Hiker outraged after witnessing destructive behavior at historic site: 'I've seen a few places I love ruined like this'

A hiker in Wales shared details from a hiking group indicating that it may have disrespected a historic site in the country while broadcasting on social media.

The original poster explained on the r/wildcampingintheuk subreddit that they had seen a hiking group's post about camping at a "certain old brickworks" and took a few screenshots of its seemingly bad behavior. The post shows the group lighting fires in old kilns, appearing to play loud music through a speaker, and "throwing alcohol around the site."

"Once a place ends up on social media it's the end." — Photo Credit: Reddit

"Now I appreciate [these] people may have cleaned up after themselves and this video may be an exaggeration of their activities, but all it's going to do is encourage other people to do the same thing meaning the site gets busier, messier and more damaged. The group has a fairly large instagram following and will inevitably influence others," the OP added.

"This is still disrespectful," a Redditor wrote in the comments. "It's an old site with historical value, they could have destroyed numerous things in the name of 'fun.'"

"Once a place ends up on social media it's the end," responded another user. "I've seen a few places I loved ruined like this."

The OP was also frustrated by the group's apparent lack of adherence to the "leave no trace" principle, which calls for leaving a place as you found it. They noted that the unnamed site already has problems with litter and graffiti.

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While people sharing their love and appreciation of nature on social media is generally good, it has the unfortunate downside of drawing in too many people who don't necessarily respect all that it offers.

It can also be dangerous. The Sierra Club shared a report from 2022 that indicated people are taking increasingly dangerous risks while hiking and camping to get social media attention or copy bad behavior shared across the internet. While there's the risk of human injury, there's also the potential for damage to the surroundings and wildlife, such as animals becoming too accustomed to humans and changing their behavior patterns.

While outdoor spaces such as the historic site shown in the post are for everyone, they are first meant for the wildlife and nature that exist around them. It's important to spread climate awareness and respect for nature to prevent unfortunate incidents from happening.

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