How not to s*** in Snowdonia

dovidola

Thru Hiker

Depressing reading :bawling:

Yes very depressing reading. The word "controlled" is buried towards the end:

Rebecca Williams, assistant director of National Trust Cymru, said....
"If we want to make tourism sustainable [we need] to ensure that it is....controlled....."


Regulation was always in the pipeline. Regrettably litter louts and poo plonkers are accelerating its arrival by providing an ample supply of evidence to be seized upon by the growing corpus of petty officialdom.
 

sherpa

Section Hiker
Mountain communities simply do not have the facilities to cope with the enormous visitor numbers they are now experiencing.

Bearing in mind the millions who visit our national parks each year, funding from central government is pathetic, and it always has been.

Snowdon is probably experiencing the greatest pressures, cursed by its accessibility.

Without huge investment in infrastructure, control is inevitable; the Snowdonia National Park and the local councils will see that they have no alternative.
 

dovidola

Thru Hiker
Mountain communities simply do not have the facilities to cope with the enormous visitor numbers they are now experiencing.

Bearing in mind the millions who visit our national parks each year, funding from central government is pathetic, and it always has been.

Snowdon is probably experiencing the greatest pressures, cursed by its accessibility.

Without huge investment in infrastructure, control is inevitable; the Snowdonia National Park and the local councils will see that they have no alternative.
I agree. My concern is that once the apparatus and infrastructure (and legislation) for control is established, it will be extended by default to everywhere else. Because they can.
 

Charlie83

Thru Hiker
It’s probably the most horrible place to walk in Wales. On a busy weekend a walk up Moel Siabod instead would be far nicer.
Aye, I did it two days in a row in April 2018, that was with work and if I can help it, I'd never go near it again, honestly never seen so many people on a hill, and the train wasn't running to the very top, lines were still under a lot of snow.

We came down the train line way on the 2nd day, was quite a sketchy bit even there. I read later two men had slid previously and just kept going to their death

I saw sights going up one of the other routes through the snow that defied belief, fathers chucking screaming weans in wellies up to other folk in the snow, loads of folk, in the snow in Adidas samba and the like
 

hillwalker66

Ultralighter
It’s probably the most horrible place to walk in Wales. On a busy weekend a walk up Moel Siabod instead would be far nicer.
Agree … there are loads of far nicer parts in snowdonia, very often in complete solitude. The few times I’ve visited snowdon I’ve camped on Y Lliwedd on climbed to the summit very early the next morning. The cafe is an eyesore!
 

pie

Ultralighter
The last time I walked up Snowdon there were 50 people waiting in queue to do a selfie on the summit.

Never again.
 

Diddi

Thru Hiker
https://cumbriacrack.com/2021/08/14/quarter-of-lake-district-visitors-admit-leaving-litter-behind/

Not snowdonia but I find this survey quite remarkable.

We are all doomed!!
I'm one of those that picks up the rubbish and bins it.

But I think the LDNP & the NT is partly to blame as there are no bins on carparks, not may toilet facilities throughout the NP and those that there are are either few and far between or in towns where you have to pay to use.

The LDNP & the NT will charge you a stupid fee to park anywhere but provide nothing in return imo...
 

tallest of pauls

Section Hiker
I'm one of those that picks up the rubbish and bins it.

But I think the LDNP & the NT is partly to blame as there are no bins on carparks, not may toilet facilities throughout the NP and those that there are are either few and far between or in towns where you have to pay to use.

The LDNP & the NT will charge you a stupid fee to park anywhere but provide nothing in return imo...
Yeah I get that (especially the cost of parking)

I was just amazed at the figures TBH.

I was at the Fairy pools carpark (don't judge me) afew years ago now and amazed how such a well hit spot had zero infrastructure. And a massive amount of used toilet roll incircling the carpark.
 

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
I'm one of those that picks up the rubbish and bins it.

But I think the LDNP & the NT is partly to blame as there are no bins on carparks, not may toilet facilities throughout the NP and those that there are are either few and far between or in towns where you have to pay to use.

The LDNP & the NT will charge you a stupid fee to park anywhere but provide nothing in return imo...
Yup - I agree.

