Mum who drove 90 minutes to beach complains about others doing the same

One family drove 90 minutes to visit the beach last weekend and were surprised by how many people were doing the same.

Jane Peacock and her family travelled to Durdle Door in Dorset this weekend to enjoy the beach and nice weather. The seaside day was not just for them, though, with 2,500 also doing the same.

In an interview with the BBC, Jane’s daughter said: “It’s nice to get out of quarantine but I think it’s going to peak again because everyone’s going to go mad and go anywhere they can.”

Jane added: “It’s lovely to get out but I’m quite shocked as to how many people are here and to how they are not paying attention to the social distancing.

“I find that quite annoying to be honest. It’s like being in Tesco.”

As of Wednesday May 13th, the public have been allowed to travel to outdoor spaces such as beaches and parks to exercise or sunbathe. The news came as part of the government’s plane to ease the lockdown restrictions put in place on March 23rd. 

Many viewers of the BBC interview reckon that the Peacock family travelled too far. One person posted on Twitter: “This Peacock family are part of the problem. Nobody drives that long to go there. Should be 30 mins tops from your home. They could go through two counties in that time.”

Another said: “Sorry Peacock family, I live a five minute walk from the beach where I live, drop me a dm next time you want to come visit and I’ll drive the 1.5 hours to your house just to even things up.”

To avoid such issues, many local councils urged visitors to stay away from their beauty spots, like Blackpool and the Lake District, following the latest advice from the government.

Blackpool changed the name of its profile page from Visit Blackpool to Do Not Visit Blackpool and encouraged visitors to not drive to Blackpool for a day trip.  

The Derbyshire Dales tweeted: “We appealed to visitors to stay away but our usual hotspots are busy. We also made it clear most facilities – including toilets – remain closed.”

Let us know what you think of the Peacock family’s trip to the beach in the Facebook comments.