As lockdown lifts, let's remember that Britain’s treasures belong to all of us to share
It's time to overcome fears and inconveniences, and greet visitors with open arms rather than hostile "stay away" placards
7 April 2021 • 3:57pm
A sign implores tourists to stay away and that Wales is closed during the pandemic
Credit: Christopher Furlong/ Getty Images
Well, it’s been emotional. But finally it’s here: the last week of lockdown before we can return to pub gardens and outdoor pools and, joy of joys, escape with our “bubble” to self-contained accommodation, at least in England or Wales.
So let’s hope that, after everything we have been through together, we are more willing to share our beaches and beauty spots than we were at the start of the pandemic, when villagers from the Cotswolds to Cumbria put up signs to ward off visitors (“Keswick is closed”) and tweeted “Stay away you lot!” In Cornwall, shopkeepers went so far as to ban any non-locals who attempted to buy bread. Residents were up in arms about “descending hordes” sitting on “their” beaches and clogging up “their” roads.