The Lake District is increasingly overwhelmed by visitors who show little respect for the natural environment and treat it like a party spot, a lifelong resident has claimed.

Tourism has always been a part of life on the banks of Lake Windermere. However, the impact of holidaymakers in the past few years has become so extreme it is irreparably changing the place and pushing locals out, according to local Keysia Mattocks.

Born and raised in the national park renowned for its extraordinary beauty, Mattocks faces the prospect of being forced out of her hometown because of a tourist-induced housing crisis.

“Me and my wife have been renting [our] house for seven years now, [but] the landlord is selling up and trying to find a house around here that will accept three cats is impossible,” she told the Express.

“The places available are like six-month winter lets because they are holiday cottages in the summertime or peak time.

“We were looking at [these properties] in desperation, but others were viewing it after us so it must be getting interest. You can’t build a home from that, though.”

Throughout her tenancy, Mattocks has seen the supply of rental properties in Windermere dramatically reduce and knew that if they did have to move out it would be very tough to stay local.

“It's always been in the background,” she added. “We have heard stories of landlords selling houses underneath people and not really letting their tenants know. But [the shortage of housing] is a scary fact of life. The nearest available council house to Windermere is Whitehaven [50 miles away].” 

Mattocks holds no grudge against her landlord for selling up and understands their reasons. 

However, it doesn’t change the fact she faces the prospect of having to move out of the place she’s lived all her life because of the housing shortage.

Only a couple of her schoolfriends remain in Windermere; the vast majority have left and commute for work or family visits.

The Cumbrian native needs only look out of her window to see why. The streets that used to be filled with friendly neighbours who all knew each other by name have been replaced by rows of holiday rentals where strangers arrive for short-term stays.

She said: “I have two holiday cottages around me [including] my next-door neighbour. [That] is used as an Airbnb holiday cottage with a new person in each week.

“Sometimes we have families who are nice and quiet, but there are times where the younger generation that are more into drinking stay.

“Last week we had students across the way and they were partying every single night.”

Mattocks explained the choice of the Lake District as a destination for partying students was a symptom of the larger shift in the atmosphere. 

“I feel like at the moment, instead of Windermere being how it used to be, it’s turned into more like Blackpool,” she added.

“It's so busy and full of people who don't actually respect the area. It's starting to get like rubbish all over it and if you go down to the lake, like normal quiet spots, there will be like glass, rubbish and barbecues where you're not supposed to be having barbecues. 

“Parking's impossible. There's parking all round blocking up one-way streets and traffic.”

With long-term locals being priced out and tourists heading to the area in droves it seems unlikely these changes will be undone anytime soon. 

Do you live in an area altered irreparably by tourism? Contact zak.garnerpurkis@reachplc.com