Thousands on the beach yesterday - Wednesday

I don't resent the furlough scheme per se even though I receive neither an income nor a pension myself, but I do resent the somewhat uncaring attitude, (crowding, litter, fighting), towards the efforts put in by other people to get on top of this virus.

The woman from Bournemouth Council speaking on radio 4 was apoplectic abut someone parking on a roundabout, and lost credibility for me at that point. Lots of locals too who didn't seem to want to share the beach.

It is a great pity about all the rubbish but all in all nice to see people out and about enjoying the sunshine.

It was lovely to see all those people enjoying themselves. If we have this sort of weather more often, people wouldn't bother going abroad, which would boost our own economy and cause less pollution. We not need another runway, after all!

As for social distancing, everyone claims their own little patch of the beach anyway, so it shouldn't really be a problem.

There were far far far more furloughed workers that were not behaving incredibly badly yesterday. The scheme has kept them from terrible financial problems and for some of them may protect their jobs. But many others ( and I know some) are very worried indeed about the redundancy facing them shortly. As someone who thanks to generous pensions has seen no fall in her income and indeed has saved thousands since March in not going out and on holidays, I don’t resent the furlough scheme.

We have had a similar problem in our small town. An article was printed in the press ( taken from a book) about Wild Swimming locally. The area has not been much used for swimming for at least the 44 years that I have lived here.

In the last couple of months in the good weather,
the town has been inundated with cars, badly parked even blocking the fire station. The mess and rubbish and human excrement.left behind has to be seen to be believed. In the evening it is full of , mainly, youngster, leaving behind, canisters and vodka bottles .
We welcome visitors to our lovely town if the want to enjoy it and respect it.
There seems to be no one who can stop this awful behaviour. So sad.

They have been told they can go to the beach and all the medical advice is now that being outdoors you are less likely to catch the virus and if you do the Vitamin D you have absorbed from all the sunshine will help you fight it off. Ok social distancing isn’t all it should be as all flock to the same beach at once. It would be better if once a beach reached its capacity visitors were directed to another beach. Protestors of all sorts have been allowed to congregate in large numbers outside so that doesn’t help.
From what I’ve read the major risk is using the toilets at a beach assuming some are open and then the biggest risk is to the poor cleaner who is lowly paid and probably needs the money right now.

My husband and I saw that on the news from New Zealand. Filled me with horror. Just ignore it and let the authorities sort it out. Stay home as much as possible and continue to take precautions. At least you wont contract it. They are just very very selfish people acting like children. Stay safe in your bubble.

I felt the same Jennifer on seeing all those pictures of Bournemouth. Most of the people were furloughed or with children and they were treating it like a bank holiday. The crowd was double the number of Bournemouth residents.
eazybee has some good suggestions for restricting numbers. Why can't the council stop moaning and get on with enforcing them?
It was the same in Notting Hill yesterday too at a music festival and I am glad that Priti Patel will today be taking Cressida Dick to task on the ineffectual policing. All we hear is "lessons will be learned".
Without discipline and order, and a strong hand they won't be.

gilly Am I correct in saying you are in Northumberland? What a wonderful area that is. We had a holiday there a few years ago. We stayed in Alnwick. We visited so many pretty seaside places up there. We will definitely go back That beach at Bamburgh (sp) - wow.

It really is incredibly hot here in the south of England, but not an excuse really.

I know that beach in Bournemouth very well we have a time share on East Cliff that more or less overlooks it, we weren't able to go this year because of the lockdown. It's a lovely place with the green hills of the Isle of Purbeck in one direction, which incidentally has a much quieter and unspoilt beach and The Needles off the Isle of Wight in the other direction. I was so shocked to see how jam packed all those foolish people were the other day, I really think some think they are invincible and they are not considering the inevitability of a second spike. I agree with your comments above Callistemon "this country is becoming a very unpleasant place to live" but have seen similar idiocy on other well known beaches abroad too.

Bournemouth is always popular as it is the first place with a good sandy beach, heading west.

It’s perfectly accessible for a day out from the south and London as it’s motorway all the way - M3 then M27.

Yesterday’s pictures do highlight the problem with have now though with too many furloughed families having the time and money to have nice jaunts out courtesy of the taxpayer.

The answer is staring us all in the face isn’t it?

Get all children back to school and people back to work.

If it’s safe for them to squash up with others on a beach it’s safe enough to resume normal life.

I actually feel sorry for the people who descended on Bournemouth. Although I live quite near I am not a southerner born and bred and don't regard the beaches as my personal property; they should be there for everyone. I cherish my childhood memories of blissful holidays once a year at the seaside and I sympathise with the people cooped up in cities and towns during lockdown.

