Borrowdale’s Stonethwaite campsite closes after ‘litter’ of ‘Covid campers’

The owners of a scenic Lake District campground are shutting it down because of people making rules and leaving garbage.

Kayley Kennedy at the Stonethwaite campground in Borrowdale said it was overwhelmed with “Covid campers” treating it like a “mini-festival”.

She said they were so fat that they would close “three or four weeks” from Thursday.

Elsewhere, two men were pictured sleeping in a car in the middle of a weekend of complaints.

Ms Kennedy, who runs the site with her partner Nick Gill, said Stonethwaite had room for about 60 tents, but because it was part of a farm and not fully-staffed, many more people had entered, ignoring signs. who said the site was full.

Some campers had arrived in groups that were too large, set up their tents too close to each other, ignored the 23:00 noise burnout and had piles of rubbish picked up, including tents, gazebos, airbeds and chairs, she said.

“Because the equipment is pretty cheap to buy, they seem to treat it as a disposable,” Kennedy said.

“It has been disappointing. We have regulars, some of whom have been coming for more than 50 years, who treat the place with great respect.

“But this year we have what one person called ‘Covid campers’, who not only respect the site but other campers.

“We expected it to be busy, but it was just like a weekend getaway, and since there are no festivals this summer, someone said it seemed like these people had their own mini-festivals here. . “

Meanwhile, a dog walker in Portinscale, near Keswick, took a photo of two men sleeping on top of a car in a layby.

She said there were also two people in the car.

“I think it’s just typical of what’s going on at the moment that people come to the Lakes, probably settle down without accommodation and then find themselves in situations where they can not stay anywhere,” the woman said.

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