LOCALS living along the North Coast 500 have hit out at tourists who left a much-loved beauty spot in a shocking state.
Furious residents in the Scottish Highlands were unimpressed after campers left a huge mess at Loch Ness this week.
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They said that the tourists had “zero respect” for the area and called for the local council to step in.
The popular beauty spot in Inverness was covered in “abandoned tents” with “fire pits everywhere”.
A sign on the loch warning visitors not to have any fires or barbecues within the vegetation zone also appeared to be ripped from the ground.
The pole attached to the sign had been turned from the ground with a clump of cement still attached to the bottom.
It lay discarded on the stones on the shore of Loch Ness not too far from where the mess was.
A frustrated local shared snaps of the torn-out pole and shared it in the Facebook group NC500 The Land Weeps.
They have zero respect for our country
Facebook user
The post read: “See the new signs are working well at Loch Ness, fire pits everywhere, abandoned tents, and the season has only just started”.
Users flocked to the comments to blast the people responsible and called for the local authority to issue fines to anyone caught leaving the mess.
One person said: “They have zero respect for our country”.
Another added: “The tents have been there for months, most look abandoned”.
Someone else wrote: “If any viewings of folk doing this it needs to be reported to appropriate authorities to set an example with action and fines imposed.”
While a fourth posted: “A good kick in the bum would not go amiss!”
And a fifth chimed in: “B*******”.
It comes just days after a “selfish” campervan driver was blasted for parking directly outside someone’s home after it “stopped for lunch”.
Locals complained that the driver blocked homeowners from parking their cars outside their houses by taking up a huge section of the cul-de-sac.
They added that the narrow street was already very tight and there were spaces available at a better-suited car park nearby.
Sharing a photo of the parking, one person fumed: “My friend sent me this, why would you prefer to park on an already narrow side street instead of using the free car park which is just right behind the white car?
“It’s a narrow cul-de-sac with a tiny turning area that you have to do a 3-point turn in a car it so it’s not like they could go straight on.
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“And yes before the apologists start, the car park had empty spaces big enough for them to fit in, they weren’t visiting nor did it belong to anyone who lives in the street.
“What is their mentality? What reasoning is behind this!”
SCOTLAND’S ROUTE 66
DESPITE its challenges, the NC500 is still one of the most popular road trips in the world.
Earlier this year, the scenic route was voted the number one most searched for road trip in the UK and an astonishing fifth in the world-wide table.
With its impressive 516-mile stretch of magnificent coastal views, it’s not surprising it’s such a popular route for travellers looking to explore. From castles to distilleries there is something for everyone to enjoy.
It was also ranked as the most romantic drive in Britain after an influx of visitors took to the roads for ‘staycations’ in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
An English couple told how they loved the NC500 so much that they got it tattooed on their bodies forever.
While a couple who travelled the route in an Audi convertible told how it was “one of the best holidays” they’ve ever had.