Jane Peacock and her family went to Durdle Door in Dorset this weekend, which is allowed to open under new rules from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
However, they were surprised when they arrived because they found out that they were not the only ones who decided to go to the beach that weekend with around 2,500 people also making the most of the nice weather.
In a BBC interview, Jane’s daughter, Ellie 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 also added that it’s nice to get out but she is quite shocked as to how many people are there and to how the others are ignoring social distancing.
“I find that quite annoying, to be honest. It’s like being in Tesco.” Jane said.
As of May 13, it’s been legal to travel to outdoor spaces to exercise or sunbathe in the UK, but some people reckoned the family had traveled too far.
On Twitter, one user tweeted: “This Peacock family is part of the problem. Nobody drives that long to go there. It should be 30 mins tops from your home. They could go through two counties in that time.”
Another user added: “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 to visit and I’ll drive the 1.5 hours to your house just to even things up.”
Last weekend, a number of local councils urged visitors to stay away to help ensure social distancing.
On Blackpool’s tourism body Twitter profile, which has changed the name of its Twitter page from Visit Blackpool to Do Not Visit Blackpool, the tweet reads:
“Ahead of this weekend, we would like to encourage our visitors not to drive to Blackpool for a day trip. We can’t wait for our grand re-opening when you can once again enjoy all that Blackpool has to offer but, for now, please stay local for your exercise if possible.”
Meanwhile, 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. Sadly, we’re getting reports of people using streets as a toilet. Don’t. #RespectProtect our communities.”