Winnats Pass – Popular Peak District beauty spot rammed with traffic and ‘bonkers’ parking
Winnats Pass in the Peak District was left gridlocked yesterday. Credit: TikTok @sturgelucy
One of the Peak District’s most popular destinations was left completely gridlocked over the Easter weekend.
Winnats Pass is beautiful limestone gorge near Castleton village, which makes for one of the UK’s best drives – usually.
But videos and photos from the bank holiday weekend show this pretty corner of the Peaks brought to a standstill by ‘bonkers’ parking.
Visitors reported seeing cars parked in grass verges, blocking so much of Winnats Pass that it became only passable in one direction.
The area quickly became completely gridlocked due to the ‘idiot parking’.
One person even joked that it should be renamed ‘Winnats shall not Pass’ instead.
Peak Travel Watch shared on Saturday evening: “Winnats Pass gridlocked at the top due to parked cars and queues almost the way down. Avoid!”
Another video shared with The Manc showed ‘crazy Peak District traffic’ with cars filling the narrow country lanes.
One person remarked: “Drove by earlier with cars parked everywhere on the verges with dozens and dozens slapped with parking tickets. Bonkers behaviour.”
Another said: “It was completely nuts here today. Wish I took a photo of winnats pass. Idiot parking brought the whole area to a standstill. Fair Holmes and all the car parks were full by 9.15 at Ladybower. I’m getting out early tomorrow morning. Hopefully they forget to change their clock.”
Someone else joked: “Should have gone to the off-peak district.”
And one person shared: “This is why I don’t go anywhere on bank hol weekends. Buxton was rammed today; I missed an appt because I couldn’t get parking. Still, it’s good for local business which makes me happy.”
One person who got stuck in the traffic chaos near Winnats Pass said: “I visited for the duck race today with my 2 boys and I was so shocked at the place people were using to park, the road just before winnats pass was gridlocked both sides.
“It truly is a beautiful place to visit on any day but why can’t people park responsibly. The grass verges were been torn up by people parking. On leaving winnats was a no go zone had to go home via Bradwell, I feel for the residents if it’s like that every weekend.”
And one local said: “Just a normal weekend then! Preach about how good it is, they will come! Cant blame them really its a beautiful place and lots of people want to see it.”
Elsewhere in the Peak District, the A57 Snake Pass was closed following a horror crash between a motorbike and a car that left a man dead.
Officers are still appealing for witnesses to that crash to come forward, particularly with dashcam footage.
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Featured image: TikTok, @sturgelucy