Nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds, this picturesque village was listed as the number one place on Forbes’ list of the 50 most beautiful villages in the world – and yet people living there are completely over it.
Coming out on top was Bibury, a picture-perfect village nestled in the countryside with its cosy cottages and intertwining flowers. Sitting close to the quiet murmurs of the River Coln, this 14th-century village is straight out of a fairytale, with golden buttercups, quacking ducks and riverside farms.
While it may seem to be a paradise from the outside, since gaining such a high honour, locals are growing sick of the traction their home is getting. What once was a quaint village in the country is now a hot spot for travellers across the UK and the rest of the world, hoping to catch a glimpse of its charm.
Competing against the likes of the stunning Oia in Santorini and the beauty of Shirakawa-go in Japan, Bibury had some tough contenders. And yet, it’s the quiet life in the Cotswolds that helped it come out on top champion; with just 600 residents, the village has now gained a hell of a lot more visitors.
It was thought that up to 20,000 people flocked to Bibury in one weekend alone this summer. Craig Chapman, chair of Bibury Parish Council, has since claimed the level of tourism has been “problematic”, which has come and “at a cost for locals”.
The chairman told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: “I’m fairly flabbergasted, having travelled the world, to believe we’re the most attractive village in the world. It’s a great honour, but it’s a little bit of a surprise; there’s a lot of competition out there.”
As a result of the hustle and bustle that saw thousands of tourists arriving to the area on coaches, restrictions have since been put in place. This includes parking bays sitting in the centre of the village now being closed, along with creating new drop-off and pick-up points instead.
In order to ease up pressure further, tourists have been asked to arrive in smaller vehicles when visiting the village. What once was a beautiful setting could quickly be overrun with large coaches and minibuses otherwise.
Mr Chapman added: “It’s completely a double-edged sword. The issue is very much about the mechanisms whereby people come to the village and, when they come here, how they behave and where they park.
“The reality is we sit on a B-road. The road is narrow; there’s one bridge across the River Coln, which is only wide enough for one vehicle. We’ve suffered greatly from congestion, particularly from the larger coaches,” the BBC reports.
In order for there to be what he described as “harmony” between the villagers and the visitors, these restrictions felt necessary for many locals and have proven to be of help.
It’s no surprise that everyone wants to see just what Bibury has to offer with its sweeping landscapes and quintessentially British buildings, as it remains a wonderful day out in the Cotswolds.