anil1810 Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Now to me the idea of making areas like the Hope Valley part of a national park is to preserve the area, yet when I was out visiting a mate in Bamford at the weekend I was amazed at just how much traffic there was about. We went for a drink in Castleton, then one in Hope, before I dropped him off and came home via Hathersage. What I couldnt believe was the sheer volume of people in all these villages (except Bamford which is essentially a road for tourists to use to get to the other villages) Now my fear is that if such a high number of people are visiting these areas, can the environment sustain them? and I couldnt help thinking that all these people that were out there trying to avoid crowds and traffic were actually causing that very thing - albeit somewhere else. I am worried that we are not appreciating our areas of natural beauty the way we should, and in a few years time we could be regretting taking areas like the Hope Valley for granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darbees Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Now to me the idea of making areas like the Hope Valley part of a national park is to preserve the area, before I dropped him off and came home via Hathersage. What I couldnt believe was the sheer volume of people in all these villages (except Bamford which is essentially a road for tourists to use to get to the other villages) I am worried that we are not appreciating our areas of natural beauty the way we should, and in a few years time we could be regretting taking areas like the Hope Valley for granted. Hmmm, have I read that correctly that you drove there yourself same as everyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anil1810 Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 I did drive there, yes. I'm hardly saying that all cars should be banned from there - just showing a bit of concern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darbees Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I did drive there, yes. I'm hardly saying that all cars should be banned from there - just showing a bit of concernMaybe you should show your concern in a practical way by not driving there and then others may follow suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally_Fraser Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 It's nice to see someone showing respect - thanks Anil1810 (who's your mate? I will no doubt know him) As a proud Bamfordian myself, I couldnt agree more - there is too much traffic out here. Then again, there's too much traffic in most places these days, but I admire the OP's point, although I don't have a solution myself - you can't stop people coming, nor would I want to. But I do agree that perhaps it's a little too busy out here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally_Fraser Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Maybe you should show your concern in a practical way by not driving there and then others may follow suit. I don't think the solution is total reliance on the 4or so buses a day that come through Darbees - people have a right to go where they want, and who can blame them for visiting our wonderful home. I t's a happy medium we're looking for I think........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beckelina Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 This is an ongoing issue with National Parks and hence the need for careful management by the Authority and responsibility from visitors (using public transport, following Moorland Code etc.) It can often result in fairly drastic measures - note the speed limit for boats applied on Lake Windermere, periodic closures of footpaths in Snowdonia and the Lake District and controversial charges for parking in some areas. One of the possible solutions that is discussed in the sector is a version of congestion charging for vehicles visiting National Parks, although this would be at odds with the proposed road toll scheme! We can't forget though that despite it's natural beauty the Peak District in particular is a working landscape and much of the population depend on tourism for their livelihoods - we all have a responsibility to be considerate visitor and resident. By the way, the Peak District is the second most visited national park in the world, second only to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji-Hakone-Izu_National_Park so you are right to be concerned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally_Fraser Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 We can't forget though that despite it's natural beauty the Peak District in particular is a working landscape and much of the population depend on tourism for their livelihoods That's a very good point Beckelina, yet another reason why we need to find a solution that suits everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darbees Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I don't think the solution is total reliance on the 4or so buses a day that come through Darbees - people have a right to go where they want, and who can blame them for visiting our wonderful home. I t's a happy medium we're looking for I think........ I'm not saying they shouldn't go there, I've been there frequently and it's good that you welcome us. It just seemed ironic that OP was remarking on the amount of traffic that is there whilst adding to it themself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrobbo Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 It can often result in fairly drastic measures - note the .....periodic closures of footpaths in Snowdonia and the Lake District .... The only periodic closures of footpaths in Snowdnia that I am aware of have nothing at all to do with volume of visitors. They relate to concessionary footpaths, whereby the landowners, in order to preserve their land rights, have to close the concessionary path on one day a year. For example, the concessionary footpath on the southern Rhinogs range closes for one day in the middle of February - a date chosen to minimise the number of walkers who may be inconvenienced, assuming it isn't raining (or even snowing) on that date anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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