I haven't visited Bournemouth for years; the parking is extortionate, (Poole and Bournemouth collect one of the highest profits from parking charges, including hospitals, in the country;) the shopping centre is dire; the public lavatories were locked at least a year ago, nothing to do with covid, and they were not vandalised. Double yellow lines are painted everywhere but no extra parking is provided; every spare piece of land is sold for the building of over-priced flats which are empty for at least two-thirds of the year, but again with inadequate parking provision, to encourage people to use bicycles), not the much needed affordable homes for families.

It was obvious this surge of visitors was going to happen, and though they should not have been there a few temporary arrangements would have avoided much of this trouble: extra policing on the major roads leading into Bournemouth, with diversions out again; extra toilet facilities, extra parking (all the empty hotel and office car parks, who could have charged): provision of extra receptacles for rubbish, most of which was neatly bagged . Entry to the beaches could have been regulated; easy to calculate the numbers allowed and then divert the extra numbers away out of the town.
There was no 'major incident' yesterday, just a mess which escalated due to an inefficient and resentful council lacking the foresight to plan ahead.

twiglet77, absolutely agree with you. There’s nothing I like better than walking on a beach in the winter sun, wrapped up and blowing the cobwebs off. I’m not one for sitting on the beach on a scorching hot day with a crowd of people. Certainly wouldn’t do it as things are at the moment either. I’m not risking my life or anyone else’s either, it’s about having respect for others too.

Of course we must remember that most parents cannot return to work until the schools reopen which doesn’t look like being any time soon . The beaches would be nowhere near as crowded as they are at the moment if the schools were open would they ?

I’m fortunate, as is my DD, as we have a little patch of garden but many people are not so lucky .

Well we must be very fortunate or else have more considerate beach goers than many other areas JaneA . I visit the beach regularly at all times of the year and mostly it’s far too cold but these last couple of days the beach has been busier than usual but most definitely not overcrowded . I think the reason is that our beaches are not as easy accessible as many others . Most of the usual attractions like the funfair etc are closed anyway.

I took my little granddaughter down a couple of days ago and there was only the two of us with a little picnic blanket . A few other family groups around but masses of room . We had a little plodge (both ended up drenched), we played sand castles
for a while, with an ice cream cornet on the way home . It was magical .

I too love the beach but we rarely get proper beach weather in these parts and the sea is freeeeeezing anyway .

suziewoozie

I agree about banning alcohol but that will need tough enforcement to be effective. Enforcement costs money - who is going to fund that?

Alcohol has been banned on our Essex beaches for many years, seems to work ok.

I don't know what the Counil could do about it.
Perhaps the police should have put in road blocks and turned people around.
Then, of course, they'd be screaming about their 'rights'.

This country is becoming a very unpleasant place to live; it seems to be divided between the responsible, the essential workers, people like the volunteers janeainsworth mentions and the selfish and feral.

And no, I won't apologise for using that Australian term.

Does anyone know the process for closing beaches ? Who has the authority so to do and more importantly enforce it?

The government minister in BBC breakfast repeated many times it was the hottest day of the year. I don't understand why the council didn't take control sooner it's all very, very odd.

I agree about banning alcohol but that will need tough enforcement to be effective. Enforcement costs money - who is going to fund that?

It’s definitely time to stop paying people to stay at home or rather go to the seaside. When the bars open it will be even worse. Get the schools back and get the country working. If they can risk going to the beach then they are perfectly capable of going back to work.

jane I’m hearing exactly the sane story here in all our local beauty spots and parks - I guess it’s the same proportionate increase. The problem with dedicated volunteers clearing up is that it hides the problem. I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it but it means that unless you are there first thing in the morning or last thing at night you have no idea how truly awful it is. It’s also spilling into our town centre which previously was pretty litter free. Goodness knows what the answer is

Gillybob
I’m pleased your beach on S Tyneside is clean and pristine.
It’s not the case in North Tyneside.
Every morning te beach at King Edward’s Bay, next to Tynemouth Priory, and other N Tyneside beaches, are full of beer cans and other assorted litter left by groups of people partying the night before.

Volunteers, who go the in the early morning to swim, clean it all up so that by the time ordinary people get there it’s clean and pristine.

But now they are asking North Tyneside council to act and ban alcohol on North Tyneside beaches.

Perhaps you’d like to sign this?
l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fp%2Fnorth-tyneside-council-ban-alcohol-consumption-on-north-tyneside-beaches%2Ffbog%2F55973682&h=AT0wYhwCLVEpPy1Hg11GT6KzAxmNl3LMIk52uuFpN4W43-AWnsPTPbYtu9DKM6zp0TgCwC1m08fdrL0orE1nhjqamS0JKbwW_b1dXMAcmYyXkKF2aUTtxpLMNosPNso&s=1

MerylStreep we're not criticising the locals who (lucky them!) have a beach within walking distance; there were 30 mile tailbacks trying to get into Bournemouth yesterday and a major incident was declared.
I'd be quite upset if I lived in one of these resorts.

It's not so long since the police were stopping people, interrogating them and turning them round to go home and they still are where we live.

One extreme to the other.