Latest news with #Bampton
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Our village was made famous by huge TV show – now busloads of brash tourists block our driveways… nowhere's off-limits
RESIDENTS of a town made famous by a hit TV show have hit out at brazen tourists who peer through their windows and block their driveways. Bampton in Oxfordshire was made famous by the hit period piece with several locations across the village used in filming. 5 5 Locals have said the town, which features in Downton Abbey, has become a magnet for tourism and now attracts thousands of brash visitors a year. Some residents told the Telegraph that the tourism has made them a small fortune and helped to improve local amenities. Others have slammed the tourists, demanding their quant village be freed of "brash American accents." Residents of Bampton have told horror stories of their encounters with tourists. Locals have been subjected to selfie-sticks appearing at bedroom windows, tourists wandering into their back gardens and buses blocking up narrow streets. Guided tours of the village are offered to fans of the hit show with some charging as much as £500. Busloads of fans are taken around the small village to visit filming locations made famous by the British drama series. Local shop owners have claimed at one point they were making £1,000 a day from the tourists. The thousands of pounds raised from visiting TV fans has been used to fund renovation works to buildings. Local services have also been improved using the massive wealth brought into the community. Despite all this locals still hit out saying they've had enough of nosey tourists peering in their windows and obstructing their driveways. One resident told The Telegraph: "My friend overheard a tour guide say that Bampton was nothing before Downton Abbey. "Let me tell you – Bampton was a beautiful, expensive place to live long beforehand." 'I live on the main square and they often stand in my driveway. They just go everywhere.' The small village was used for several scenes in the hit show which ended ten years ago. 5 5 5 Even though it has been a decade since the last episode of the original series was aired tourists still flock to Bampton. Locations including St Mary's Church and the Manor House, home to Mrs Crawley in the show, can be found in the small village. The main set for the historical drama, Highclere Castle, is forty miles away. The tiny village has a population of just 2,500 and plays host to two coffee shops, a butcher, a deli, a charity shop, an art gallery, antique store and garden centre. Residents claim that visitors spend most of their time and money in a few select locations, bringing no benefit to the rest of the town. A resident told The Telegraph: "They contribute to the library, but apart from that they don't have enough time. 'We are better off with individual travellers, with families in cars – not the buses. There's so much more to Bampton than Downton Abbey.' The Community Hub receives shedloads of support but according to locals the other shops and businesses are left to fend for themselves.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Village divided over Downton Abbey tourism boom: Locals where hit show is filmed hit out at visitors with 'brash American accents' - but others admit series has made them a 'small fortune'
Angry villagers have hit out at Downton Abbey fans with 'brash American accents' for invading their rural idyll - while conceding the show has brought in a 'small fortune'. Residents in Bampton in Oxfordshire, used in filming for many of the period drama's scenes both on the small and big screen, have been speaking out about its impact. Some have welcomed the lucrative money from tourists flocking to the place used as an outdoor location standing in for the fictional community of Downton. The franchise was created and written by Julian Fellowes, featuring stars including Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Elizabeth McGovern, Dame Imelda Staunton and the late Dame Maggie Smith. Others, however, are more critical about being 'over-run' by visitors who 'stand on their drives' and annoy with their noise when turning up to pay tribute to the location. Downton Abbey ran for six series between 2010 and 2015, on ITV in the UK and PBS in the US, and has also been adapted for movies. The third silver screen instalment The Grand Finale scheduled for release this September. The series began filming in Bampton's cobbled streets in 2010 - and soon made the village a magnet for tourists from across the world. The boom in visitors has split the village - with some locals crediting it for generating a 'small fortune' from 'old biddies stuffed with cash' buying merchandise - with the money used to improve local buildings and services. But other residents of the quaint village say they want their 'front drives free from brash American accents'. Busloads of US visitors, fascinated by the historical drama's depiction of early 20th century Britain, often come armed with cameras and selfie sticks to Bampton. They tour sites such St Mary's Church, which hosts weddings, christenings and funerals in the show's fictional village. Sightseers choosing to take a guided tour around Bampton and other Downton Abbey locations can be set back as much as £500 each. One elderly volunteer at Bampton Community Hub, used to depict the Downton Cottage Hospital on screen, has now told how the charity's not-for-profit shop was at one point making £1,000 a day from visitors. It sells a range of Downton goods - including books, snow globes and hats - and has a life-size cut-out of Bonneville, 61, who plays Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham. The volunteer said: 'It has made us a small fortune. Hundreds of thousands of pounds - we've had thousands and thousands and thousands of visitors.' Its popularity with visitors has helped the community fund reconstruction of its buildings, including the Old Grammar School. And those welcoming the boosts say the Downton effect has helped improve services such as a village library, an exhibition space and a community archive. The volunteer added: 'It is mostly Americans. The elderly ladies helping run the little shop at first didn't know what to do with all the dollars and other foreign currencies that began filling the till. 