The impact of Covid on the UK's national parks

Due to the flight ban in lockdown and the following reluctance of people to go abroad when restrictions were eased, the UK's national parks have seen an increase in visitor numbers across a broad age range. Unfortunately, this increase has led to some noticeable damage to a number of beauty spots.

The issue of "fly camping" is on the rise - with tourists buying cheap camping equipment to have a few days away and then leaving all the equipment in the area, rather than moving it and disposing of it in the correct way. This is likely to have occurred due to the tourists believing that this is a singular visit and that their normal tourist habits (abroad travel) is likely to reconvene. These tourists are not typical visitors to national parks.

Litter and fires have also increased. In the Peak District, £38,000 is normally spent annually to deal with litter. That figure is expected to double this year as a result of the increased visitor numbers last summer.

Whilst the environmental damage is noticeable, the benefit of the new tourism levels is that most damage was restricted to key honeypots in the parks - such as Mount Snowdon. Whilst this led to increased litter, erosion and paring disputes, at least this is easier to manage than having the new tourists visiting more secluded areas.

For more on this story, check out the following article:

'The litter was a shock': 2020's Covid-driven rush on UK national parks | National parks | The Guardian