LOCALS living in Britain’s most photographed street say they are now completely overrun with tourists who make their lives hell.
Residents around Arlington Row in the Cotswold village of Bibury claim visitors trample on their gardens and peer through the windows and even walk into their homes as they take continuous selfies.
Adrian SherrattTourists in Bibury and its iconic Arlington Row street have increased substantially[/caption]
Adrian SherrattCoach loads of tourists arrive every day[/caption]
Adrian SherrattResidents claim pic hunters peer through their windows and walk into their homes[/caption]
Some also claim the oblivious pic hunters have also knocked down walls in their cars, blocked their driveways and several of the endless stream of coaches even run people over.
The village itself – once described by William Morris as “the most beautiful” in England – has reportedly seen an influx in interest due to online recommendations.
Bibury previously hit the news in 2017 after social media users complained their photos of Arlington Row where photobombed by an “ugly little yellow car”.
It was subsequently vandalised, with repairs costing elderly owner Peter Maddox around £6,000.
However, he had a defiant attitude and refused to move his bright-coloured car from outside his cottage, leading to a large fleet of yellow cars descending on the village in support.
Opinions divided
Mark Honeyball, 54, chairman of Bibury Parking Working Group, said the main problems in the village are coaches and the “volume” of tourists.
He said: “We’ve gone from 10 to 90 coaches a day. We have seen a quadrupling of tourists coming into the village.
“The coaches are causing damage to the village, they are knocking over walls.
“They are knocking over National Trust property, pavements and we have had to pay for enforcement in the village to stop them parking in the wrong places.
“We have had several incidents of bus drivers hitting people – they are just a nightmare and we are currently trying to ban them.
“Car tourists have increased as well and we don’t have anywhere for them to park.”
Bibury Working Parking Group is made up of Gloucestershire County Council, Cotswold District Council, the police and Bibury Parish Council, which recently made some recommendations to restrict access for coaches.
As a result, Gloucestershire County Council Highways would be changing the layout of parking bays to stop coaches waiting on the B4425 next to the Swan Bridge in the centre of the village.
Mr Honeyball added that he wants “responsible tourism in lower volumes”.
He said: “The only people who want tourists here are the businesses. Everybody else is fed up with it.
“Tourists see themselves as number one and don’t respect the village even to the extent where I have had people parking on my driveaway before.
“We have had people walking into the house here and asking if this is the hotel.
“First couple of times it was amusing, after that you can get quite angry and short fused even when people start parking outside here.”
Adrian SherrattMany locals are divided on the subject of tourists[/caption]
Adrian SherrattLorraine Spackman and Ella Iles from the village shop[/caption]
Adrian SherrattA man takes a photo of a couple with the famous street as the backdrop[/caption]
Resident Jennifer Bowman, 50, works in gaming and said she “loves tourists” but there is a “lack of infrastructure” that needs solving.
She said: “Many of the people who are coming here are tourists and they don’t know UK driving laws and regulations and you don’t see any signs that clearly say ‘no parking’ – it is simply marking on the roads.
“The biggest frustration as a resident is that there are not enough recycling bins, trash bins and parking and there seems to be a lack of urgency to solve it even though tourism continues to increase.”
Jennifer’s partner John Diamond, 49, who works in tech, said they have had tourists peeking through their windows as their house is right onto the footpath.
But he said they shut the blinds and carry on with the rest of their day – adding that they have got used to it.
He said: “You can’t go and move to the prettiest village in the UK and not expect tourists – we knew what we were getting into when we got this house. Perhaps we didn’t expect people to stop and peering quite as long as they do.
He added: “I don’t think they [tourists] should be pushed away because we came here as tourists like pretty much everybody who lives here apart from a few who are generational residents.
“There is not much parking – we don’t have a parking space with our house so we have to park on the street where a tourist would.
“In the summer we have had cars parking on these double yellow lines. You can’t step out of your house without stepping onto a car.”
Local Ella Illes, 22, said that sometimes tourists think Bibury is a “Disneyland” or a “museum town”.
