UKC

There’s a parking spot in Calver on the little one way stretch of road between the village green and the football pitches. Walkers etc have historically left there cars here for the day. Just a heads up that all the cars parked up there today had their tyres let down, some multiple tyres. 
there were people waiting for recovery when Mrs Paul in Sheffield was out on the dog walk. One unfortunate had all four tyres let down. 
There’s a lot of rumblings from locals about the increasing numbers parking up around Curbar Gap and Stoney. I’m not sure what the answer is, but this isn’t going to go away in the near future I don’t think.

Thanks for the info - will bear in mind.

Peak Park on Facebook have it that all Longshaw, Burbage and Eastern Moors plus Langsett area was rammed with cars. 

F*cking hell. It's getting very nasty, very quickly. Some people are nuts.

Very possibly cameras, and photographic evidence, unfortunately.

I drove past Langsett today and not only were the roadside laybys  rammed but the verges were full of cars as well and the police were there too. I climbed on Wed and Fri evenings this week on the grit but I'm planning on keeping away from the Peak at weekends for a little while yet

Passed Langsett this afternoon. For some reason I don't understand the national park car park was closed and block off with concrete blocks. Who thought people weren't going to turn up........

I drove out to Ladybower this afternoon (approx 15 mins for me) for a walk up Win Hill - it was great to be out...

... I was lucky and fell on a parking spot in the marked bays along the A57 but folk should be aware... every car not parked in the marked bays on both the A57 and the Bamford road (between the traffic lights and the Yorkshire Bridge) had a ticket...

A lot of that road is a Clearway.

I went for a walk on Eyam Moor today, and it was the most crowded I've seen it in the twenty years I've lived here.  But that's ok, there's lots of space there and more than enough unobtrusive parking.

I know the Curbar Gap situation is a problem, but I haven't heard much in the way of rumbling from my Stoney neighbours.  In any case, nothing justifies the vandalism you describe.

So (some/a minority/one) who can afford to live inside the boundaries of a National Park feel it is acceptable to vandalise the property of those who aren’t as fortunate and need to travel to those locations, locations which exist directly as a result of mass protests about people’s right to access the countryside.

To use a favourite UKCism, this is beginning to look like the thin edge of the wedge, locals trying to restrict access to “their places”.

Coronavirus IS a good reason, for people to stay away from places. I think the relaxation of the lockdown is a mistake, and I am making the personal choice not to head to places that are likely to be busy and am still not climbing or doing activities that are high risk.

Coronavirus is not a good reason to vandalise property. At the moment there is an argument that people shouldn’t be heading to the places like the Peak, as the strength of that argument diminishes I will be interested to see how local communities react.

Well said.

Ironically Hayfield has been problematic I hear at the beginning of the lockdown. 

National parks do not exist for a lucky few to live in.

My partner was in Sheffield today and said it was very difficult to keep social distancing. 

Hi there, I totally agree that it’s unacceptable vigilante behaviour.

just an fyi, you say ‘can afford to live within the boundaries of a National Park’ the Park and the Derbyshire Dales contain significant areas of social deprivation. It’s not all privilege in NPs.

That's true paul but I bet that isnt where the problems are occurring....

Around 100 cars on the verges at Carsington water.  Perhaps 50 at Harborough Rocks. Difficult to be critical of those who want to share what I’ve had to myself for 2 months.

For what it’s worth, I biked over Stanage today (from the door obvs...) and there was loads of room in all the car parks and I maybe saw one rope between High Neb and Apparent North. So, people were generally avoiding that ‘honey pot’. 
 

It looks like people purposefully avoiding honey pots has inadvertently created hot spots in areas which were once poor spots. 

Perhaps the people who had their tyres let down shouldn't come back when all the hotels, restaurants and other tourist venues re-open and these communities with heavy reliance on outside visitor's need people to come back?

Same for all these areas telling people to stay away when the government guidance is that travel and exercise are allowed. 

No doubt they'll want our dosh in the future....

Do the townies let the villagers' tyres down when they park up at Morrisons in chesterfield?

That's a bit harsh on the hotels etc. given it was probably one bitter individual that did this.

Is this actually confirmed? I chatted to a few people on fb last night who are local (stoney and calver) and they wete asking when it had been done as they had been passed at various stages in the day. The lads at the Eyre arms saw nothing occuring. 

