A row about overtourism has broken out in a UK village once described as the most beautiful in England, where locals are pitched against a car park plan that could see the number of tourists arriving outnumber the resident population by 200 every hour.
Bibury is in the Cotswolds, a central southwest English region beloved for its rolling countryside and the eponymous warm stone of which its many centuries-old thatched dwellings were built. With a water meadow and a quaint row of cottages originating as far as the late 1300s, the village was already attracting attention for its looks in the 19th century, when well-known British Arts and Crafts designer William Morris called it “the most beautiful village in England”.
“Intolerable pressure” on the village
Residents there have witnessed an upswell in tourism since the UK’s COVID-19 lockdowns and have already complained that tourists have started climbing on walls and over garden fences to capture the perfect Instagram shot.
On peak days cars and coaches currently overwhelm the country roads to the extent that, as recently as March 2025, county council authorities set about altering the layout of coach bays in the village to reduce traffic jams, and have created a working group of district and parish stakeholders and police to better deal with the growing problem.
Councillor and chairman of the parish council, Craig Chapman, has described the “pressures put on us by the sheer volume of tourists visiting and coaches bringing tourists” as “intolerable and unacceptable.”
“You expect to have people visiting”
Despite the frustration about the burdens on infrastructure and the narrow roads, one plan to get cars and coaches out of the way is causing controversy. Local business Bibury Trout Farm has previously allowed cars and small coaches to use its car park and has now asked for planning permission to construct a new 100-car facility that could also accommodate 12 coaches and serve the village via a shuttle bus.
Although there is no specific offence of parking on a pavement, there are limits to what is acceptable parking and what is not. #PavementsAreForPedestrians
— Cotswolds Police (@CotswoldsPolice) January 27, 2024
Responding to community concerns PCSOs Bulbul & Grimmett ticketed these cars today in Bibury for Unnecessary Obstruction. pic.twitter.com/Deoec8l9az
Maxwell Thomas, the trout farm owner is fatalistic about the number of visitors. “People have been coming to this village for hundreds of years and businesses have been here for hundreds of years,” he told the BBC, adding, “It’s in the 10 prettiest villages in the world and you expect to have people visiting all the time, you can’t help it.”
Potential village centre restrictions
But some villagers disagree with the proposal, dubbing it “totally counter-productive to what we want to achieve in the village because it will bring approximately 800 tourists, maybe, every hour extra into the village” and emphasising: “We’re trying to reduce the the tourism, not increase it.”
Moving forward, the working group has revealed it may seek restrictions on coach access to the heart of the village, as well as improving signage and encouraging minibus transport. Consultations are going ahead for plans for parking outside the village over the summer.
