Millions of people visit the Lake District every year, but those who manage and patrol the national park in Cumbria say overtourism tensions are threatening to boil over. Wild campers are ignoring the Countryside Code, with human excrement, fly-camping and irresponsible behaviour surging this summer, campaigners say.
Those who manage the national park say brainless parking, inconsiderate camping and mass littering is making a mockery of the “leave no trace” government guidelines. Judith Derbyshire, a Westmorland and Furness councillor responsible for community safety, said enforcement officers and volunteers are battling to preserve the park as problems grow. She said the council has very few officers and a round-the-clock response service is a thing of the past. Local laws were tightened earlier this year in response to resident complaints, meaning people who cause environmental damage such as littering, starting fires, or the inappropriate use of motorhomes can be fined up to £100. According to many locals, the rules are being flouted regularly.
Surge in fly-camping and human waste
Derbyshire said visitor numbers have risen sharply since Covid, with many people arriving without plans for accommodation. That leads to “fly-camping” – taking spots away from designated camp sites. Reading a report made by patrol officers, she told the BBC: "Fifty-plus members of the public engaged with, 10 overnight campers spoken to, eight bags of rubbish collected and they had the joy of seeing one man using a bush as his toilet. I'm going to lower the standard of the conversation here but the issue is to do with human poo."
She added: "Don't feel you can just come up, park up on a lay-by and then go and put a tent up down by the lake shore - you shouldn't be doing that."
"Putting it bluntly, we are going to have strong cutbacks from our funding as a local authority, we're not going to have the staff to be able to put that sort of thing in place."
Brainless parking and litter
Other issues reported include paths blocked by campervans, discarded tampons and nappies, dogs being let loose, brainless parking and mass littering. Derbyshire said people can contact police if they see dangerous behaviour such as a bonfire that could spread to a large area. Working together with residents and visitors is vital to getting the situation under control.
She added: "We want people to come to Lake District and it's good that there's a wider range of people coming here, it's just that we need to get them educated so they know what they can do and what they can't do."
Cars covered in slurry and survey complaints
Earlier this summer, footage showed dozens of cars covered in slurry after they parked in a private field just yards from Rydal Water. The Friends of the Lake District's annual survey logged a large number of instances of littering, wildfires and campers leaving equipment behind.
One unhappy local wrote in this year's survey: "Some people have no social conscience and do not care about the impact of their behaviour on the environment or other people. We see litter on the fells, on lakesides and thrown out of cars onto grass verges. We even saw someone having a BBQ sat right next to a sign prohibiting it on Ullswater last year."
Another added: "I’m from the Lakes and have always appreciated the tourism and what it does for the area. However, I feel we have now got to the stage where tourism is over capacity and negatively impacting the area and the quality of life for residents and animals. Frequent traffic jams, poorly parked cars, and most upsetting of all, litter."
"Today we came across a discarded used nappy and a tampon. My children and I frequently go out with our litter pickers. It really saddens me to see the Lake District in environmental decline."