Adrian SherrattA coach weaves through other vehicles in the village[/caption]
Adrian SherrattBibury resident and Chairman of the Bibury Parking Working Group Mark Honeyball[/caption]
Adrian SherrattThe village’s streets are rammed with cars[/caption]
She added: “Some people embrace them because it brings in a lot of revenue to the village because we don’t have many shops around here but sometimes tourists can be quite invasive and intrusive on local properties.
“I had one instance of a family walking through my backdoor during breakfast time so sometimes they think that Bibury is a Disney land and a museum town.
“They treat it with respect but sometimes they don’t and they will wander into houses and throw rubbish on your floor and throw it in your garden.
“Some locals like the tourists but not the amount we get about up to 10 thousand a day sometimes and they come from all corners of the globe.”
Lady Anne Evans, in her 50s, who has lived in the village for 25 years, runs a a café, shop and tearoom called Eleven.
She said Bibury is an “international” heritage site adding that the “key” is to manage the needs of residents and tourists.
Mrs Evans explained that parking in the village has been a problem since she moved in but has increasingly got worse.
“The villagers don’t own the village but it is important that we continue our lives unhindered everyday but equally so people are very welcomed here,” she said.
“It is a privilege to be able to be the curators and guardians of such an incredibly important location.
“It is important that residents can continue their everyday lives unhindered and businesses continue and then the visitors who come are accommodated – but they need to have parking.
Adrian SherrattArlington Row is the most photographed street in the UK[/caption]
SWNS:South West News ServicePeter Maddox’s yellow Corsa was vandalised a few years ago after it was described as ‘ugly’[/caption]
SWNS:South West News ServiceIn a show of support, dozens of yellow cars descended on the village[/caption]
“This has been going on for 25 years but has got increasingly worse and I think that’s because of social media.”
“You are not going to be able to stop people so you have got to accommodate them.”
Lorraine Spackman, 53, who works at the local shop Eleven said she absolutely loves tourists.
She said: “We totally embrace them.
“With parking there is a system in place when it comes to coaches where they drop people off for an hour to visit the village.
“Arlington Row is such a beautiful iconic spot so it’s always going to bring lots of tourists.”
Lorraine remembers Mr Maddox’s yellow car.
The word “move” was scratched into the bonnet of the Vauxhall Corsa, which was parked outside his cottage in Arlington Row.
“He used to park at the top of Arlington and then everybody turned up with a yellow car just to make a point and show support,” said Lorraine.
Locals said that Mr Maddox, now 90, still lives on the famous street but is currently in poor health and that the yellow car has since been sold.
Adrian SherrattGiulia Cotigliani (centre) who travelled from Italy to make some Instagram content, pictured with Gabriele Cotigliani and Paola Mastrantonio[/caption]
Adrian SherrattBibury is the most chocolate box of all the Cotswold villages[/caption]
Adrian SherrattA sign saying ‘No Entry’ in multiple languages[/caption]
Jason Collard, 38, a builder in Bibury, said his grandparents used to live in one of the cottages on the iconic Arlington Row.
He said: “I suppose if you lived here and you put up with it every day it would make it a bit annoying.
“When you ask them to stay off the grass and you need to put signs on your grass saying ‘stay out of the grass’ makes it a bit annoying.
“But this is part of history and people come from America, Japan, China to see this.
“It’s got its good days and bad days. When it’s busy it gets really busy.
“Most tourists just take pictures really.”
The landscape and the history attracted influencer Giulia Cotigliana who came across Bibury on Pinterest, Google and Instagram.
Giulia Cotigliana, 34 said she didn’t find Bibury busy but added that arriving earlier is the trick to avoid large groups of tourists.
The influencer from Italy said to feel like she was in a movie while visiting the village.
One local said: ” We are packing up to go on holiday and escape the tourists.”
Adrian SherrattPeople wait at the entrance to the trout farm[/caption]
Adrian SherrattLocals claim visitors peer through their windows and walk into their homes[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
