In his latest message, Keswick’s mayor Cllr David Burn praised the town for its response to the coronavirus crisis and also thanked visitors for largely heeding advice to stay away over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
Cllr Burn said: “We had concerns last weekend that because of the forecast good weather, people would disregard the official advice to stay at home and would come to the Lake District over the Easter period.
“Allerdale Borough Council agreed to continue monitoring Keswick’s Central and Lakeside car parks and had staff on duty there over the whole weekend. No visitors tried to park at either car park. Neither were there any camper vans at Longbridge Lane or Church Lane – both of which have been hotspots in the recent past.
“Notwithstanding this good news, town councillors received reports that there were visitors in the town. Other matters such as cars parked on drives at known holiday properties were reported to the police and a suggestion was made to our largest supermarket that they may wish to ask for customers’ postcodes before admitting them to the store.
“On the whole, I think we can be satisfied that visitors are staying away. And all of the residents Elaine and I have met have been remarkably cheerful – everyone is friendly, polite and always ready for a chat – at a distance of course! Keswick’s response to our new way of life has been absolutely brilliant and this needs to continue for us to get through all of this as quickly as possible.”