NC500 hate - and beyond.

[izwozral]

Relevant part starts at 33:00 minutes.

If you have never watched this family's videos, then just for context: They spend a lot of money in the local shops, visitor attractions, fuel, campsites, honesty boxes, restaurants and cafe's. They are also doing a charity litter pick on the beaches around the UK. For what it's worth, my opinion is that they are responsible vanners and don't deserve the hate they are subjected to.

 

[GeoffL]

AIUI, the hate mostly didn't come from the locals but from online trolls (including at least one from this parish). The locals seemed to be almost universally welcoming.

 

[alcam]

AIUI, the hate mostly didn't come from the locals but from online trolls (including at least one from this parish). The locals seemed to be almost universally welcoming.

Yea , the outright racism is embarrassing.
Haters will hate .

 

[Wooie1958]

25 plus years back when we first started going up and before the dreaded NC500 had been invented it was fantastic up there.

Very quiet roads, any other vehicles you met all observed the single track etiquette, and they all gave way to large vehicles coming up the hill, all the locals were extremely friendly and helpful and you could almost park anywhere you wanted, within reason.

Now it`s like a different world and the reason we stopped going up when we did.

 

[ProDave]

The NC500 suffers from that I call "National park syndrome"

I know it is not a national park, but what I mean if you give something a label like that, then people flock to it because it has a label it must be nice so we must go there. Which roughly translates to there are far too many people travelling it now, and at many times it is over crowded.

That leads to what were once responsibly used by a few as a stopover get banned from overnight parking etc, so the facilities become fewer.

 

[barryd]

Perhaps its because at one time it was so quiet and less visited there has been so much animosity. I can kind of understand it to some extent. Where I live is the second least populated district in England only beaten by Eden next door in Cumbria. I'm not sure how I would react if that got turned on its head and we were overrun with visitors in groups of sports cars, motorhomes, camper vans and tents.

That said I did for years try and fight our corner with reasonable suggestions on the "The land weeps" group on FB. Not sure if it did any good. I reckon a lot of the objectors (not all) were what some refer to as "White settlers" though.

 

[groyne]

Haven't really been up to the far north, since the NC 500's inception. But we did go over to Orkney last year, the locals are still mostly friendly.

 

[izwozral]

We recieved more hostility from locals in Southern Ireland when doing the Wild Atlantic Way than doing NC500.
With the NC500 it was anti MHers, in S. Ireland it was anti English.
Also received anti MHers dislike in England and Wales, plus anti English dislike in parts of Wales.
In all instances it was and is the minority.

Had to beat a hazy retreat from a country pub in S.Ireland once. Ordered a drink at the bar, barman totally ignored me and served someone else. Walked over in front of him, ordered again and he did the same thing, he turned away and served someone else. I called him out and asked if he had a problem with the English. Turned out that everyone in the bar did, as all went quiet, heads turned our way and some of them got up from their chairs.
We made hasty retreat at this point as I'm rather attached to my knee caps!

 

[Robmac]

We recieved more hostility from locals in Southern Ireland when doing the Wild Atlantic Way than doing NC500.
With the NC500 it was anti MHers, in S. Ireland it was anti English.
Also received anti MHers dislike in England and Wales, plus anti English dislike in parts of Wales.
In all instances it was and is the minority.

Had to beat a hazy retreat from a country pub in S.Ireland once. Ordered a drink at the bar, barman totally ignored me and served someone else. Walked over in front of him, ordered again and he did the same thing, he turned away and served someone else. I called him out and asked if he had a problem with the English. Turned out that everyone in the bar did, as all went quiet, heads turned our way and some of them got up from their chairs.
We made hasty retreat at this point as I'm rather attached to my knee caps!

I got called an English Bastud by a young girl in a bar in Kilkenny once, I asked her what her problem was and she replied "Remember 1916?" I said "I'm sure you fekkin don't"

 

[barryd]

I never had any bother in Ireland north or south but I've not been for 25 years. Used to go a lot for holidays and then later with work.

We had some fantastic "fishing" holidays there in my late teens and early 20s. Big group of us. However I do remember one situation that I perhaps should have been more concerned about than I was at the time. We befriended a load of teenage girls (as you do on any good fishing holiday) and me and a couple of the lads got invited to one of their houses for a bit of a party one afternoon. So we turfed up in our 1967 Commer Caravanette to this fabulous country house. We had a great afternoon but I remember asking the girl who lived there what her father did and what would he do if he found out she was entertaining the likes of us in his country house.

Oh she said he imports stuff from the USA and Africa and moves it over the border and if he found out you English lads were here he would probably shoot you.

Thankfully I never got to meet him but I still have the guitar music book I had with me with that one of them signed with a nice message.

 

[trevskoda]

I got called an English Bastud by a young girl in a bar in Kilkenny once, I asked her what her problem was and she replied "Remember 1916?" I said "I'm sure you fekkin don't"

Years back in a grub pub down south i was refussed service as i was from the black north as they call it.
No idea what gave them that idea.

 

[Robmac]

I never had any bother in Ireland north or south but I've not been for 25 years. Used to go a lot for holidays and then later with work.

We had some fantastic "fishing" holidays there in my late teens and early 20s. Big group of us. However I do remember one situation that I perhaps should have been more concerned about than I was at the time. We befriended a load of teenage girls (as you do on any good fishing holiday) and me and a couple of the lads got invited to one of their houses for a bit of a party one afternoon. So we turfed up in our 1967 Commer Caravanette to this fabulous country house. We had a great afternoon but I remember asking the girl who lived there what her father did and what would he do if he found out she was entertaining the likes of us in his country house.

Oh she said he imports stuff from the USA and Africa and moves it over the border and if he found out you English lads were here he would probably shoot you.

Thankfully I never got to meet him but I still have the guitar music book I had with me with that one of them signed with a nice message.

There were about a dozen of us English in the pub in Kilkenny, mostly big, tattooed, ugly doormen who normally you wouldn't mess with.

We started off well with the locals, playing Pool and having a bit of banter, but as the afternoon went on and more alcohol was consumed the atmosphere changed and they started singing rebel songs.

When the young girl (about 18) said that to me, they all got up as did my mates and the landlord intervened. He basically said "Look, you're all big lads and you could undoubtedly do this lot, but then you'd suddenly have a hundred or so of their mates down here and you'll get badly hurt so for your own safety I advise that you leave now" - we did!

We got abuse in 3 other pubs that night but nothing as serious, we probably attracted it because we were in a group.

 

[trevskoda]

More likley tp get into trouble going into the wrong pup in the north if you kick with the wrong foot as they say here, hence i dont do pubs.

 

[Boris7]

I can see you in a group Rob. You Shane and the boys

 

[rugbyken]

my dads family is from malahide i hadn’t been there for 5-6 years when i was posted to antrim in 71 had a weekend of and went down visiting had a great first night but next morning my uncle had a knock on the door and was told if the young feller staying is Bobs lad you better get him back up north pronto

 

[trevskoda]

Pity they cannot sort there heads up north or down south, times have changed and we all require to move on, i cant be bothered with any of it.

 

[Boris7]

Pity they cannot sort there heads up north or down south, times have changed and we all require to move on, i cant be bothered with any of it.

He don’t say much, but when he does he’s right.

 

[Robmac]

He don’t say much, but when he does he’s right.

Don't be ridiculous Kev!

 

[Boris7]

Don't be ridiculous Kev!

Ok he doesn’t say much that’s relevant, but when he does he’s right

 

[jann]

Always felt welcome in Ireland