Leaving lockdown for the beach
Crowds flock to coast and beauty spots on hottest day of the year after easing of coronavirus restrictions
ON THE hottest day of the year, grateful families yesterday took advantage of the easing of the coronavirus lockdown to pack beaches across England.
In scenes that would have been unimaginable two weeks ago, Bournemouth and Southend filled up with sunbathers, while traffic wardens in north Devon claimed they were so busy they were running out of tickets.
With more than six million workers furloughed and the schools closed, tourist hotspots may even have been busier than usual for the time of year on what would have been a working Wednesday afternoon. Charlotte Sullivan, the LBC radio presenter, said that in Southend it “almost looks like any other hot day here apart from the dots on the floor to mark out where to stand in the queue for ice creams”.
She added: “One man told me, ‘It’s madness, it’s like everyone’s forgotten about coronavirus.’”
The mercury climbed to 27.8C (82F) near Heathrow Airport, making it the hottest day of the year so far.
But while sun seekers were ready to shake off the lockdown, the beaches were not always ready to receive them.
In Skegness, one of many areas across the country where the local council has begged people to stay away, only a handful of lavatories were open, resulting in a 40-minute queue to spend a penny.
The closure of car parks at beauty spots and beaches across the country has also backfired, with people parking on verges and in passing points and even blocking emergency access routes.
Police in north Devon said they had identified “vehicles from all over the country” heading to the “exceptionally busy beaches” as they asked people to “please avoid the area”.
Police in Barnstaple added: “Traffic wardens are running out of tickets. Do
not abandon your cars as emergency vehicles can’t get though. They will be towed away.”
In Dovedale, in the Peak District National Park, children were pictured cooling off in a river as sunbathers lined the banks.
The image was in sharp contrast to the news that came from the same park two months ago, when Derbyshire Police were criticised for using drones to shame walkers.
Ahead of the bank holiday weekend and what would have been the May half term next week, there are fears visitor numbers could rise further.
The RNLI and HM Coastguard put out a warning that there would be no lifeguards on duty and people should take extra care. They warned in a joint statement: “Don’t use inflatables in the sea, watch your family closely on the beach and know what to do in the event of a coastal emergency.”
Leaders in Devon and Cornwall warned second homeowners and tourists to “think twice” about visiting the area. Councils and tourism bodies encouraged people not to travel more than an hour from their local area.
The weather is expected to become more unsettled today, with the risk of thunderstorms in the East and South East of England. Temperatures are predicted to cool from 24C-25C (7577F) to a fresher 17C-21C (62F-70F) to 21C on Friday.
Katy Bourne, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex, admitted it would be difficult to maintain social distancing rules.
“The police won’t be there holding up the tape measure so there is an expectation that the public will maintain that distance themselves, but of course there will be high demand in some areas,” Ms Bourne said. “So it’s going to be a challenge.”
Fire chiefs also issued a warning about having barbecues after a woodland fire the size of 250 football pitches near Wareham in Dorset was still burning around 48 hours after the blaze started.
The National Fire Chiefs Council also urged the public to be vigilant if taking daily exercise in areas of woodland, at a time when emergency response teams are already under additional strain from coronavirus.
But while there are warnings for people to “Stay Alert” in England, they are reminded that if they stray across borders into Wales or Scotland they could be breaking the law.
Anyone wanting to venture across the normally invisible border into Wales to soak up some sunshine faced a very different reception yesterday as police set up roadblocks.
Welsh officers, who are still enforcing the “Stay at Home” orders of the devolved government, stopped tourists at the foot of Pen y Fan, including people from Surrey, Birmingham and even London, which is 182 miles away.
One driver, from Devon, had claimed that he had travelled to Wales to buy dog food, but was warned that it was not an essential journey.
In Scotland, one Highlands councillor went a step further when he suggested that the Army should patrol the border to stop an influx of tourists. Roddy Mccuish, who represents Oban South, said: “They travelled when they were not allowed to travel, so it is going to get worse.
“The Scottish police force does not have the capacity to stop every car that is crossing the border. I personally would put the Army on the border and get them to stop people.”
Despite the fact that Scotland’s lockdown is still in place, hundreds of people were pictured enjoying Portobello beach in Edinburgh.
In sharp contrast to the scenes in England, masked police officers were seen asking sunbathers to move on. Ruth Davidson, the Edinburgh MSP and former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “We’ve had weeks of this now where people have obeyed the rules, they’ve done the right thing, they’ve looked out for themselves, they’ve looked out for each other, they’ve looked out for the NHS.
“Just because it’s a sunny day, don’t throw that away … don’t break the rules.
It might have been Dyfed Powys Police, which set up the roadblock in the Brecon Beacons, that hit the nail on the head when officers noted that “boredom is unfortunately starting to set in with people”.