There is a black vw polo thats been there for 6 weeks and abadoned whos tyres have deflated overtime. Could this be it?

Have to say the feelings locally in stoney here toward visitors is fairly relaxed. In stoney the main anger has been directed at traffic steaming through the village at stupid speeds (mainly lorries unhindered by other traffic coming to the kink by the moon doing 60) motorbikes and cars again speeding and stupid parking by punters at the chip shop.

 Yes it probably was.... and I sure you're right. I just don't like the whole 'don't visit ' attitude whether it's a local, business or other organisation saying it. 

I live right on the edge of the peak district. I don't have a problem if people want to visit... it seems dumb to head to the honey pot locations; but I'd say there's more risk of visitors infecting other visitors rather than locals who'll no doubt stay away from the busy areas.

​​​​​​Whether the relaxation is a mistake remains to be seen.

What definitely was a mistake is the way it was done. Whether or not one agrees with them it's pretty clear that there's a lot of fear and anxiety in rural communities and that they didn't feel ready for the influx of people.

Hiya, I can’t comment on numbers, but when I went up to the shop yesterday there was a recovery guy in a van inflating tyres on a couple of cars. The lonely black Polo was still there too☹️
Those guys at the Eyre Arms have been my daily chat on the way to the Spar, glad they’re keeping their spirits up. 

The answer is for locals to get a grip. The people doing this are the same old parochialists who obstruct public access at the best of times and now they think they have even greater remit to do so.

To qualify, I'm a local in a visited area and quite frankly I don't care a great deal for this over reaction to dog walkers, most of whom try to maintain social distancing and plenty wearing masks. 

IMHO the only thing that needs deflating is the ego of the vandal who operated there. 

Couldn't agree more. There are some very worrying incidents occuring. We have had landowners illegally closing footpaths.

Probably not. Such indiscriminate actions normally hurt as many PNP residents as they do townies, not everyone in the PNP would chose to go from their door, some probably fancy a change of scene and the next valley along is always worth a visit. U

Utterly self defeating and in the long term will harm public perception of the area and further damage small local business as people will remember the welcome they got last time they were in need of precious fresh air and some mental peace. 

Completely unacceptable behaviour but perhaps the anger should be directed elsewhere.

The move from pretty much total lockdown to being told, in England, you can exercise as much as you want and drive any distance to do it and to announce that with no consultation with those who might be most affected by it was not the best way of handling the change.

Are the government in the early 20th century where those in charge simply told everyone else what was going to happen? Do they not realise involving people and trying to bring them along with you is a far better way.

Why didn't the government talk to relevant local authorities, national parks, local interest groups and say, "We want to relax the restrictions we imposed on 23rd March and allow more movement of people but do not want to put rural communities at risk. What are your views on how this can be achieved?"

Dave

The Scottish govt has done a pretty extensive consultation about how lockdown should be lifted.

Yes, a far better way of handling things. It seems the government in Westminster has adopted a knee-jerk route to policy on COVID19. Though if they had taken notice of Exercise Cygnus they might have been better prepared.

Dave 

I think there is enough anger for all groups especially those who feel they can take the law into their own hands.

I somewhat doubt these yokals have been self sufficient for the last few weeks. So will have been benefiting from those who live in town being put at risk manning the supermarkets, the warehouses and the delivery vans. I think this dont come here is a one way deal especially if they get sick when they will want the urban hospital staff ready to jump to their aid.

Perhaps we're misreading this maybe the locals want people to come and not leave? It's the only logical explanation for letting tyres down.....

You’ll never leave 😜

Local shop for local people ... that didn't end well

Probably because such a discussion would then have been all over the media, and people would have interpreted that as a green light. 

And anyhow, how much notice and consultation does one need to open a few car parks? 

As it happens, despite the supposed lack of notice (and it is a whole week since Boris's speech), the change does not seem to have produced much of a problem overall (other than a few isolated incidents).

