Residents living in some of Britain’s holiday hotspots are bracing themselves for a summer of traffic hell – as millions descend on the country’s national parks and tourist traps.
From the Lake District through to the city of Bath, locals say they can’t cope with the annual arrivals en masse of sunseekers and holidaymakers.
While the impact of tourism on the UK’s economy can’t be underestimated – around £280billion in 2024, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council – those living in the areas favoured by visitors are feeling the strain.
Around 18 million Brits are thought to descend on the Lake District throughout the year, the vast majority in the summer, in order to take in the spectacular views and escape from the stresses of life.
But in towns such as Ambleside, situation north of Windermere and voted the top spot for a ‘digital detox’, the situation is less idyllic.
Locals say the increased influx of tourists can increase the stress in their own daily lives and put unnecessary strain on local services.
Many appreciate visitors holidaying in the Lakes is invaluable to the survival of the region’s economy: Lake District tourism is thought to contribute £2.3billion to the local economy and supports some 65,000 jobs.
But that doesn’t come without some sacrifice on the part of those who call Ambleside, and other towns like it, their home.
A holidaymakers’ coach winds its way through country roads near Ambleside in the Lake District as the summer season begins
People walking in Ambleside village centre. Locals say the number of tourists has a negative impact on their day-to-day lives, from ditching cars to traffic jams
The Stagecoach run Lakesider bus service runs through Ambleside – but has an open-top roof and audio commentary ideal for tourists
Matt Parker, 46, said he often saw ‘inconsiderate’ tourists dumping their cars and blocking up roads with traffic.
Mr Parker said: ‘The number of tourists coming to Ambleside has a massive negative impact on locals living here.
‘This usually causes massive traffic jams because the roads just aren’t big enough to cope.
‘It could cost lives if the emergency services or mountain rescue got stuck in the traffic.
‘It has got slightly better after double yellow lines were put on the road but there’s still too much traffic.
‘There’s really only one main road in and out of the Lakes so you can imagine how bad it can be. It only takes a car accident, and everything grinds to a halt.
‘It’s fairly quiet today but just wait for a month or two. This place will be packed. I’m not looking forward to it.’
The popularity with tourists is even reflected in the local bus services, which have their sights set on the visitors.
Stagecoach Bus operates the 599 Lakesider bus service which runs from Bowness to Grasmere.
But unlike other local services, it boasts an open-top for ‘unrivalled scenic views’ of the Lakes, and offers audio commentary. Hardly necessary if you live there.
Life-long Amblesider Valerie Edwards, 77, says the region only gets ‘busier and busier’ each year.
She pondered: ‘It has always been popular with tourists because it is a beautiful area and who wouldn’t want to come to visit?
‘The summer months are the worst. Everywhere is just so busy. Tourism provides jobs for people living here, which is very important, but Ambleside is only a small place.
‘It used to be just in the summer when it was really busy but now it’s all year round. I think it spoils the town when there are too many people here.’
Ambleside offers tours of Windermere from its convenience lakeside location – already getting busy before tourist season is in full swing
Locals say the roads can barely support tourist traffic – with one accident crippling much of the network
A group of tourists squeeze in for a selfie on the edge of Ambleside Pier in the Lake District
Tourists make their way along the water’s edge in Ambleside. Locals say trying to navigate the roads is a ‘nightmare’ at the peak of the season
The open-top local bus service known as the Lakesider passes through Ambleside, on the northern edge of Windermere
Paul Armstrong, 31, works in Kendal. He said: ‘It is only 14 miles away, but it usually takes an hour to get there. Sometimes it can be nose-to-tail all the way.
‘It is a hard one because the area relies on tourists but in the summer it’s impossible to get anywhere quickly with the amount of traffic on the roads.
‘The number of coaches can be a problem too. The roads weren’t built for the large coaches, which just clog up the roads.
‘Trying to get from Ambleside to Windermere is always a nightmare.’
Images captured by our photographer show that the river cruises are already picking up steam despite the school holiday season being weeks away.
Some locals who spoke to MailOnline struck a conciliatory tone – acknowledging that the influx of visitors may well be a necessary evil that keeps local businesses going.