'It saved our library. It enabled us to restore the interior building. Upstairs we have a social hub - we do events free of charge for the villagers.' Other Bampton locals, however, are more critical of the town's association with the long-running franchise. Fabrizio Manerba, 62, said: 'My friend overheard a tour guide say that Bampton was nothing before Downton Abbey. 'Let me tell you - Bampton was a beautiful, expensive place to live long beforehand.' Mr Manerba described busloads of tourists arriving whatever the weather, adding: 'I live on the main square and they often stand in my driveway - they just go everywhere.' Di O'Brien, 73, described tourists coming 'at all times' with about 10 buses arriving per da at the town's peak popularity, with visitors lingering and posing for photographs. The local Post Office's owner Pankaj Grover, 40, attempted to downplay any tensions, saying: 'If someone comes in and asks me about Downton, I send them to the Community Hub. I'm not a competitor.' Describing his experience of moving to Bampton several months ago, Mr Grover also told of feeling 'surprised by the togetherness the village has'. He added: 'We are all one community,' he said, adding: 'They work for each other here. As the world gets more selfish, it's so surprising to find a village like this.' But across the road, Lynn Shuker, who works at Arthur's Attic antiques, said that while the Community Hub was making 'lots of money', the tourist hordes did less for local shops' fortunes. She said: 'They contribute to the library, but apart from that they don't have enough time. We are better off with individual travellers, with families in cars - not the buses.' And she insisted: 'There's so much more to Bampton than Downton Abbey.' Other locals said they preferred to keep out of the arguments over the show's impact and were more amused by all the fuss being made over the village. Amy Joyce, 33, and Lesley Pearce, 66, admitted to not watching the show and said: 'It's like us going down to London, I suppose - but in London you could go and see Tower Bridge.' Tanya Newland, 54, a resident born and raised in Bampton, meanwhile highlighted how there were opportunities to revel in the glamour of Downton's production sets. She was cast as an extra during the filming of some scenes, recalling: 'I was a villager. I had my hair done in ringlets and had make-up put on. 'I love the elegance behind the show, which I think we have lost in modern society - it was a lovely experience'. Among recent visitors to Bampton has been 65-year-old Kay Frith, 65, from York - almost 200 miles north of the Oxfordshire village. She told of being an avid Downton Abbey fan, with her favourite character being Lady Mary Crawley who is portrayed by Michelle Dockery, 43. Ms Frith said: 'She's feisty but also a bit cool and cold. She builds a wall around herself to protect herself. And she said of the show: 'It's a little bit of escapism, going back to a slower pace of life.' Locals in Bampton are not the only ones affected by visitors inspired by TV series and films such as the Downton Abbey instalments. The main venue used as the home in the series is, in real life, Grade I listed Highclere Castle in Hampshire, a sprawling manor and 5,000-acre estate owned by Lord and Lady Carnarvon. Stately homes across Britain have been experiencing surges in visitor interest off the back of programmes such as the hit Netflix show Bridgerton - with Google searches for its locations such as in west London, Berkshire and Hertfordshire shooting up by 23 per cent in 2022. Another venue that has hit the big screen - and then attracted viewers visiting in their multitudes - has been Drayton House in Northamptonshire, a focal point in 2023 movie Saltburn. Many rushed to the British countryside to take in the real 'Saltburn Mansion' featured in the film starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant and Carey Mulligan. Yet film fans now visiting the manor told of being let down to discover some of the most eye-catching rooms were not open to the public. Out of bounds is the bathroom which features in a key and controversial scene, when Keoghan's Oliver spies on Elordi's character Felix Catton having a bath, before enjoying himself in the empty tub as the water drains away. Other settings include rooms featured in the full-frontal final scene showing Keoghan's character Oliver Quick gyrating naked through the mansion to the sound of Sophie Ellis-Bextor's hit single Murder On The Dancefloor. Enthusiasts descended on Drayton House and the nearby town of Lowick, even though the stately home - owned by the Sackville family - is not generally open to the public. Yet select groups of locals have been offered tours - while many more fans flocked to the area to approach the grounds and admire the views. Among those managing to get inside was Maddie Bowness, 21, who worked at the Snooty Fox and met Fennell when cast and crew would stop in. She visited the mansion with her friends Jasmine Murray, 24, and 26-year-old Sally-Anne Harrison. Maddie, an art student from Lowick, said in January last year: 'I grew up in the village and it is amazing how much traffic the film has brought to the area. 'At the time of filming, a few of my friends were cast as extras and they had such a fun time. 'I was working in the village pub at the time and met a lot of the crew and some of the cast. Everyone in the village had positive things to say about it.' It is not just appearances in period dramas that can attract hordes of visitors to some of Britain's idyllic settings. The outdoor designer outlet retail centre of Bicester Village in Oxfordshire, which is marking its 30th anniversary, pulls in 7.3million shoppers every year. Many of them are big spenders from China lured in by bargain deals on big luxury brands, Mandarin-speaking staff and easy rail access from London.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘Starring in Downton has made our village a small fortune'
