Please, let’s not blight end of the lockdown at tourist spots

IT’S a shame that, while we’re all looking forward to a return to relative normality after restrictions ease later this month, we’re also dreading an almost inevitable return to our beauty spots becoming choked up with day-trippers.

Last summer we saw the worst scenes we’ve ever witnessed in some areas. Dovedale, Thorpe and Ilam, during some of the sunniest and busiest weekends, were absolutely over-run - to the point at which locals were effectively imprisoned and unable to leave their driveways due to the sheer volume of vehicles jamming their lanes.

And this week the county council has told us they’re bracing themselves for more of the same.

We got a taste of this at the weekend. The sun was shining and the usual hotspots became very busy. Dovedale was heaving, the Tissington Trail saw plenty of traffic, Matlock Bath was swamped, and even Buxton’s Blue Lagoon started seeing its usual influx of visitors.

Aside from the legalities, or even rights or wrongs of whether most of these people should have been setting off for a day in the sunshine, there seems to be little we can do to prevent this onslaught.

Regardless of what the restrictions are on international travel this summer, it’s inevitable that many people will “play it safe” and choose to take their holidays in the UK for another year.

And this is going to result in huge numbers arriving in the Peak District. Of course, this could bring a welcome boost to many businesses who will be counting on a buoyant season to help them recover from the lockdowns - but the rest of us will just have to cross our fingers that it doesn’t bring another end to our freedoms.

When the influx starts, and the day-trippers arrive in their droves, we’ll be watching the local infection rates very closely indeed.