People being very responsible and spread out over the moor so no social distancing problem here on Dartmoor

The ridiculous thing is that vandals have infinitely increased the risk of transmission by forcing the mechanic to come out. Not to mention the interaction with the police if they were seen doing it

They will be convincing themselves that it is “a stitch in time saves nine”, not quite the right analogy but I mean in terms of it deterring others. Delay some people, cause inconvenience, increase inconvenience to SELF but “just once”. I had my tyres let down and valves removed, for legitimately having my (broken down) car parked on the street in front of some guy’s house for a few days. Urban, not in an NP honeypot 

Must be walkers/cyclists - that's more cars than there are routes.

If the locals give the culprit(s) up to the Police then all would be forgiven [except to the culprit(s)].

If they want to stand together then they deserve to suffer together.

And when they go to the Royal Hallamshire !

I'm taking notes of each and every village or location where there has been trouble such as this.

When this is all over I may well make a point that any Pub, shop, garage, café or whatever in such locations will NOT be visited by myself or any group that I am with.

 As I travel a decent way to get to the Peak/North Wales/Portland etc. then a drink, food, fuel etc. are normally purchased on a trip - so these people are going to find it just a little bit more difficult to get any businesses back into profit if more people think as I do.

Could anyone who lives in such a location please pass this onto the owners of Pubs/shops/garages/cafes etc. so that they can impress upon their locals that if such actions continue then their businesses will suffer and in the long run that means that all the "Mr. Nasties" doing this will find that they have ZERO local businesses and if they want anything then they'll be looking at a long drive to get it.

Well said. 

Some of the vitriol shown on this thread is a disgrace, someone has 'apparently' let someones tyres down (still not conformed) but people are saying all pd locals should be suffering and dont deserve to be allowed into urban hozpitals (used to be a few rurals hozzers but they shut all those)

I live hear, im.pissed off that outside my house on the main road into stoney is like a race track this afternoon.  I have voiced my concerns, my son is out messing on his bike at this moment. But yet apparently I should suck it up and shut up about such matters as im pitchfork wielding landed gentry who has no right to voice opposition to what happens in my locale.

Its not climbers that are the problem out here currently.

Get a grip...ffs!

No one is suggesting that people shouldn't be allowed to use hospitals, just the hypocracy of being annoyed at people travelling to use their local facilities (the outdoor spaces) while travelling to the local town to use their facilities. 

At the end of the day if people are speeding outside your house then they are breaking the law and it should be enforced as such by the police. What's been mentioned on this thread is the deliberate vandalism of peoples cars who have been acting lawfully. Contrary to some peoples belief they do not own the highway outside the front of their house, people are allowed to park there if it is legal to do so

I'm sure the income from a few smelly climbers buying the odd pastie isn't really make or break for most places.

I completely agree, it's dismaying that a report of a single moronic incident of vandalism, condemned by everyone who has commented, has produced such an outpouring of vitriol against the inhabitants of the Eastern Peak.  My experience, as another Stoney Middleton resident, is exactly the same as yours.  I've heard no antagonism from my neighbours towards walkers and climbers at all; people in the village are worried (as they always have been) about speeding down the A623 and about anti-social parking around the chip shop (though everyone I know is really pleased to see it open again, with exemplary social distancing procedures in place).  

It's difficult to imagine a village that's been more welcoming of climbers over the years - the landowner of the crags, Adrian at the garage, doesn't just tolerate climbing on them, but is positively supportive.  And the pub, despite its move upmarket, goes out of its way to welcome climbers and walkers, being conscious of and a little bit proud of its place in climbing traditions.  

Let's all just breathe and calm down a bit.

Making notes!!  Ever occur to you your proposed (petty, irrelevant) collective punishment of entire villages for one reported miscreant is utterly mental? 

That's genuinely good to hear.

I'm based in Buxton and belong to the local climbing club and cycling club. My wife belongs to a local running club. You can travel a fair distance into the Peak on state sanctioned exercise from our doorstep. 

Both my wife and I have experienced verbal aggression - albeit fairly low level "Stay at home!" stuff -  from locals while out in the Peak on runs and cycle rides. Public footpaths closed off illegally are common around Buxton and the outlying villages.

Friends who have ignored the "closures" have had confrontations with the blockaders. Every club to which we belong has had similar incidents. All of these incidents have occurred while the member involved has been observing the CV-19 legislation and guidelines re exercise and social distancing. It will be a minority of individuals behaving this way but the prevalence of incidents across those three clubs suggests that minority has a disproportionate impact.