Mostly in Scotland we don't have to pay for parking when out in the hills.
But I can see that that will have to change - somehow funding is needed to deal with litter, toileting in remote places and mending hill paths.

I was over on the Trotternish ridge last summer - both the Quirang and The Storr car parks are now very big, well used and "pay to park". I had a chat to the guy booking and ticketing non-payers. He said the funds went to the community who were using the money to upgrade the paths and provide visitor amenities. Toilets at The Storr but not at the Quirang.

New Zealand somehow manage to have facilities at all their "trail heads" however remote. When water and sewage facilities are unavailable they put in composting loos and handwash. It can be done and UK has a load of lessons to learn.

PS. I pick up litter too. "If you leave it then you are part of the problem too"
 

Many Miles

Summit Camper
Agree with you regarding the lack of toilet facilities but I believe that car park bins can create litter. I work as a countryside ranger and we have given up on bins and instead encourage people to take their rubbish home and recycle if possible. Previously bins would have to be emptied so regularly that it became impractical, and some would use them to dispose of their household rubbish and still lit disposable BBQ's! They would just leave rubbish next to full bins encouraging vermin. Seems better without them - but I still spend too much of my working and private life cleaning up after others.:frown:
 

OwenM

Thru Hiker
I was at the Fairy pools carpark (don't judge me) afew years ago now and amazed how such a well hit spot had zero infrastructure. And a massive amount of used toilet roll incircling the carpark.
I first went there in 1975, there were no signs, no carpark, no footpath and no mention in any guidebooks. I think the man running the campsite at Glen Brittle told us where to look. There was also no litter and only sheep poo.
 

Diddi

Thru Hiker
Yeah I get that (especially the cost of parking)

I was just amazed at the figures TBH.

I was at the Fairy pools carpark (don't judge me) afew years ago now and amazed how such a well hit spot had zero infrastructure. And a massive amount of used toilet roll incircling the carpark.
I was at the fairy pools for a swim last December( judge me if you wish 😅) and they now have a big carpark with very nice toilet facilities... 👍
Yup - I agree.

Mostly in Scotland we don't have to pay for parking when out in the hills.
But I can see that that will have to change - somehow funding is needed to deal with litter, toileting in remote places and mending hill paths.

I was over on the Trotternish ridge last summer - both the Quirang and The Storr car parks are now very big, well used and "pay to park". I had a chat to the guy booking and ticketing non-payers. He said the funds went to the community who were using the money to upgrade the paths and provide visitor amenities. Toilets at The Storr but not at the Quirang.

New Zealand somehow manage to have facilities at all their "trail heads" however remote. When water and sewage facilities are unavailable they put in composting loos and handwash. It can be done and UK has a load of lessons to learn.

PS. I pick up litter too. "If you leave it then you are part of the problem too"
The Stor have large carparks now and the best toilet and camper disposal facilities ( all free) I have come across so far on my travels..

Even managed a strip wash in the lockable disabled/baby changing toilet with hot water 😇...

Just a couple of brand new pay and display carparks at the Quirang no facilities ( and my (£30 parking fine) donation as I forgot to get a ticket 😡
Agree with you regarding the lack of toilet facilities but I believe that car park bins can create litter. I work as a countryside ranger and we have given up on bins and instead encourage people to take their rubbish home and recycle if possible. Previously bins would have to be emptied so regularly that it became impractical, and some would use them to dispose of their household rubbish and still lit disposable BBQ's! They would just leave rubbish next to full bins encouraging vermin. Seems better without them - but I still spend too much of my working and private life cleaning up after others.:frown:
Its a hard one to call really with bins like you say, but I was on the far side of Ullswater 2 week ago in my Van at Mardale church ( dead end) and there must have been 10 bagged bags of dog **** 😡 now that one really gets me angry ....
I first went there in 1975, there were no signs, no carpark, no footpath and no mention in any guidebooks. I think the man running the campsite at Glen Brittle told us where to look. There was also no litter and only sheep poo.
Them were the days lol... 👍
 

tallest of pauls

Section Hiker
I was at the fairy pools for a swim last December( judge me if you wish 😅) and they now have a big carpark with very nice toilet facilities... 👍

The Stor have large carparks now and the best toilet and camper disposal facilities ( all free) I have come across so far on my travels..