Residents in the village where Downton Abbey is filmed have claimed the hit TV show has made it a 'small fortune'. Bampton in Oxfordshire has served as an outdoor location for the fictional community of Downton since 2010, becoming a magnet for tourists from around the world. The tourism boom has divided the village, with some saying it has generated a 'small fortune' that has helped to improve local buildings and services. But others say they want their 'front drives free from brash American accents'. Fans fascinated by the historical drama can pay as much as £500 each for a guided tour around Bampton and other Downton Abbey filming locations, and they often flock to St Mary's Church, which hosts weddings, christenings and funerals in the show's fictional village. One elderly volunteer at Bampton Community Hub, used to depict the Downton Cottage Hospital, claimed that at one point their charity shop was making £1,000 a day from visitors. The volunteer, who did not want to be named, said: 'It has made us a small fortune. Hundreds of thousands of pounds – we've had thousands and thousands and thousands of visitors'. The popularity with visitors has helped the community fund renovation work to buildings including the Old Grammar School and improve services such as a village library, an exhibition space and a community archive. The volunteer added: 'It is mostly Americans, the elderly ladies helping run the little shop at first didn't know what to do with all the dollars and other foreign currencies that began filling the till. ' It saved our library. Upstairs we have a social hub, we do events free of charge for the villagers.' Other Bampton villagers, however, are more sceptical of the town's association with the franchise. Fabrizio Manerba, 62, said: 'My friend overheard a tour guide say that Bampton was nothing before Downton Abbey. Let me tell you – Bampton was a beautiful, expensive place to live long beforehand.'' Mr Manerba described busloads of tourists arriving whatever the weather, saying: 'I live on the main square and they often stand in my driveway. They just go everywhere.' Lynn Shuker, who works at an antiques store in Bampton, said the busloads of tourists might support the Community Hub, but they don't contribute to other shops. She said: 'They contribute to the library, but apart from that they don't have enough time. 'We are better off with individual travellers, with families in cars – not the buses. There's so much more to Bampton than Downton Abbey.'
Miami Herald
25-03-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Pregnant sea creature trapped under driftwood for hours in Australia. Then came rescue
A bird survey in a northern park of Australia turned into an essential rescue after rangers spotted a critically endangered sea creature trapped under driftwood. Rangers were conducting surveys of crested terns and lesser crested terns on Womer Cay, a tiny plot of land in the northern region of the Great Barrier Reef, when they spotted a sea turtle under a piece of wood, according to a March 21 news release from the country's Department of the Environment, Science, Tourism and Innovation. As they got closer, rangers saw that it was a female hawksbill turtle, a critically endangered species, according to the department. The turtle was likely trying to make her way up the shore to lay eggs, rangers said, but had become stuck under the driftwood. Sea turtles come to shore to lay their eggs at night, so when rangers approached the female turtle at 11 a.m, she had likely been trapped for hours, according to the release. 'Thankfully she was spotted and ranger Joman Tomasello carefully removed her from the log and carried her to the ocean,' ranger Katie Bampton said in the release. 'She would've been stuck for hours and due to the very hot conditions, we believe she wouldn't have survived much longer.' Tomasello carried the pregnant sea turtle close to the edge of the water and let her return to the sea on her own accord, Bampton said. 'When she was placed in front of the ocean, she took a little bit of time to get moving but eventually swam away,' Bampton said in the release. 'The water would've felt so good, and we're hoping she returned that evening to come ashore and lay a clutch of eggs.' Rangers said they identified track marks from other female hawksbill turtles and pits of sand where clutches had been laid. 'The rangers who were on that trip are thrilled that we were able to rescue her and send her on her way. These small cays in the Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are remote but they are extremely important for bird life and turtles,' Bampton said in the release. Hawksbill turtles have sharp, pointed beaks and are known for being 'small but fast swimmers,' according to the release. Females nest four times per season and can lay as many as 140 eggs, rangers said. They can travel thousands of miles between where they nest, like Womer Cay, and the reefs where they feed. Hawksbill turtles are a critically endangered species that can be found across the warm waters of Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' Red List of Threatened Species. As many as 8,000 hawksbills nest on the northwestern coast of Australia and near the Great Barrier Reef, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 'Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered due to the impacts of climate change, accidental capture in fishing equipment and reef habitat destruction,' rangers said in the release. Womer Cay is off the northern coast of Queensland, Australia's northeastern territory.
