A group of walkers said they will not be returning to North Wales after claiming the ‘hatred for the English there is astounding’.
A group of seven women, aged between 55 and 70, from the ‘Women that Walk’ group, visited Llanberis in Eryri for a walking holiday in August. The country is known for its warm welcome which is cited by many visitors as one of the reasons they choose Wales over rival destinations.
But one of the walkers, Amy Hurst, said the women ‘felt a bit scared’ at times during their four-day trip due to ‘anti-English’ attitude of locals, North Wales Live reports. She claimed the ‘vibe was awful all round’ as she said she would not recommend a trip there ‘to anybody’.
READ NEXT: Fuming mums slam historic Manchester pub after kids ‘told to turn the iPads down’
Florist Amy, 56, from Clitheroe in Lancashire, said: “The hatred for the English in North Wales is astounding, we will not be returning.”
Amy said the group first noticed something was awry when they arrived at their Airbnb on Friday, August 30. She said: “When we first arrived there, we were walking down the street when one of us remarked on there being a funeral care place.
“A guy walking past overheard us and said ‘it’s free for the English!’ It was a bit strange!” The following night, Amy said the group entered a pub where a man said: “Let’s not bother with these they’re bloody English.”
Amy added: “We had to tell them to leave us alone. We ended up leaving pub and one of our group challenged the man and asked him why he felt the way he did – he turned into a cowering little boy! We felt a bit scared, it just felt very threatening.”
Amy also claimed in a restaurant the group visited the following day everybody was served apart from them though she had no evidence this was due to them being English and admits it could have just been bad luck. She added: “The vibe was awful all round we were all shocked at how bad it was.
“I’ve been to Wales a few times but this was really anti-English and probably anti-women too – I will not be going back. It’s hardly Barcelona where they want the tourists out because there are too many.
“I wouldn’t recommend going there to anybody.” It’s such a beautiful place but the people were just off we basically just got abused.”
To cap things off, Amy claimed that when last orders were called at a pub they were at on their final day, a member of the group went to get drinks and the pub turned all the lights out. “They clearly wanted us out as well I’ve never had an experience which has made me feel like this before,” she said.
Visitors have been under fire across Europe in recent years due to fears about the impact of over-tourism – with marches and anti-tourism graffiti.
In Wales there have been protests over second homes but it is rare for visitors to be targeted. Thousands of English visitors visit Llanberis every week – with it positioned at the foot of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). Jim Jones, chief executive of North Wales Tourism, said the region has a reputation for being ‘friendly and welcoming’.
He added: “I’m saddened to hear this group of ladies had this experience whilst visiting Llanberis. We work so hard to promote North Wales, which has a reputation for being a friendly and welcoming region.”
