Plea to bank holiday visitors
NATIONAL TRUST SAYS PEOPLE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES
A FORECAST of fine weather at the weekend has prompted pleas from officials for day-trippers to behave responsibly, ahead of what could be a busy bank holiday weekend at Derbyshire’s scenic hotspots.
Both the National Trust and Derbyshire County Council are urging people to stick to quieter times as they prepare for a bumper influx of visitors, making the most of an easing of lockdown restrictions.
On Monday the Government lifted the “stay at home” rules, and groups of up to six people can now meet outdoors – and the last time these new freedoms were combined with a sunny weekend the hordes descended on Derbyshire and the Peak District.
Ahead of the four-day Easter weekend, the National Trust, which looks after popular tourist sites such as Calke Abbey in Ticknall, says they will be doing everything they can to keep places safe. A spokesman for the trust said: “Following the recent Government announcement, we’re delighted that we’ll be able to welcome visitors to our places over the Easter holidays, but we ask that anyone planning a visit follows government guidelines and that visits to our gardens and parklands are booked in advance via nationaltrust.org.uk.
“Our countryside car parks, where pre-booking is not available, may be busy, so we encourage people to visit at quieter times to help us keep our places safe for staff and visitors.”
Meanwhile Derbyshire County Council’s director of public health is also urging caution as the lockdown starts to lift. Dean Wallace, who is leading the county’s response to the outbreak, said: “Although numbers of infections are going down across the country, with the new more transmissible variant we know it doesn’t take much to start an outbreak, and with many parts of Europe experiencing another wave we really cannot be too careful.
“With the vaccination roll-out, rates dropping and the warmer weather coming, we are heading into better days. “But as the vaccination programme has not started to reach the age groups that are most likely to spread the virus it is really important we remain vigilant and follow the rules and guidance.
“Otherwise, the risk of new variants increases which would put everyone’s hard work at risk. As more parts of the economy begin to open up it will become increasingly important to follow the messages we all know – hands, face, space - and isolate if you have symptoms.”