Approach to Lake District littering and fly-camping is a step in the right direction

Approach to Lake District littering and fly-camping is a step in the right direction

Friends of the Lake District has welcomed the visible, more interventionist approach towards littering and fly-camping taken by the police and other agencies over the Easter weekend. For Jeremy Smith, our head of campaigns and engagement: “the approach taken over Easter shows what can be achieved by being proactive and visible on the ground, and by publicising cases of people made to clear up after themselves. It is imperative that this same level of presence is maintained throughout the summer”.

Last summer saw an epidemic of littering, fly-camping and thoughtless parking that blocked access and clogged roads across the Lake District. A Friends of the Lake District survey exposed the scale of the problem: 97% of respondents had encountered litter, 80% reported wild-fires or barbecues and 77% fly-camping. 34% experienced an aggressive reaction when challenging those responsible, with others likely choosing not to do so out of fear for their safety.

Great Cumbrian Litter Pick

Our ninth annual Great Cumbrian Litter Pick took place on 27-28 March. The results showed the continuing scale of the problem: 34 groups took part, with over 300 volunteers collecting more than 250 bags of litter. For Stephanie Gardiner, our engagement trainee at Friends of the Lake District, “the Great Cumbrian Litter Pick is a brilliant example of the impact that community litter groups can have in such a short period of time but we’d much rather there wasn’t so much litter dropped in the first place.”

Easter weekend issues

Across the Easter weekend itself, local litter groups were out and about monitoring levels of littering, fly-camping and campervan overnighting, and observing the effectiveness of the interventions made by rangers and the police. One such group, the Keswick Binfluencers, spotted multiple cases of fly-camping around the shores of Derwentwater and at Castlerigg Stone Circle and remain concerned about whether the burst of activity seen over Easter will be sustained or whether the problems will be left to reach the same levels as last year.

Jeremy Smith concluded: “Throughout last Autumn and Winter, we urged the responsible authorities to be better prepared for the 2026 visitor season and so we are pleased at how seriously the issues of littering and fly-camping are now being taken. Working with community groups across Cumbria, we will continue to monitor the situation on the ground and urge tougher action if necessary. The level of action taken over Easter should be the new normal, not a one-off”.

Main image: Fly campers at Isthmus Bay near Keswick (Keswick Binfluencers)