Confrontation with the self-appointed lockdown Police is less of a problem for some but it has been genuinely distressing for others. My wife has been so stressed at the prospect of having to use a "closed" footpath while running off-road that she has ended up running on-road instead, which she detests, and this has had a knock-on effect on her psychological state during lockdown. I know of others who feel similarly intimidated.

Thanks for posting richard good to hear.

Also lots of friendly people in new mills tor. No problems climbing down at the Torrs.

If I was a local kid I’d be turning up at the car parks and suggesting a fiver was a good wage to ‘look after ‘ your car.

Not sure climbing’s the issue with c1000 motorcycles though the village today (based on counts over 5 mins 5x), off road motorcycles (c100) and a dozen cars releasing racing pigeons. Would love to see more families escaping the conurbations.

Surely proper townies would just nick the wheels or the car?

In a way it just seems like the same thing, the same knee-jerk unthinking hostility reflected in a mirror.

“That’s ok I have an Alsatian that can do that for me”

”wow this bloke’s got a dog that can put out fires”

Never gets old 😀

Yes, I suspect this is true.  I have to admit that it's been very nice having the Manifold paths and local canal towpaths pretty much to myself for last month but just because I'm local doesn't give me exclusive access.   

For ONE reported miscreant ?

I simply said that I am keeping an eye on where these incidents are occurring. One swallow does not make a summer they say, and I agree, but where a series of incidents occur then anyone with any sense would be foolish not to take precautions.

I DO NOT want (for example) to be having a quiet pint after climbing and have some local nutter - unless you think criminal vandalism under the guise of parochialism to be normal behaviour - at the next table start on about climbers deserving to have their tyres slashed (or similar) "like was done before".

The thought that my vehicle - or even myself and any climbing partners - could end up being threatened by local yobbos who, if they are not brought to heel, will become emboldened and therefore WILL carry out more attacks both in number and scale is something which should not be countenanced.

Any decent local to an area should note this, and they themselves should worry that by allowing such yobs to continue unabated there will be an escalation of their activities which could well lead to NOBODY in their village (or other location) truly feeling safe for their property or themselves.

Please note the statement from "Earlybird" at 18:21 on Sunday - he's a "local", and he is expressing concern about this very point. His final comment of "I know of others who feel similarly intimidated" indicates that the yobs are starting to take control in some places.

The income from walkers/climbers/cyclists/motorcyclists and indeed just people out for a drive in the car on a sunny day is really all that keeps most country pubs etc. in business. Purely local customers simply do not have enough money to spend to keep rural businesses going. You only have to look at the number of country pubs that have gone out of business since drinking and driving was clamped down on - if they haven't turned to being a restaurant in some form then they have closed - and even just before this CV-19 chaos country pubs were closing at a rate of knots.

If one village has a reputation for being "anti" visitors then people will instead spend their time (and money) in the next village down the road. That's where the "smelly climbers" or wharever will buy a pint or two each, have a meal, maybe a pudding as well - and they won't be going as singles, they'll be going as groups; 2, 4, 8 or more even if a club is involved. What business doesn't want custom that spends money ?, and what business wants custom to be driven away to the next village down the road ?

Appalling story in the 'Sheffield Star' yesterday.  I can't help noticing they're not reporting that this happened - only that a 'local politician' said it happened, and in these days of everyone carrying a camera with them every moment of their waking lives, I note also that there are no photos other than what is presumably a library picture of the village.

There was a lot of extremely dodgy 'covidiot' reporting a few weeks back, exaggerated and just plain fabricated reports of widespread breeches of social distancing.  The Metro carried a story about crowds on a brighton beach that was covered by a webcam with a 24-hour 'memory', after reading the story it was actually possible to watch in real-time as the incident they were describing simply didn't happen.

So I'm tempted to call bullshit on the 'news' story, but can anyone comment?  Did Hathersage descend into a furious orgy of ice-cream van excess, sub-par social distancing and public urination on Saturday?

https://www.thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/fury-visitors-peak-district-fl...

I drove through at about 7 (so admittedly quite late) and I've never seen that side of the peak so quite.

I was a bit concerned driving through Calver after reading this but fortunately the pitchfork welding mob I was expecting didn't materialise...