Tourists' Conflicting Needs at Honeypots: A Growing Problem

The purpose of this investigation is to explore the effects of tourism in a honeypot and test the following hypothesis:

Tourists cause problems at honeypots and their needs and desires conflict with those of other people.

The honeypot I have decided to study is Castleton village and the area surrounding it. Castleton is one of the many honeypots in the peak district national park.

I hope to prove during this investigation that tourism can have both positive and negative effects on the local environment, amenities, industry and population.

The sequence of this investigation

This investigation relates to the work in the GCSE Specification about the impact of tourism in National Parks, conflicts of interest between tourists and other groups and the problems that tourist can cause in honeypots.

In order to achieve the aims of this investigation and to test the hypothesis, the following activities were carried out:

1. An environmental survey

2. A traffic flow survey

3. A survey of facilities on Castleton's main street

The data from these surveys is presented and analysed in separate section of this investigation file.

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An evaluation of the work will conclude this investigation.

What is Tourism?

Tourism is defined by Webster's dictionary as, 'the practice of traveling for recreation.' Another more concise definition is "Leisure time activity generally defined as involving an overnight stay or more, away from home."

This affects the areas visited and the landscape, industry and amenities.

To produce the goods and services that attract and service tourist's needs requires inputs from many industries-agriculture, construction, manufacturing- and from both the public and private sector.

There are no clearly determined boundaries and no physical output like in a factory. So while many of the needs of tourists are standard e.g. somewhere to eat, drink, sit, buy souvenirs or use the toilet, many are unique to the area and the type of activity that occurs and the type of people it attracts e.g. walkers will support hiking and camping suppliers. A costal area would support beach shops.

What are Tourists?

Tourists are visitors to the area who travel there for lesure to enjoy the attractions secnary and activitys that caslton has to offer.

WHAT IS A HONEYPOT?

A honeypot is an area that attracts many tourists (just like a honeypot attracting bees!).There are three main types of honeypot defined according to the reason that they are attractive to tourists.

The first is a historical honeypot that has an historical interest. It attracts historians and tourists. Because of Peveril Castle and the old lead mines Castleton would count as a historical honeypot.

The second is a leisure honeypot that is a place where people can go to have fun or relax. It attracts many different people and Castleton would count because of the Speedwell and treak cliff caverns.

The third type is a physical honeypot is where an object or objects attract people's attention and makes them want to visit. Mountains are an example of physical honeypots, and the area around Castleton would count as a physical honeypot.

An environmental survey in the mam tor/Castleton area

Method and data collection

I conducted this type of survey so that I could see if there is more traffic going in to Castleton or towards Man Tor.

I filled my survey out by myself it was hard to keep count of the vehicles. I kept forgetting which way was which so in the end I decided to put arrows on the page to identify each way. By survey showed that there ere more vehicles going into Castleton village. But that could change depending on the time of day and the weather.

Next page for survey

Advantages of Tourism

* Income introduced into local area. money is spent in local shops and in local facilities.

* Tourism provides employment for local people and that sometimes prevents peole moveing away from the area to find work

* Increased interest in the area could lead to better protection of environment or other attracting features.

* Greater wealth in local area means a higher proportion of taxes available and therefore improved infrastructure.

Disadvantages of tourism in Castleton

* tourists asking the way to places and tourists asking to use caf� toilets and eventually this begins to irritate the locals.

* Locals are also worried about their safety at night because of the large number of tourists in Castleton.

* Some tourists put off by how busy the area is

* With so many people coming to these tourist destinations, the council has to take the extra rubbish generated to landfill sites

* Litter pollutes the place harms wild life and live stock looks ugly

* These walkers are slowly causing the paths to erode away.

* House prices for locals too expencive to buy on wages they can earn locally

Effects on the enviroment

Visual impact

People who come to visit see beautiful old cottages and rural villages landscapes don't want to see other walkers litter ect

Another negative visual impact is the amount of cars scattered around the village blocking out the natural beauty

Noise pollution

Noise pollution from cars and other transport can cause increased aggravation to the local residents and wildlife. So when you come away on holiday, you have to remember that people live there and they don't want sleepless nights because of the increase in noise pollution.

Acid rain kills plants which is caused by traffic pollution.

