The idea: to encourage people to spend their money on locally produced food, goods and services instead of going off to the towns and cities and giving it to national combines.

Now this is not all that new either: many rural bodies have been urging locals to use their village shops, restaurants and pubs for some years as these invaluable businesses began to close in their scores.

However, foot and mouth had added a new urgency to the situation and unless the Dales are to be stripped bare of such amenities, we are - to steal a phrase - "drinking in the Last Chance Saloon."

So now is the time to get in one of my pet hates: the weekend cottagers or holiday home users who arrive in our midst laden to the gunnels of their 4x4s with bags of food, wine and other luxuries from Sainsbury's and the like as though they were stocking a log cabin for a Canadian winter.

These good people would argue, no doubt, that there are "essential luxuries" that they just cannot buy in the village shop or wines they cannot get over the counter of the village pub. And no doubt they are right.

So many of these people enjoy our countryside, our wildlife and perhaps some of our country sports without spending a pound with local tradesmen. Our good real ales, sturdy steaks and wonderful local lamb are not to their big city tastes.

This lack of vision, this disregard of the needs of the fragile communities they use but do not support, is yet another blow to villages where more and more homes are left empty for much of the year.

To them this weekend, I urge: get your hands down. You never know, you might even enjoy yourselves!

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Comments

I read with annoyance your article re weekend visitors. My wife and I have booked a weekend in Yorkshire - our first visit "up North". We were tempted by the the warm welcome we were hoping to get from the "friendly" Northerners, together with the beautiful countryside and local produce.

Contrary to what your article insinuated, we won't be arriving in a 4x4. On the contrary, with three children and a living to make of our own we couldn't afford such luxuries. We have saved hard to visit "your" countryside and had every intention of eating out in local pubs and spending our money on local interests and services. Indeed, we are far from city types. We live in a small town on the outskirts of Leicestershire. Your article did offend me somewhat, and I hope that your views of visitors to Yorkshire are not representative of all of the people living there. Or perhaps you would rather visitors stayed away so that you can keep your countryside and village trades to yourselves?

Regards

Anonymous

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John Sheard replies:

Our reader is exactly NOT the type of visitor I was criticising: he is, in fact, just the type we want. I hope that the trip will be a pleasant break for him and his family and I am sure that they will receive a warm welcome from "us Northerners." Have a good break!