1 week ago Beautiful UK town 'ruined' by tourists is now 'like Blackpool'

The Lake District has always been a popular tourist destination, but the impact of holidaymakers in the past few years has become so extreme, say people who live there, that it is irreparably changing the place and pushing locals out

Politics

1 week ago Lake District town that's been 'ruined' by tourists and 'turned into Blackpool'

A lifelong resident of the Lake District has said the area is being ruined by tourists who treat it like a party spot and show little respect for the natural environment.

Politics

1 week ago ‘I dream about toilets, I admit it’: the man on a mission to improve Britain’s loos

Poor accessibility, questionable hygiene, scattered needles and budget cuts the UK is in the midst of a public toilet crisis. Thankfully, Raymond Martin is fighting backThe first thing Raymond Martin looks for in a toilet, he says, is cleanliness. Does the tissue paper on the floor mean this public lavatory has failed his inspection? “You have to understand that it’s a working toilet, it’s now mid-afternoon – a few bits of tissue on the floor is neither here nor there,” Martin says. “If there were cigarette packets, bottles on the floor – that I’d be worried about.” We’re in Knutsford, Cheshire, and Martin is on a toilet-inspection tour of the north and west of the UK. He’s just come from the Lake District and Blackpool. When we part ways in a couple of hours, he’ll head on to Wales to inspect the public conveniences of Pembrokeshire.Do people laugh when Martin, who is managing director of the British Toilet Association (BTA), tells them he does toilet inspections? They do, he says....

Events

1 week ago ‘It has echoes of happiness’: life for gen Z in the seaside town I once called home

The Guardian’s former north of England editor returned to Morecambe after 25 years to discover the place where she grew up has even fewer amenities for young people – and the feeling of being ‘left behind’ is stronger than everPhotographs by Polly BradenIf you had asked me as a teenager whether I saw my future in Morecambe, I’d have laughed you out of our faded seaside town. I’d been plotting my escape since I was 14. The sea was grey, the sand was treacherous and the wind was always messing up my hair. I was totally unmoved by the view across the bay of the Lake District fells.It felt like half of the world was cut off. You could go left or right on the prom but never straight ahead, unless you wanted to end up stuck in mud waving frantically for the coastguard. A whole compass point was out of reach. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Lake District holidaymakers warned of harmful bacteria in pollution 'hotspots'

Most of Lake Windermere polluted with sewage bacteria, biggest survey of its kind finds after a Citizen Science Project finds

Events

2 w. ago ‘Really concerning’ finds at popular Lake District hotspot as urgent plea issued

The Big Windermere Survey results have revealed worrying pollution levels

Politics

2 w. ago Warning issued after tests reveal ‘really concerning’ pollution in Windermere

The citizen science testing, which took place from June 2022 to November 2024, aimed to address concerns about water quality

Events

2 w. ago Citizen science water tests reveal ‘really concerning’ pollution in Windermere

Campaigners are calling for decisive action to improve water quality in England’s largest lake.

Politics

2 w. ago Golden eagles could be reintroduced to England for first time in 150 years

The species was wiped out in England in the 19th century because of persecution by those who saw them as a threat to livestock and game birds.

Politics

2 w. ago Picturesque village just 90 minutes from Manchester is food lover's heaven

Cartmel, on the edge of the Lake District National Park, has been named the fifth prettiest village in England - and it is a foodie's paradise

Politics

3 w. ago 'We visited one of the UK's dearest market towns and noticed one problem'

YouTubers Andy and Claire Stock visited Keswick as part of their tour of the Lake District and found one big problem with the picturesque town

Politics

3 w. ago UK seaside town 'ruined by derelict hotels' as tourists 'don't want to come back'

The southwestern town was once a hub for tourism, with people flocking without hesitation - but now, the area has fallen into disrepair and travellers are avoiding the town

Society

3 w. ago How plans for a £2.5million 'mega mosque' in a Lake District town with just 11 Muslims is threatening a new explosion of racial tension: Locals tell RONAN O'REILLY their fears ahead of fresh protests

Tensions in the quaint town of Dalton-in-Furness have flared this summer over plans to build a three-storey 'mega-mosque' on its outskirts - the first such centre in the Lake District.

Events

4 w. ago Our picturesque seaside town has been invaded by Londoners... it is busier in summer but here is why that is a BAD thing

Locals are furious that an 'invasion of Londoners' into their quaint Kent seaside town is 'ruining' the area.

Events