It has been hailed by Forbes magazine as the 'world's most beautiful village' - but there is growing unrest among the residents of sleepy Bibury that their once peaceful home has become more akin to a 'theme park'.
asserted
home → hail → park
Fed-up villagers say they are being driven to despair by hordes of visitors who appear to believe their historic homes are part of a Disney-style attraction.
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homes → feed → attraction
In one extraordinary incident, a family reportedly sat down for a picnic in the front garden of a cottage on the Cotswold village's famous Arlington Row.
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family → sit → Row
Other tourists have allegedly walked straight into people's homes, peered through their windows and hammered on doors, while one visitor even pushed stones through a letterbox in an apparent attempt to provoke a reaction from the resident inside.
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visitor → walk → resident
Locals say they are routinely photographed in their own living rooms, with visitors climbing over garden walls, opening gates and posing for selfies on private property.
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visitors → say → property
And the situation has become so intolerable that at least one resident is now moving out.
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resident → become → ?
All this misery is unfolding in a part of Gloucestershire where a small community of just 600 people are expected to live.
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community → unfold → people
Bibury has become a victim of its own success - a magnet for tourists from across the globe, with reports that as many as 20,000 visitors descend on it in a single day during peak periods.
But while the crowds flock to admire its honey-coloured cottages and idyllic countryside, those who actually live there say their village is being 'loved to death'.
Fed-up villagers in Bibury, Gloucestershire, say they are being driven to despair by hordes of visitors who appear to believe their historic homes are part of a Disney-style attraction.
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homes → become → attraction
Pictured: One tourist standing in someone's doorway for a picture
Coach loads of tourists file into the tiny village everyday to see the picturesque views
When the Daily Mail visited on Sunday, one woman was spotted staging a Disney-style wedding photoshoot on Arlington Row
This is unfolding in a village of just 600 people which has become a magnet for tourists from across the globe, with reports suggesting as many as 20,000 visitors descend on it in a single day during peak periods
Michelle Follett-Holt, chair of a local heritage group, told the Daily Mail: 'Disneyfication is a term we regularly use in Bibury.
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we → picture → Bibury
People come from across the world and they genuinely believe the village is a theme park.
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village → come → world
There is a growing failure to distinguish between a picturesque tourist destination and a living, residential community.'
The village's popularity soared further after Forbes magazine named it the most beautiful village in the world last year.
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magazine → be → world
Its famous Arlington Row, a collection of historic weavers' cottages, has become one of Britain's most photographed streets, attracting coachloads of visitors eager to capture the perfect Instagram picture.
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Row → become → picture
But residents say the obsession with social media has created the impression that the village is a film set rather than somewhere people actually live.
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people → say → impression
When the Daily Mail visited on Sunday, one woman was spotted staging a Disney-style wedding photoshoot on Arlington Row.
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woman → visit → Row
Nearby, two young Indian men were filming a Bollywood-style video, with one appearing to emerge from a cottage as though it were his own home.
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it → film → cottage
Local resident Philippa Curtis said: 'They think they're in a theme park rather than a real, living community.
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they → say → community
They are surprised that Arlington Row houses are actually lived in.'
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houses → live → ?
She added: 'Bibury features extensively on social media.
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Bibury → add → media
This of course is a very image-driven environment and the pictures used present and promote a very idealised (and quiet) version of Bibury.
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pictures → drive → Bibury
'All these sites and postings effectively result in Bibury being presented as something of a theme park.'
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Bibury → result → park
Steve Morton, who runs a local Facebook group dedicated to the village's tourism and traffic problems, said some visitors even assume residents are being paid to dress up and live in the cottages.
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residents → run → cottages
He told the Mail: 'Residents living in Arlington Row are often asked daft questions.
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Residents → tell → questions
My neighbour Brian Skarda - who is moving out due to tourists making his life a misery - is regularly asked 'how much do you get paid to work here?''
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you → move → much
Enormous tourist coaches regularly clog the village's narrow lanes, with concerns that heavy vehicles are damaging its historic Swan Bridge
Residents say the obsession with social media has created the impression that the village is a film set rather than somewhere people actually live.
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people → clog → impression
Steve Morton, who runs a local Facebook group dedicated to the village's tourism and traffic problems, said some visitors even assume residents are being paid to dress up and live in the cottages
One tourist takes a selfie on the bridge as she takes in the beautiful views of the Cotswold village
Another resident said some visitors are left disappointed when they discover there is no attraction to explore beyond the famous cottages.
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they → run → cottages
It is true that too many tourists think Bibury is a National Trust village.
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Bibury → think → ?
In fact, TripAdvisor mistakenly said that.
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TripAdvisor → say → that
However the question many tourists expecting more of a Disney experience now ask residents, is 'Is this all there is?' so they are clearly disappointed.
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they → expect → residents
The phrase 'Bibury is being loved to death' is being used more and more.
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Bibury → love → death
And it is not just residents' privacy that is suffering.
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that → suffer → ?
Last week, Bibury Parish Council announced plans to fence off sections of the River Coln after tourists spent the summer paddling, swimming and even setting up deckchairs in the water.
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tourists → announce → water
Visitors have also been accused of building makeshift dams, leaving food waste and dumping dirty nappies, prompting fears for the river's swans, ducks, fish and other wildlife.
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Visitors → accuse → swans
Meanwhile, enormous tourist coaches regularly clog the village's narrow lanes, with concerns that heavy vehicles are damaging its historic Swan Bridge.
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vehicles → clog → Bridge
The ancient crossing has suffered deterioration and is now subject to weekly inspections, according to Ms Follett-Holt.
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crossing → suffer → Holt
The growing crisis has left residents bitterly divided over how to save their village.
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crisis → grow → village
One proposal would see a huge car and coach park built on the outskirts of Bibury, allowing visitors to be ferried into the centre rather than bringing traffic through its narrow streets.
But opponents fear that creating more parking spaces would simply encourage even greater numbers of tourists to descend on the village.
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creating → see → village
The disagreement has already sparked a bitter row between residents and local businesses.
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disagreement → spark → residents
Angus Hay, who runs the popular Bibury Trout Farm, has been pushing for additional parking facilities and believes the village must accept that tourists are not going to disappear.
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tourists → run → facilities
Mr Hay told the Mail: 'It's always been a very touristy village.
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It → tell → Mail
The whole country and the world has a problem with there being too many people.
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country → have → problem
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