Poppy Williams, 26, said: ‘I used to love living here but traffic situation is really bad.
‘The problem is that thousands of people head to the Lakes every day and when they leave the motorway, they are all travelling on the same road and the cars all get stuck in traffic coming into Windermere and then Ambleside.
‘It’s a difficult situation. We need tourists to come and spend money but when too many arrive it is really bad.’
Laura Windle, 39, said: ‘It is a really difficult one because most of the job and business in the area depend on tourism. Without tourists, the area would die.
‘The problem we face is that it is each year is just getting busier and busier. On a warm summer’s day, the streets are absolutely packed.
‘You have those who have booked for a few days and other who have just come for the day to take advantage of the warm weather. I try to avoid the centre during the summer.’
It’s an issue repeated elsewhere in the Lake District, such as in Bowness-on-Windermere, as well as in the Cotswolds, where the town of Bourton-on-the-Water has recently imposed a mandatory drop-off point for coaches.
People tuck into fish and chips at the water in Ambleside. Locals say the traffic gets progressively worse as summer comes in
An ice cream parlour in Ambleside was enjoying a healthy trade when MailOnline visited last month
A coach driver stands beside his bus in a lay-by on the edge of Ambleside as visitors make the most of their day
People line up to buy tickets for the Ambleside Pier river tour. While tourism is essential to the Lake District it leaves locals bristling
Tourists ahoy! Visitors survey the scene as their boat cruises by Ambleside – boosting the economy and annoying locals in one swoop
Some coach firms say they will no longer visit the town, with one telling the BBC: ‘We dropped Bourton-on-the-Water completely.’
Just 50 miles away in Bath, coaches are less of a problem – but the crowds of people who come to see the remnants of its Roman buildings and world-famous Georgian architecture are just as much of a nuisance.
Lily Palmer, 28, who has lived in Bristol for 10 years and works as a manager at a coffee shop in Bath, said: ‘One of the reasons I don’t live in the city – I don’t enjoy having tourists around all the time.
‘It makes Bath feel so busy and it’s simply not a big enough place to have so many day-trippers in at the same time, like on peak days in summer and winter.
‘When I’m walking to my car through town it’s just horrible – when tourists don’t have anywhere to go, they stand around and wander about.
‘Don’t get me wrong, this is a great place to work and we are busy [with customers], and it’s great that the charm of the city brings people in – but I couldn’t live here.’
She added that coaches and day-trippers in cars do create congestion as she heads into Bath from her home. The 12 mile journey often takes her an hour.
‘From a business perspective, tourism is definitely a positive thing for us because a large proportion of our customers are tourists,’ she added.
Jonny Hunt, 35, a writer from Gloucester who has almost lived his entire adult life in Bath, believes the local council should do more to mitigate the impact of visitors.
‘Obviously there’s benefits – the local economy relies so heavily on day-trippers and people coming to the city,’ he said.
A coachload of tourists arrives in the city of Bath, in Somerset, which is also regularly overrun with visitors
The local council says it is aware of the challenges posed by large vehicles packed with people – but residents say it is not doing enough about them
A large group of tourists gathered outside the entrance to the Roman Baths museum
A tourist takes a photograph with a seagull on her visit to Bath, standing beside the River Avon
The streets of Bath were packed when a MailOnline photographer went to visit – busier than might be expected for a city of just 94,000 people
‘And it’s still a novelty for me having lived in the centre of town for more than 16 years – it’s cool that people from halfway around the world want to come here.
‘But the council are a bit useless in actually making Bath a better place for the people who live here and pay council tax.
‘There’s too many gift shops and coffee shops, which are there just to extract money out of tourists, and none of that is good for people who actually live in the city.’
By his count, he reckoned the street he was on had five bars, a cider house and several restaurants and coffee shops.
‘Realistically, that doesn’t help local people that much, and it probably drives the price of things up for residents who actually live here,’ he added.
‘We want services that are actually going to improve the place we live in, but the council is over-focused on making it a tourist hotspot.