Even managed a strip wash in the lockable disabled/baby changing toilet with hot water 😇...

Just a couple of brand new pay and display carparks at the Quirang no facilities ( and my (£30 parking fine) donation as I forgot to get a ticket 😡

Its a hard one to call really with bins like you say, but I was on the far side of Ullswater 2 week ago in my Van at Mardale church ( dead end) and there must have been 10 bagged bags of dog **** 😡 now that one really gets me angry ....

Them were the days lol... 👍
That's good news about the F' Pools. Thinking about it it was 6 yrs ago I was last down Glen Brittle. Time ✈️'s
 

Seòrsa

Section Hiker
I had a right gut full of so called camping idiots 2 weeks ago on a walk out I had, decided to head up over the local moors to a shooting house that the estate allows people to bothy in when the estate isn't using it, around 5 miles from the nearest parking spot high up on the moors to say I was saddened to see the amount of camping litter not just inside the bothy but also outside was disgusting.
6 or so empty gas canisters, other cooking paraphernalia associated with camping & a lot of discarded soda bottles, cooking lard, empty bean tins, cereal bar wrappers. At least 5 people had signed the book the previous day obviously oblivious to the mess inside & out. I left a very disgruntled message in the visitor book & humped a bin bag full of **** back out with me. I passed various piles of toilet paper half buried. 💩😡 They had clearly humped it in but couldn't be bothered to hump it back out again.

Its not all associated around easy to get places & its clearly so called campers who could be walking amongst us that also leave ***** for others to clean up after them 🤬🤬
 

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
I had a right gut full of so called camping idiots 2 weeks ago on a walk out I had, decided to head up over the local moors to a shooting house that the estate allows people to bothy in when the estate isn't using it, around 5 miles from the nearest parking spot high up on the moors to say I was saddened to see the amount of camping litter not just inside the bothy but also outside was disgusting.
6 or so empty gas canisters, other cooking paraphernalia associated with camping & a lot of discarded soda bottles, cooking lard, empty bean tins, cereal bar wrappers. At least 5 people had signed the book the previous day obviously oblivious to the mess inside & out. I left a very disgruntled message in the visitor book & humped a bin bag full of **** back out with me. I passed various piles of toilet paper half buried. 💩😡 They had clearly humped it in but couldn't be bothered to hump it back out again.

Its not all associated around easy to get places & its clearly so called campers who could be walking amongst us that also leave ***** for others to clean up after them 🤬🤬
Thanks you for clearing it up :thumbsup:

MBA reports similar behaviour at their bothies.
Some folks are just arseholes. Some come from urban backgrounds and have no idea how to behave in the "countryside".
A campaign to educate wouldn't go amiss.
 

tom

Thru Hiker
Finding dog poo plastic bags dropped by the side of high altitude alpine trails is sadly no longer unusual. I cannot even imagine what people think will happen to them. Consumerism gone mad.

21st century festival culture is probably also a factor for "normalising" leaving rubbish and expecting someone to clean up after them. Some family did Glastonbury crew + cleanup crew for some years well before the pandemic and the stories they came back with (as well as numerous top range almost new tents that had been abandoned with the tons of rubbish) were quite unbelievable.
 

Seòrsa

Section Hiker
Finding dog poo plastic bags dropped by the side of high altitude alpine trails is sadly no longer unusual. I cannot even imagine what people think will happen to them. Consumerism gone mad.

21st century festival culture is probably also a factor for "normalising" leaving rubbish and expecting someone to clean up after them. Some family did Glastonbury crew + cleanup crew for some years well before the pandemic and the stories they came back with (as well as numerous top range almost new tents that had been abandoned with the tons of rubbish) were quite unbelievable.
well known fact now that a lot of charities actually volunteer to go clean up after festivals now as they gain so much kit for their charities, a lot of homeless charities gain almost brand new tents, sleeping bags, chairs etc, very much a throwaway culture today.
 
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