Residents of Britain’s ‘most beautiful village’ are being driven out of their homes by ‘entitled’ tourists blocking roads and sneaking photos through letterboxes.

Known for its 17th-century terrace of weavers’ cottages, which have featured in films like Stardust and Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bibury in Gloucestershire can attract up to 20,000 visitors on weekends – more than 30 times its ordinary population.

The Cotswolds village dates back to the Iron Age and in 1880 it was dubbed by William Morris as ‘the most beautiful village in England’. 

But with coaches of day trippers navigating narrow roads, the rise in tourists has led to traffic congestion, parking disputes and gridlocks.

The increase in visitors is partly driven by so-called influencers promoting the tiny village with a population of 600 as an idyllic destination.

Locals also complain of tourists walking through their homes and enjoying picnics in their gardens, with some having put up ‘private, no entry’ signs translated into Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

It has caused such frustrations that for Brian Skarda, a parish councillor in nearby Cirencester, wrote in the village newsletter that he and his wife, Jill, were leaving after 14 years. 

He said they put up with ‘door banging, window peeping and general interference in our private lives’ from swathes of tourists coming off coaches.

Residents of Bibury in Gloucestershire are being driven out of their homes by ‘entitled’ tourists blocking roads and sneaking photos through letterboxes

Tourists line up to take photos of the beautiful Cotswolds village

Frustrated owners of gorgeous stone cottages are furious and claim coaches stop in the middle of the road to dump tourists outside of their doors to take photos

For much of the year, residents claim Bibury is overrun by coaches bringing thousands of people into the tiny community

Mr Skarda said: ‘More inconsiderate and the sheer numbers of tourists this year have meant that, on occasions, we have virtually been unable to get out of our front door or move our car along the row.

‘This is a beautiful village and, sadly, it is being ruined by the very people who come to see it,’ he said.

The councillor added homes are being used for social media content.

Victoria Summerley, 70, told The Times she suspects the couple are leaving after ‘a hand came through the letterbox holding a phone so they could film inside.’

Speaking of her own experience, she said she once sprayed an ‘entitled’ driver with her hose through his window because he was blocking the drive while waiting for visitors. 

‘I sprayed him through the window and he burst into tears… His attitude was so offensive I thought it would teach him a lesson,’ she said. 

Frustrated owners of gorgeous stone cottages are furious and claim coaches stop in the middle of the road to dump tourists outside of their doors.

They then line up and take photographs outside of people’s homes before moving on.

Ms Summerley added that she once experienced a Chinese tourist empty a bag of rubbish into her wheelie bin.

Claire Perrin, 64, said: ‘It’s crazy and we just feel like it’s not going to change because it’s the age of Instagram… It makes you question staying here.’

Bibury, Gloucestershire, was once described by 19th Century writer William Morris as the ‘most beautiful village in England’ (file pic)

A couple pose for a shot in the picture perfect Cotswolds village – but locals are less than impressed by the thousands that come to visit

The increase in visitors is partly driven by so-called influencers promoting the tiny villages with a population of 600 as an idyllic destination

Japanese tourists have also flocked to Bibury after the future Emperor Hirohito, then the Crown Prince, visited in 1921 and called it “one of the happiest” times of his life.

There has also been a surge in middle-class Chinese tourists who say they’ve travelled across the world after seeing Bibury posted on Chinese Instagram.

The parish council wants there to be a limit on the huge daily coaches that come in, but locals don’t have much hope for any regulation.

Last year, Bibury villagers called for action and formed a working group that included councillors and the police, which saw Gloucestershire County Council announce plans to tackle the problem.

A trial scheme was implemented in May 2025, which temporarily closed existing coach bays and created designated, safer drop-off and pick-up points for coaches.

But the plans have not been permanently implemented since the trial.