There is seasonal unemployment as most jobs are limited to the one season

Traditional ways of life have changed

Impact on farming park across gates block roads

Conflicts

The second major conflict that occurs in Castleton is between tourists themselves. This is because there are many different groups of tourists who want different things from Castleton. For example the walkers and some other groups want to see a quiet countryside. Therefore, they will not like the fact that Castleton is a busy honeypot

However, the county council is under pressure to allow further development because of the demand for homes and second holiday homes. So this is causing everywhere to be over developed increasing the likelihood of a more negative visual impact. However the council are trying to make these new homes fit in with the existing buildings.and so are partially aware of future problems

These activitys cause conflicks:

* Popular walking areas suffer from erosion. (see picture)

* Mountain bikes and horses spoil the landscape by churning up the grass into mud.

* Cars cause traffic jams at popular times and make air pollution.

* There are not enough parking spaces for cars so they have to park in the road and on grass.

* Tourists park in front of farmers' gates - blocking the farmers' entrance which annoys the local farming community.

* Conservationists are annoyed at damage to environment - flowers picked, erosion etc.

* Habitats destroyed for land to build car parks, hotels on.

* Impact on local industry cement works.

* popular walking areas suffer from erosion.

Some ways these conflicts could be avoided.

* Some roads completely closed and others can be closed except for local traffic.

* This makes it more pleasant for other tourists.

BUT people in the tourist industry lose out as if you have a shop on a busy road, it will get more trade than a shop on a road which is closed to traffic.

* Suggest Park and ride schemes can be set up to reduce congestion.

* Car park sizes can be increased but this takes up countryside.

* People can be educated e.g. signs: "please stick to footpaths".

* Limited building allowed.

Some of the attractions that draw tourists to Castleton

Castleton is situated at the head of the Hope Valley in the Peak District National Park it shelters beneath the Norman ruin of Peveril Castle and is overlooked by Mam Tor, topped by a Bronze and Iron Age hillfort and known as the `shivering mountain' because of its instability

Peveril Castle

Peveril Castle was founded by William Peverel, one of William the Conqueror's most trusted knights and it precedes the town below by about a hundred years. . The earliest parts now remaining are the north wall and part of the Chapel and Old Hall.

William Peverel's son inherited in 1114, along with other lands and estates including Bolsover, but he became involved in the civil war during King Stephen's reign and when Henry succeeded, he forfeited the castle at Peveril.

Henry visited Peveril, or the 'Castle of the Peak' as it was then known, on several occasions Simon de Montfort briefly owned Peveril, but it passed back to the Crown after his rebellion and death. Edward II didn't want the castle either, and granted it to his lover Piers Gaveston in 1308 and then to John de Warenne. King Edward III granted Peveril to his son John of Gaunt, which brought it into the vast estates of the Duchy of Lancaster.

By the early fifteenth century the castle had become too old fashioned for residence and obsolete in terms of defense, and was partly dismantled. Its decline continued and it is now cared for by English Heritage.

This is only a brief outline of the history of the castle but it gives a good indication of why it has become a tourist attraction.

Speedwell Cavern

Set at the foot of Winnats Pass, high above the village of Castleton, Speedwell Cavern takes you on an incredible underground boat journey.

Go down105 steps from the entrance to the landing stage of an underground canal where you step on to your boat. From here you glide quietly through the workings of a 200 year old lead mine. The mine opens into a network of natural caverns and underground rivers. 200 meters below the surface of the hill is a cavern containing the Bottomless Pita huge subterranean lake.

This is quite an unusual tourist attraction as it combines history, geology and geography with an underground boat trip which is very rare. So it makes it popular with ordinary tourists as well as with schools for educational trips.

Treak Cliff Cavern

Treak Cliff cavern is home to Blue John Stone, a rare form of Fluorite with beautiful colours. Popular as an ornamental stone and mined for 300 years it also has many Stalactites, Stalagmites, Rocks Minerals and Fossils. People of all ages can enjoy a visit to Treak Cliff Cavern. Special events are held at certain times during the year. Polish Your Own Blue John Stone is an activity usually available during most school holidays where you select, prepare and polish a slice of Blue John Stone to take home. This encourages schools as well as families to visit the caverns.

Blue john stone is found nowhere in the world but amongst the rocks of Treak Cliff Hill, Castleton The origin of the name 'Blue John' is thought to have come from the French 'bleu et jaune', meaning 'blue and yellow'. Treak Cliff Cavern is one of only two working Blue John Stone mines in the world and extracts approximately 1.5 tons per two years. The stone is now used for small decorative objects and jewellery.