Tourists have been urged to report ‘fly-campers’ who are pitching up in the Lake District and leaving their tents behind.
The Cumbrian beauty spot regularly attracts heaps of day trippers, and it has long been one of the UK’s most-visited tourist hotspots.
But with summer in full swing, England’s largest national park is now battling a spate of pesky campers.
Friends of the Lake District, an organisation dedicated to looking after the area, made a post on Facebook detailing the issues.
‘The sun is out and so are the fly-campers, the litter-droppers and the fire-starters,’ the group said.
It went on to encourage visitors to report antisocial behaviour, including illegal camping.
Friends of the Lake District, an organisation dedicated to looking after the area, shared images of a tent abandoned by its owner
Litter was also left scattered on the floor in the popular beauty spot
The post continued: ‘Please take care of the landscape when you’re in it!’
One photograph shows an abandoned tent still pitched up, with a ground sheet thrown in front of it, located on The Helm, near Kendal.
Another image gave a look inside the tent, revealing food packets left behind and what appears to be two raw burger patties.
In a different photo, litter can be seen on the floor next to greenery.
Friends of the Lake District’s land manager shared how ‘going to all the effort to haul the tent up there and then just walking off and leaving it just seems so pointless and mindless’.
One person commented on the post revealing they had spotted, ‘tents on the shore edge at the laybys past Watermillock’.
Someone else penned: ‘Loads of BBQs and fly-camping at Rydal last night and broken glass on the island in the middle of the lake.’
Gill Haigh, managing director of Cumbria Tourism told the Daily Mail: ‘The vast majority of people who visit the Lake District and wider county do so with care and respect, but incidents such as abandoned tents, litter or fires can have a real impact on the local environment and the communities who look after these places.
‘We always encourage visitors to enjoy Cumbria responsibly and to leave the landscape as they find it. Reports of any antisocial behaviour should be reported through the appropriate channels, including the Lake District National Park Authority or local council websites.’
Friends of the Lake District’s land manager shared how ‘going to all the effort to haul the tent up there and then just walking off and leaving it just seems so pointless and mindless’
More tents and belongings left behind in the Lake District
A spokesperson for Cumberland Council said the authority takes ‘a zero-tolerance approach to littering, environmental crime and antisocial behaviour that damages our communities and natural environment’.
They added: ‘Visitors to our area are encouraged to enjoy everything our outstanding landscapes have to offer, but with that comes a responsibility to respect the people, wildlife and places that make these locations special.
‘Littering, illegal camping, abandoned BBQs and other irresponsible behaviour are unacceptable and can have a significant impact on local communities, the environment and council resources.’
The council explained the ‘leave no trace’ principle and said: ‘If you bring it with you, take it home with you.
‘Dispose of waste responsibly, park legally, respect local communities and help protect the landscapes that everyone comes to enjoy.’
In April, Westmorland and Furness Council clamped down on a group of campers and fined them for antisocial behaviour and environmental damage in Ullswater.
Burnt materials, camping equipment, litter, and tobacco waste were found left behind after the group had been told to take their tents down and leave.
As a result, they were handed fines of £100.
A bag of rubbish, disposable BBQs and burnt grass discovered in the beauty spot
The council, with Cumbria Police, launched patrols in the area between March 27 and April 12 to encourage visitors to ‘love where you visit and leave no trace’.
Councillor Judith Derbyshire said at the time: ‘We are taking this issue seriously. Our priority is to ensure that everyone who visits our area does so responsibly and helps protect its natural beauty by leaving no trace.
‘During patrols, our officers have not only engaged with visitors, but also cleared litter left by a small minority, helping ensure these special places are left in a better condition than they were found.
‘It is encouraging that the vast majority of visitors are behaving responsibly, respecting the environment, following local guidance and responding positively to the presence of our officers and Cumbria Police.’
A previous survey released in 2025 by Friends of the Lake District highlighted that antisocial parking, fly-tipping and general littering are now commonly seen by locals, and that such behaviour is no longer limited to the area’s most famous and scenic locations.
Many residents reported a scourge of rubbish being left strewn across beaches, by lakes and around scenic trails, and are now calling for the introduction of a tourism tax to generate proceeds to tackle the problem.
The group returned similar results in 2024’s survey, which found that the area’s 18 million annual visitors can ‘exceed the capacity’ of the local infrastructure.
But it noted that Lake District tourism is very valuable, and is thought to contribute £2.3 billion to the local economy, as well as supporting some 65,000 jobs.
A previous survey released by the group highlighted how antisocial parking, fly-tipping and general littering were issues in the area
Around two-thirds of people who completed the survey said problems in the area had gotten worse over the previous year.
The areas most keenly affected are Ullswater and Derwentwater, with high levels of antisocial behaviour also being reported in Buttermere, Borrowdale and Ennerdale, suggesting that effects of overtourism are no longer confined to longstanding hotspots in and around Windermere.
Aside from litter, locals battle with other aspects of the millions of visitors the Lake District attracts each year.
Dr Karen Lloyd, an essayist and environmental activist from the local area, previously explained how tourism has become ‘incredibly disruptive for local people’ in recent years.
The author and campaigner told the Daily Mail that those who live here now face ‘gridlocked roads’ if they want to visit the most beautiful parts of the Lakes – and fear the environmental impact such traffic will have on the landscapes made famous by William Wordsworth and Alfred Wainwright.
Friends of the Lake District’s litter, fly-camping and antisocial behaviour survey can be found here. It closes at the end of August.
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