Tibbie Shiels Inn: Campers 'unable to visit Magaluf' trash rural Scottish beauty spot

Campers 'unable to visit Magaluf' have trashed a rural beauty spot causing havoc by terrorising neighbours amid fears it could spark a second wave of coronavirus.

For years literary buffs have flocked to Tibbie Shiels Inn in Selkirk, Scottish Borders, which was once a boozer popular with Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and William Wordsworth.

But with foreign holidays in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic, visitors more at home in Magaluf have turned up armed with crates of lager and tents and partied until 5am non-stop since two weeks before the five-mile restriction was lifted.

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Cops have repeatedly been called to problem sites, near St Mary's Loch and the Loch o' the Lowes, and Cafe Green, a former picnic green which has been inundated with campers pitching up since the start of July.

For years literary buffs have flocked to Tibbie Shiels Inn in Selkirk, Scottish Borders, which was once a boozer popular with Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and William Wordsworth.For years literary buffs have flocked to Tibbie Shiels Inn in Selkirk, Scottish Borders, which was once a boozer popular with Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and William Wordsworth.
For years literary buffs have flocked to Tibbie Shiels Inn in Selkirk, Scottish Borders, which was once a boozer popular with Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and William Wordsworth.

Shocking scenes reminiscent of a music festival have become common in the rural spot, with a lack of social distancing and around 1,000 people a day visiting and 100 campers.

Neighbour Alistair Moody, 48, compared it to the novel Lord of the Flies and said he feared unless authorities stepped in, it would become the epicentre of a second wave of coronavirus.

Alistair, who owns the Tibbie Shiels Inn and made the decision to cancel all booking at holiday lets and a campsite he owns, losing thousands of pounds due to the chaos and noise, has no idea when he will be able to open up.

He said: "People have been camping here since two weeks before the lockdown was lifted.

"I have had people swinging on the gate and acting like they are in Magaluf.

"We had our first guests stay who left because they said they couldn't sleep due to all the noise at 5am.

"I had to help one man who was so drunk he was lying in the middle of the road, while all his friends who were also drunk got into their cars and drove off.

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"People are coming from all over Britain here, with no social distancing, it is a public health disaster, hundreds of bikers came up from England the other week.

"They are using the land as a toilet and been quite aggressive when spoken to about their actions, it is becoming like Lord of the Flies.

"We are trying to run a business, we should have been able to open on July 15 and we can't because of this.

"People round here have called police numerous times but the problem has been non-stop.

"It's a beautiful part of the world but we have no idea when this will end, we haven't left our house unattended for three months because we will come back and find people parked all over our land or picnicking."

He and wife Eleanor, 39, had been looking forward to welcoming guests from August 1 but have no idea when it will be feasible due to the campers.

Alistair, who moved to Scotland from London, feared no attempt at collecting contact details from campers was being made and said the squalid mess put lives at risk.

He said: "What is occurring on the green meets the criteria for Track and Trace to be required.

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"People are camping and using shared facilities, they are not paying but the guidance is clear.

"It is a covid risk.

"They are camping in close proximity using public toilets which aren't being cleaned at night.

"We are trying to run a commercial campsite, it is unbelievable.

"We are desperately sorry for the folk who are trying to run a cafe, we feel we are under siege.

"It is a massive risk and there are no benefits, we are at risk from all these people coming here.

"It's carnage."

Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.

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