Show a bit of respect if you are a visitor

WE’VE certainly seen some phenomenal scenes in our local beauty spots during the early stages of the easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

Huge queues for Dovedale, traffic building in the town, busy scenes in other villages such as Milldale and Mappleton and just up the road the madness at Harpur Hill’s “Blue Lagoon”.

Shutting people away for a few months appears to have given them a yearning for the outdoors, and day-trippers have flocked to some of our most picturesque places to soak up the sun and scenery.

But this influx has brought an element of hugely irresponsible people, who have been carrying out unspeakable acts in the countryside, showing, at best, an apparent lack of respect and, at worst, presenting a huge danger.

This weekend, though, the dynamic will be changing again. People will, for the first time since March, be allowed to travel to other parts of the country and stay overnight.

This will open up opportunities, for those with time on their hands, to travel for more than a few hours and to visit other tourism hotspots that might have previously been beyond their reach.

What will this mean for the Ashbourne area? Will this make matters worse? Or will the novelty factor finally start to wear off and the situation ease.

We suspect, if the sun starts to shine again, the Peak District will remain a draw for many. And the busy scenes we’ve been seeing will not stop any time soon.

Let’s just hope, though, they start to spend some money in our independent shops, cafes and pubs.

Better that than pulling down a dry-stone wall and lighting a fire.