Wet weather worries for Peak District tourism

Visit Peak District's Lindsay Rae says the wet weather has had a big impact

Businesses that rely on tourism to the Peak District say wet weather has led to one of the worst seasons on record.

Places to stay are reporting fewer bookings than usual due to a combination of stretched household budgets and rainy weather.

And this has a knock-on effect for attractions, shops and other businesses that serve visitors to the national park.

Lindsay Rae, of Visit Peak District and Derbyshire, said: “We’ve had a tough start to the season this year, [which] coupled with the economic crisis that people are still experiencing... has been particularly unkind to us so far.

“Businesses are not seeing the same level of bookings or visitors that they would do normally at this time.

“The weather has a huge impact both in terms of people last minute deciding to come, but even sometimes those that had planned and booked to come are cancelling.

“But it’s not all doom and gloom. Some businesses are still doing really well, particularly in the honeypot areas, the Castletons and Bakewells, but other businesses are really struggling.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed for some lovely weather. Warm and dry weather gets people out enjoying themselves.”

It's been a slow start to the season at Callow Top, said Eli Taylor

Eli Taylor, reception manager at Callow Top holiday park near Ashbourne, said: “The ground was so wet when we opened just before Easter we were wondering if we would be able to get people on the site, and the same up to May Day.

“People who have tents, the campers, didn’t come out until later on. I’d say we are quite a lot down on usual.

“If it’s raining at the weekend we get a lot of cancellations or no-shows, or people reduce their stay down to a shorter time.

“We’re very busy at weekends but due to the cost of living, during the week we haven’t got as many bookings, maybe because people don’t want to take the time off work.

“If people aren’t here, they are able to spend in local shops and visitor attractions. It definitely has a knock-on effect.”

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