Dispatch: Is Cornwall really ‘like Benidorm on steroids’ this weekend?

Locals in Cornwall have expressed concern at the crowds and lack of social distancing in the busiest regions of its coast.

Thousands of staycationers descended on Britain's honeypot resorts this weekend amid the heatwave, with Cornish residents being particularly vocal about the hordes. One described the scenes as being like 'Benidorm on steroids' to the BBC yesterday and another protested that her family was 'too scared' to leave the house and go food shopping.

So how bad is it really? Telegraph Travel spoke to three of our writers based in Cornwall over the weekend; two locals and one on holiday.

Rebecca Hallett, based in Truro, is concerned: “Looking at the main beaches in Cornwall, you wouldn’t know we’re in the middle of a pandemic. There are tightly packed crowds of (mostly maskless) people out on the sand and walking through town, with the crush seeming at least as bad as in previous years.”

Underlining locals’ fears she adds: “As one of the UK’s poorest regions, Cornwall is desperate for its usual summer tourism income – but with few critical care beds in the county, many of us are terrified of the cost.”

Certainly Cornwall and its neighbouring counties are the UK’s most sought-after holiday destinations this summer. Visit Britain’s latest consumer research suggests that 21 per cent of holidaymakers are intending to visit the south west in the next couple of months. For context, only 12 per cent are planning a trip to the next most popular destination, Scotland.

There is no doubt that demand has soared, as securing a holiday cottage in Cornwall this summer has become almost impossible. Holiday lettings company One Off Places reports that, together with Devon, Cornwall has been its most in-demand destination “by a country mile”.

Rebecca is fearful that those who would usually travel abroad have flocked to Cornwall instead: “We understand why you want to come here. Really, we do. But we just can’t take every single Brit whose international summer holiday plans have fallen through.”

However, Telegraph Travel’s Cornwall destination expert Gill Charlton, who lives in the tourist hotspot of St Ives, thinks that, despite the hyperbolic headlines, the truth is a little more prosaic. She says: “Yes, the beaches are busy, but they’re not swamped. It’s the usual August crowd: large family groups from all walks of life down for their annual holiday.”

Indeed, summer holidays in Cornwall have always been a popular choice, so it is difficult to assess the impact that the lack of overseas travel has had on visitor numbers.

For Gill, the feeling is familiar rather than alarming. “Locals traditionally retreat into the shadows in August when visitors take over our town, and to say that there’s nowhere to shop safely is simply untrue.”

Unlike Rebecca, she feels that safety measures are largely being adhered to.

“On Porthmeor Beach each encampment was clearly socially distanced and fenced off by windbreaks. For those who have been cooped up in cities it must be heavenly to relax on the beach under a warm sun and who are we to deny them a week’s respite from lockdown?”

St Ives has also implemented its own rules to deal with the influx of visitors. Gill notes: “The town has sensibly banned through-traffic during the day with marshalls to enforce this ruling and not – as some have suggested – to control the crowds. “

She admits, however, that it is not a perfect picture. “It’s true that the narrow streets of the old port are almost as busy as usual and parents do not control their children. It’s as if they’re taking a holiday from Covid-19 guidance too. This means people aren’t really able to socially distance, especially where queues for pasties and ice-creams get tangled with the stream of browsers.”

Telegraph Travel’s Hotels Editor, Jade Conroy, who is currently on holiday in Cornwall, agrees that beaches are busy, but paints a nuanced scene. She says: “Watergate Bay – a popular surfing beach near Newquay – was thriving on Thursday on account of the blue skies, but parking spaces were still to be found and you could just about maintain social distancing on the beach.”

Jade also discovered that restaurants weren’t over-run and that the crowds dispersed as the afternoon wore on.

She says: “Tables were available at pizza restaurant Watchful Mary, which has a terrace above the sand from where you can observe the surfers,” adding “The only place social distancing wasn’t possible was on the narrow walkway and stairs leading down to the beach and the body boarding masses in the shallows.

“By 5pm, though, most of the crowds had gone home and we watched the sun start to set with just a few others.”

Are you in Cornwall? Or perhaps you're avoiding it this year thanks to the crowds? Let us know in the comments box below.