Quote Originally Posted by Mike T View Post
I think that most people in the Lakes accept that tourists are needed for survival, and hopefully make them welcome - those nice little shops/pubs/cafes cannot survive on local trade only. But it is nice when, in the quieter months of the year, most of them have gone, so we can walk on the pavements, and not have to drive on those same pavements to avoid badly parked cars. Having gone from a frequent visitor - for decades - to a permanent resident, I have seen both sides.
There have been no problems "fitting in" - we try to contribute by shopping locally, and by volunteering - my partner in social care/food bank, and I coach with AAC juniors, and try to support the vets. What people say behind our backs of course we may never know. Our neighbours are lovely - one chap nearby has lived in the same street for over 80 years - though he did move from one side of the road to the other!
I completely understand locals enjoying it when the tourists are not there... to relate back to Neilly, i was in Skye in February of last year and it was fantastic to be up there when it was so quiet (excepting the times i was within the vicinity of Sligachan car park, i never saw a soul on the mountains in 100 miles and a week of running).

I was assured by many people in cafe's/shops that it was vastly different in the height of summer.