Beautiful beach in Cornwall ‘ruined’ by high influx of tourists | Great Britain | News

Locals in Cornwall have been left worried for the future of their beaches as one became overrun with visitors due to the rise in popularity on social media.

Residents took to the Cornwall Live Facebook page to voice their concerns, with many even going so far as to say that their beach spots aren’t really as impressive as they’re made out to be online.

As one of the most beautiful beaches in Cornwall, Pedn Vounder, a tidal beach in St Levan, has been caught up in a social media whirlwind after it went viral for its beauty, causing frustration for residents for a number of reasons.

Cornwall Live reported that the beach on the south coast of the Penwith Peninsula in West Cornwall, England, has been placed in the top ten best beaches in the world, leading to a flurry of interest.

Ranked alongside Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Secret Lagoon in the Philippines, the sheer amount of tourists visiting the beach to capture it on social media has led to growing concerns for locals.

Ranked alongside Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Secret Lagoon in the Philippines, the sheer amount of tourists visiting the beach to capture it on social media has led to growing concerns for locals.

The Covid pandemic has led to a variety of problems for the beach as well, as more Britons have visited due to restrictions on international travel. These problems included large amounts of litter on the beach, blocked traffic and even drug use.

The beach is also home to some dangerous rip currents and due to the increase in visitors, this has led to a huge increase in calls to the emergency services over the past five years.

Resident David Penrose Barneby claimed: “Cornish beaches are over-publicised, appearance often trumps reality (…), Pedn Vounder is no better than many other beaches”.

He continued: “(…) it was popular with the locals as it was not known about or frequented by foreigners on holiday.”

Fellow resident Lorraine Bee agreed, saying: “Due to excessive publicity on social media etc, the road to Porthcurno is becoming blocked with cars parked all over the road.”

Another resident, who remained anonymous, told Cornwall Live: “Aside from access issues and a lack of facilities, including rescue, the huge amount of social media coverage it has attracted over the last few years has led an overwhelming number of visitors, which have, in turn, created massive infrastructure problems for the local area.”

Agreeing, another resident also said that its national reach and surge in popularity and social media presence as a hidden gem had “catastrophic effects on the local environment and infrastructure”.

They continued: “Put simply, narrow streets, coastal paths and the sheer volume of ‘Instagrammer’ visitors who ‘heard about it via social media’ are putting a huge strain on local infrastructure and eroding the coastal environment. It is no longer a secret beach and its beauty is in danger of disappearing.”

It is far from unusual for traffic to block the roads to Porthcurno as various vehicles are left stranded on the verges when all available parking spaces are quickly taken up in the peak of summer.

The beach’s rise in popularity on multiple social media platforms, coupled with the lack of amenities and lifeguards on duty, created the perfect storm for a dangerous visit — one far less glamorous than the one portrayed online.

Cornwall Live was told by another anonymous resident that the problem actually started in 2018 when Pedn Vounder first went viral on social media. They said: “We had roads blocked, emergency services couldn’t operate, the local bus network shut down, neither the rubbish removal services nor the food delivery trucks could get to the Treen Farm campsite (…) .

“(…) bottles, cans, food wrappers and garbage bags strewn liberally in the hedge, the road to the beach was a dangerous, degraded nightmare, people climbing over each other in the hope of a photo to share on social media socializing, the beach was crushed, there were shards of broken glass, tent pegs, excrement left in the sand. It was hell.

“The way the beach was popularized online included hashtags like ‘#paradise or #bestbeachintheworld.

“The same can be said for Porthcurno beach, Kynance, Sennen and numerous other hot spots in the county.”

He added that tourists are “lured by Instagram’s promise of a #bucketlist experience”.