media spoilt it and made the world and his wife think they can climb everything.
‘As has been said there are plenty of unspoilt areas in Wales to discover.’
Another, called Daimo, laughed: ‘I bloody love Snowdon!!!
Keeps all the punters in one place and leaves the entire national park empty for some proper adventures!’
This was agreed by a fellow adventurer, called Monty, who said: ‘Thankfully there are so many other beautiful unspoiled mountains in Eryri. Don’t tell the sheeple though.’
And a fourth, Ken Breeze, sarcastically added: ‘The great outdoors, where you can enjoy nature, escape the crowds and get away from everyone.’
Furious Peak District residents have also blamed tourists for clogging up their national park with cars and litter during the Easter bank holiday weekend.
A video posted on TikTok[3] shows an eye-watering number of vehicles queuing on the narrow roads in the Derbyshire countryside as staycationers tried to head to their Easter getaways.
Lucy Sturgess stumbled upon the scenes at the national park during a cycle between the towns of Matlock and Castleton on Saturday and posted the footage onto social media.
The carnage was one of many examples of traffic hell up and down the country over the four-day weekend, as more than two million Brits hit the road to get to and from their holiday destinations.
Locals took to social media to criticise the traffic gridlock and also blame the holidaymakers for leaving huge piles of rubbish – including crisp packets, beer bottles, lighter fluid bottles and dirty nappies – in the picturesque landscape.
Children were pictured picking up this litter from the National Trust[4] site, leading one neighbour to claim: ‘This has all gone too far.’
A video posted on TikTok shows an eye-watering number of vehicles queuing on the narrow roads in the picturesque Derbyshire countryside as staycationers tried to head to their Easter getaways
Lucy Sturgess stumbled upon the scenes at the national park during a cycle between the towns of Matlock and Castleton on Saturday and posted the footage onto social media
Locals took to social media to criticise the traffic gridlock and also blame the holidaymakers for leaving huge piles of rubbish
There are already long queues on the M5 between Bristol and Taunton with motorists caught in tailbacks
Lucy’s journey was interrupted by a staggering herd of traffic as families in cars rushed to spend their Easter[5] weekend at the national park.
She posted the video onto social media, with on-screen text reads: ‘Crazy Peak District traffic today. Cars everywhere.’
The clip received over 44,700 likes on TikTok and photos of the traffic backlog caused an uproar on local Facebook groups.
One person commented: ‘I am afraid that it has all gone too far.
The main aim of the National Park was conservation of countryside and wildlife and encouraging people to respect,and enjoy nature.
‘I don’t think that remit covered leaving dirty nappies and litter and just generally slobbing about with their chips and beer. If this is helping local business they can stick it. A cafe or shop can only cope with so many people not hoards who will be just as happy in Blackpool.’
Another resident added: ‘It’s a complete mare at bank holiday, I live quite near at tideswell.
Don’t go any further than my bath, kitchen and toilet on weekends.’
A third wrote: ‘Tiktok has some explaining to do. Can’t drive anywhere in Derbyshire now on a bank holiday’, while a fourth said: ‘This is exactly why we don’t venture far on bank holidays…. everywhere just gets clogged up with people who will only go out on bank holidays… same people probably only go to pubs and restaurants at xmas.’
One local posted pictures of two children collecting four bags of rubbish from the National Park site during the bank holiday weekend – including a kitchen cupboard, a bag of used nappies, a bottle of lighter fluid and ‘many, many other pieces of rubbish’.
They wrote: ‘Litter picking in the Peak District today, full nappies, a whole bottle of lighter fluid, a kitchen cabinet and four black bags of general rubbish. It’s good to have tourists, but don’t leave your litter.’
Another person added: ‘Tourist industry has ruined every national park in the country.
They keep pushing them, knowing full well we have’nt got the capacity to cope.’
The clip received over 44,700 likes on TikTok and photos of the traffic backlog caused an uproar on local Facebook groups
A number of residents claimed they can’t go anywhere in the local area during the Easter holidays
One local posted pictures of two children collecting four bags of rubbish from the National Park site during the bank holiday weekend
Another person expressed their anger at the chaos caused by tourists heading to the Peak District for bank holiday weekend
Lucy’s video was one of many reports of travel chaos across the whole of the four-day bank holiday weekend.
Yesterday, there were long queues on the M5 between Bristol and Taunton with motorists in bumper-to-bumper tailbacks[6]. On some parts of the motorway, traffic clogged up so badly it caused cars to crawl at 16mph, creating delays of more than 30 minutes.
Elsewhere, UK holidaymakers claimed they had to endure three-hour delays at Faro International Airport, alleging that e-Gates malfunctions and a lack of information from airlines led to carnage for those looking to travel back home.
Passengers described ‘carnage at the airport’ with children crying and some struggling passengers passing out while waiting in vain to arrive or travel back home to Britain.
The disruption in Portugal came alongside reports of travellers finding themselves trapped in ‘horrendous’ 20-mile long queues on major motorways in the UK.
In England, staycationers were seen clogging up routes to Devon and Cornwall, while holidayers also experienced lengthy delays at the Port of Dover in Kent.
Yesterday, there were long queues on the M5 between Bristol and Taunton with motorists in bumper-to-bumper tailbacks[7]. On some parts of the motorway, traffic clogged up so badly it caused cars to crawl at 16mph, creating delays of more than 30 minutes.
There was also ‘significant’ congestion around the M25 and roads in the South West and South East of England.
Yvette Hughes was among the holidaymakers stuck in chaos at Faro airport today
Tourists have told of lengthy waits for their flights away from the Portuguese resort
Long queues are also reported on the A102M Blackwall tunnel in Greenwich, in southeast London
Traffic hell has begun this afternoon with Britons bracing themselves for gridlocked roads and hour long queues as they travel home after their four-day Easter getaway.
Pictured, Traffic queues on the A102 Blackwall Tunnel approach in Greenwich, South East London
Hundreds of people have been queuing for Eurostar train services at St Pancras International station in central London as part of the Easter getaway
Passengers queue for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent over the holiday weekend
On Monday afternoon, a major traffic accident took place between Junctions 23 and 24 of the M60, just outside of Denton, Greater Manchester.
The ‘serious’ incident forced the motorway to close in both directions, while an air ambulance was spotted at the scene.
National Highways also reported congestion causing ‘severe’ delays of up to 40 minutes on the M6 southbound and northbound and the M5 northbound in the afternoon.
Significant congestion was reported on the M25 clockwise near Heathrow airport in the afternoon due to heavy traffic and a stalled vehicle, while long ques were reported on the A102M Blackwall tunnel in Greenwich, southeast London.
Elsewhere, more vehicle fires held up drivers on the M6 and A5 throughout Monday, something that RAC breakdown spokesman Simon Williams said was ‘unusual’ in one day.
Britain’s rail network was also affected by the bank holiday chaos, with major engineering work being carried out and affecting routes through London Euston, London Liverpool Street and on the Elizabeth Line.
References
- ^ Iwan Stone (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Frankie Elliott (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ TikTok (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ National Trust (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Easter (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ there were long queues on the M5 between Bristol and Taunton with motorists in bumper-to-bumper tailbacks (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ there were long queues on the M5 between Bristol and Taunton with motorists in bumper-to-bumper tailbacks (www.dailymail.co.uk)