Fury as tourists and daytrippers overrun beauty spot close to river immortalised by iconic British painter John Constable

Daily Mail​

09-07-2025

Tourists have overrun a riverside beauty spot close to the rural scene immortalised by famous British painter John Constable.
The village of Dedham in Essex, just half mile away from the iconic scene of Constable's The Hay Wain, has seen an increasing number of tourists visiting during the hot weather.
And the mess left behind by those enjoying the scenic views has been likened to ' Glastonbury '.
Dedham Vale nature reserve is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, famous for its water meadows and the River Stour, painted by British artist.
The small village, which has a population of just 1,907, has been tarnished in recent weeks by tourists littering and engaging in 'reckless behaviour' during the heatwaves.
And locals have expressed frustration at the disregard to their local area with Conservative Councillor Darius Laws demanding something be done to curb overflowing bins and cars parking on the green spaces.
In an expletive-filled ranting video posted on social media on June 30, Councillor Laws said: 'You'd be forgiven for thinking that I'm in Glastonbury.
'No, f*** that, left-wing, so-called green, hippies. No, I'm in Dedham.'
Local residents have blasted visitors for spoiling their local area and likened the mess left behind Glastonbury due to the amount of litter
The campaign video was accompanied by the social media tag line 'you'd think there was a headline act performing' and calls on tourists to start 'following the countryside code' and pick up litter.
In the video, councillor Thomas Rowe also adds: 'Just remember, this isn't a festival, it's a village'.
Councillor Laws added: 'Hopefully, it gives people the confidence to tell people to pick up their litter and act appropriately.
'The amount of rubbish and reckless behaviour we are seeing is really concerning.
'It looked like a mini-Glastonbury. Bins were overflowing, people had dumped empty crates of beer, vape wrappers had been dropped on the ground.
'We see people jumping off the bridge into very shallow water and they could so easily break their necks.
'This is a beautiful part of the country, and it's not ok, it makes local wildlife sick and ruins nature.
'We do approach it in a friendly way because people may just be ignorant of the damage they're causing.
'The video was provocative to get people's attention and if people think twice then it's worked.
'We live in a beautiful village in a beautiful part of the world. We're welcome to visitors but they've got to be responsible.'
John Ward, the independent leader for Barbergh District Council told the BBC that the council were looking in to solutions including double yellow lines and help from police and praised the landowner.
He explained that he was doing his best and has installed portable toilets and cleans up litter after visitors have left but said it wasn't enough.
He added: 'You're welcome to enjoy the beautiful Stour Valley, but we can't get to the litter every night, we don't have the staff to do it as often as we can.'
Mr Rowe also hit out those he believed were dressing inappropriately and visitors endangering themselves.
He told the Daily Gazette: 'People are going into the local co-op without a T-shirt and kids are jumping off the bridge, which I know is something the council are talking to the police about.
'It's only a matter of time until someone hurts themselves.
'I also don't think people realise about the water quality. I wouldn't let my kids paddle around in there.'
Last year, the Environment Agency said the water could contain 'levels of sewage, faeces from livestock and pollution from farming or industry'
Councillor Laws also believes the nearby sewage water treatment plant, plastic pollution and animal waste have contributed to the water becoming contaminated.
Colchester County Council said that they support the campaign and are calling on visitors to remove their waste.