Plea to Easter visitors to respect national park

The summit of Yr Wyddfa - Snowdon - is a magnet for visitors

There is a plea for the thousands of visitors expected to flock to one of the UK's most popular national parks over the Easter break to act responsibly.

Officials in the Eryri National Park - also known as Snowdonia - say some beauty spots are being blighted by illegal parking, littering and anti-social behaviour.

The park authority, police and local councils are calling for tourists to respect the landscape and environment.

Last year, the police and councils enforced strict parking restrictions with fines and even having cars towed away.

There was a crackdown on illegal parking at nearby Pen y Pass last year - with vehicles being towed away

Launching a campaign ahead of the Easter weekend, officials said they were focusing efforts to reduce issues in the Nant Gwynant area of the national park, which stretches between the popular villages of Capel Curig and Beddgelert.

It lies directly below Yr Wyddfa, and is a favourite spot for hikers to take on the challenge of the Watkin Path to the top of Wales' highest mountain, which is also known as Snowdon.

The path is maintained by the National Trust, who say the attraction of waterfalls a short walk from car parks has led to a series of problems.

Litter and pollution are growing headaches for the National Trust land managers in Nant Gywnant

"It's often very overcrowded," said the trust's lead warden for the area, Dave Smith.

"It causes problems with erosion, people taking short cuts, so we're having to spend a lot of money now building new paths.

"There's chemical pollution in the river from sun tan lotion and dogs' flea spray that ends up in the water - which is our water supply, and the water supply for several houses."

Councillor June Jones says the area also has huge problems with parking, as motorists double park on the narrow main road, potentially blocking access to emergency vehicles.

"Last year it was horrendous, even the buses could not get through," she said.

"It was just people parking everywhere - it was really dangerous."

Mrs Jones said the behaviour was not respectful towards the community.

She said the valley also faced anti-social behaviour, with visitors who wanted to set off for the top of Yr Wyddfa in the early hours of the morning waking residents.

"I want people to enjoy coming here, I want them to go back with a good experience," she added.

"I don't want them to have a horrible experience, coming down from a long walk to find their cars been towed away."

Angela Jones from Eryri National Park says visitors need to plan ahead more

"We're asking people to plan in advance, to really think about the kind of area that they're coming to," said Angela Jones, head of the park's partnership programme.

"It is a protected area, it is vulnerable - think about the impact they are having on the environment."

Stretches of the road through Nant Gwynant have now been painted with double yellow lines in time for Easter.

Last year saw similar action taken in the Ogwen Valley and near Pen y Pass, leading to scores of vehicles being towed away, and hundreds more issued with fines.

But visitors are also being asked to consider ditching the car altogether, with an improved park and ride service launching for the start of the season.