Beautiful natural gem in the UK has now become an overcrowded tourist spot
- UK Hidden Gems
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A peaceful national park in Wales is now being overwhelmed by keen visitors, turning its quiet landscapes into busy hotspots that may be harming the area’s natural beauty.
Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, once known as the Brecon Beacons, was listed by The New York Times as one of the Best Places to Visit in 2024.
Once a quiet secret for locals and a home for many sheep, its growing fame may now be doing more harm than good, according to Forbes.
Just 30 miles north of Cardiff, the park welcomed around four million visitors last year, forcing authorities to introduce new steps to manage the huge crowds.
Famous for its soft rolling hills, rugged mountains, lovely waterfalls and wide range of wildlife, the park covers about 520 square miles.
It has long been a favourite for walkers, nature fans and outdoor adventurers, and extra buses and tour guides have now been brought in to help with the growing numbers.
The real struggle for park staff, though, has been dealing with poor behaviour from some visitors.
A surge of influencers arriving to film and photograph themselves has become one of the park’s biggest issues.
Eager to get the perfect picture in the park’s beauty spots, tourists have had to be reminded to respect countryside morals.
There have even been reports of visitors taking off their clothes for selfies in the waterfalls or acting as if the national park were a seaside resort.
Many people also turn up unprepared, wearing flip flops and swimsuits despite the area’s unpredictable weather and tough, uneven paths.
Bannau Brycheiniog is home to Pen y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales, and with such breathtaking views it is easy to see why the region is so popular.
It also features the lovely cascades of Waterfall Country and is one of the UK’s best Dark Sky Reserves for stargazing.
Remember - LeaveNoTrace!
As with anywhere outdoors, kindly keep these areas pristine and wild by taking all trash with you. The amount of complaints we have seen since the pandemic is crazy. It's really not that hard to take your rubbish with you!
Litter tends to spread, so if you see any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the hidden gem, it will help keep the area tidy.
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