‘I understand it, because it’s so lucrative for the local economy, but Bath has become so saturated with hospitality to promote tourism, but it’s the council who have been terrible and they need to take responsibility for that.
‘The high street is failing in Bath, and instead the council has leaned on hospitality too much because it was having a surge after COVID, but that’s starting to end and then the city centre will struggle.’
He added: ‘But people who live here love to bash the tourists, when in reality it’s what keeps the city thriving, so overall it’s definitely still a positive.’
Around six million visitors contribute some £470m to the local economy every year, according to Bath and North East Somerset Council.
Visits have been boosted by the Netflix drama Bridgeton, which used a number of buildings and locations such as the Royal Crescent in filming.
But the authority says it is aware of the issues posed by overtourism, particularly the high volume of coaches and cars that descend on the city, which has a tiny population of just 94,000.
People gathered in the shadow of Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths late last month. Locals say it’s impossible to get parked in the city
Tourists are seen standing beside a coach on Bath’s Terrace Walk, next to the city centre
Tourists snap a selfie outside the Roman Baths on a visit to Bath
Visitors consult a city centre map of Bath. Locals say they have ‘no idea’ how to resolve the problem of overtourism
Bath’s Royal Crescent is hugely popular with tourists – particularly after appearing in Netflix period series Bridgeton
A tourist group is led past the Roman Baths by a tour guide. While tourism is seen as crucial to the economy, some residents worry about the impact on the city as a whole
Eve Harker, a 24-year-old retail worker at a home-decor chain, has lived in Bath her whole life.
She said: ‘With the tourism in Bath, it gets very busy. The traffic down by the Podium shopping centre is really noticeable, particularly in summer.
‘Parking is almost impossible as well. You can’t find a space at all and you can spend ages just driving around aimlessly looking for somewhere to stop.
‘But it’s not just residents who get around by car – public transport is shocking here. There’s always something wrong with it and it’s got considerably worse since I was growing up.
‘A lot of that is the incompetence of the council and the bus companies, but also the tourists do make it busier and make commuting more difficult.
‘So I also work in Clifton in Bristol for half the week, so I commute frequently between the two cities.
‘Usually a train gets cancelled and then there’s just like hundreds of people queuing up to get to where they need to be.
‘It happens at Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa Town stations – it can be absolute mayhem.
‘Just yesterday, for example, there was a point failure and it got so congested with commuters and tourists at Bath Spa Town and it’s so irritating for locals.
‘Bath’s streets have changed as well. It used to be thriving, but a lot more has moved online and been replaced by coffee shops and hospitality.
‘But I don’t think that’s unique to Bath, that’s an issue up and down the country, and I have no idea how that gets resolved.’
A woman poses for a picture with a cherry blossom tree in Bath. In all, tourism is thought to generate £280billion for the UK economy every year
Tourists drag their suitcases past the entrance to the Roman Baths in the centre of the Somerset city
Tourists gathered outside Bath Abbey. ‘It’s a sign of the times’, said one local of the parking issues in the city
Pictures aplenty for visitors to Bath – who are both welcomed and resented by residents in equal measure
Tourists board their coach to leave Bath. The city has a number of dedicated coach drop-off points
Aga Marcinkowska, 42, a Polish restaurant manager who has lived in Bath for 20 years, said: ‘We love the tourism from a business perspective, it’s brilliant for the restaurant and to show people our beautiful city.
‘But there are issues. The big one is the congestion and parking situation. Bath’s a small place, and when I first came here in 2005, the roads were not too bad.
‘Yet now the parking is dire, it’s almost impossible to park, and unfortunately a lot of that is down to day-trippers.
‘It’s a small place, it’s not designed for this many people to visit, so it will never change – especially with the current council.
‘The traffic is constant, but what can we do? It’s a sign of the times. Families used to have just one car between them. Now it’s two, and sometimes three and four, for each person who lives in the house.
‘That, added in with the tourism in peak months, makes it a nightmare to get around the city.
‘As far as litter goes, I actually think this city is a lot cleaner than others, so to their credit, that’s something the council does well.
‘But overall, a lot of tourists come here and we love them.’
