Living in a Touristy Place . . .
When you live in such a beautiful place, you have to share it with others.
It was well over ten years ago that my husband and I decided to tour around Cornwall and Devon, and it was a real treat – just like in the Rosamunde Pilcher films. I know the region very well as I had spent many childhood holidays there, and I have been there many times since. We were lucky enough to have wonderful weather, which is not always guaranteed in England. We drove from one small, quaint Cornish village to another– marvelling at the incredible coastal scenery as the road wound through country lanes. Well, I marvelled and my husband had to concentrate on the roads as many of them were only wide enough for one car. Of course, the advantage of that is you don’t have to keep reminding yourself to stay on the left-hand side, as it was only possible to drive down the middle of the road. We first drove along the north coast, which is on the Celtic Sea and is very exposed to wind and weather. Here the nature is very wild and the beaches of fine golden sand, in places like Newquay, Perranporth and St. Ives, attract many tourists.
When we arrived in St. Ives, we couldn’t see the beach as tourists had laid out their towels one next to the other. St. Ives is a place that seems almost tropical with enormous palm trees and tropical plants, where the light is so special that Winston Churchill chose it to paint his watercolour paintings. I wondered how such a small, quaint village could cope with such an enormous amount of tourists but, as the lady who served us the delicious Cornish afternoon tea said: "When you live in such a beautiful place, you have to expect to share it with others".
After Cornwall we drove on to Devon, which is just as beautiful. I had decided to save my favourite place until the end of our tour – the picturesque, fishing village of Clovelly. The village clings to a high cliff overlooking the sea. Its steep, cobbled streets go down to the fishing harbour and a very nice pub. No vehicles are allowed to drive through the narrow streets, just donkeys and sledges. For the tourists who can’t make their way up to the top again, there is one Land Rover which, for an extra charge of £2, will take them to the top. I tried to describe Clovelly to my husband and was really excited about showing him my favourite place in Devon. However, when we arrived, the excitement wore off. No longer was there a quaint entrance to the village, but a huge building containing two museums, a gift shop and the inevitable ticket office. We were charged the equivalent of €10 per person to enter. Can you really charge people for entering a village?
This is a very topical subject at the moment as Venice is preparing to charge visitors between €3 and €10 to visit the ancient city, which, in my opinion, is really acceptable. I used to work in Venice as a guide and I have seen the mess that day trippers leave behind. About 25 million people visit Venice each year, many of whom bring their own packed lunch and hardly spend any money in the city. Last year, 1.5 million cruise ship passengers arrived at Piazza San Marco, even though the Italian government promised to reduce the numbers as the huge ships were destroying the foundations of the old palaces. Of course, visiting tourists should pay for their rubbish to be removed and the maintenance of the buildings, but maybe they shouldn’t have to go through such an ugly turnstile.
Finally, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Salzburg, can expect thousands of tourists this summer. Discussions continue as to how we are going to cope with them – Have you got any ideas?