Selfie-hunting tourists have been pictured climbing over walls and vaulting garden fences in a bid to get the perfect picture in a Cotswolds village.
Bibury is renowned as one of the prettiest villages in one of England’s most stunning regions, but its fame has led to groans among villagers about the vast crowds of tourists flocking there.
And it appears the behaviour of a minority of visitors leaves much to be desired, with some seen getting unsociably close to people’s houses in an effort to snap their dream shot.
Another photo taken on Friday shows a man leaping over a narrow stream as one of his companions captures the moment on camera.
Bibury is located on the River Coln in Gloucestershire, and is best known for a 14th century row of cottages called Arlington Row, which features on British passports and is said to be one of the most photographed sights in the Cotswolds.
A man leaps over a fence in the Cotswolds village of Bibury in an apparent quest for a photo
The visitor was seen clambering back over a stone wall towards his friend
Bibury is renowned as one of the prettiest villages in one of England’s most stunning regions, but its fame has led to groans among villagers
Villagers in Bibury have long complained about their roads becoming crammed with cars and coaches depositing huge crowds of holidaymakers.
The picturesque countryside and quaint cottages attracts visitors from far and wide, but lately locals have been tormented and abused as a result.
Earlier this year teacher Sarah, 27, and her sister, 25-year-old recruitment worker Martha, said they were left dumbfounded by the sight of dozens of overseas tourists to Bibury clambering off a coach so they could grab photographs of locals’ homes and front gardens.
Sarah said: ‘The coach pulled up in the middle of the road because there was nowhere to park, opened the door and everybody flooded out, cameras in hand, and they were literally standing there taking photographs of each other in front of people’s houses. It was extraordinary.
‘I get that they perhaps come from places where people don’t have these lovely traditional stone cottages and front gardens, but it is causing chaos in this beautiful village. Surely they can find somewhere to park the coaches and cars so they don’t have to pull up in the street.’
In nearby Bourton-on-the-Water, nicknamed the Venice of the Cotswolds, tempers also became frayed during the summer tourist season.
Another photo shows a man leaping over a narrow stream as one of his companions appears to capture the moment on camera
These photos show visitors in the village of Bibury in Gloucester on Friday
One local, 80-year-old Anthony White, lived for many years in San Francisco, but said the noise and congestion caused by visitors to Bourton was worse than anything he experienced in the West Coast American city, where he worked as a developer.
He said: ‘Since I moved here a couple of years ago, I’ve been shocked and increasingly concerned by the horrendous effects of over tourism here.
‘It can be so noisy, not just because of the traffic, but also the people walking along in huge groups past our house making so much noise. They just don’t care.
‘Streams of people walk past here in groups of up to a dozen at all times of the day and night and I really feel something needs to be done to restrict numbers.’
Bibury is located on the River Coln in Gloucestershire, and is one of the Cotswolds’ most visited sites
The village is best known for a 14th century row of cottages called Arlington Row, which features on British passports and is said to be one of the most photographed sights in the Cotswolds
However, Sarah, 59, thought people should ‘stop moaning’.
She said she moved to the village last year from Brentwood, Essex, so she could be near her son, who works in Bourton.
She said: ‘Yes, there are a lot of tourists here, but really I think people should stop moaning about it and enjoy the economic benefits they bring in.
‘That said, I do think we need to find a better way of dealing with all the traffic problems we have as a result of this tourism and I think it’s time a bigger and better car park was built on the outskirts. I think that would please everybody here.’
