A FAMILY have been inundated with tourists travelling up their driveway due to a series of mapping errors.
Nickie Hough says people have been taking the wrong turn as they try to get to Gibson’s Cave, in upper Teesdale, instead of heading into Bowless visitor centre and the car park. Ms Hough says motorists driving from Middleton-in-Teesdale turn off the B6277 road too early and have been travelling on the single-track private driveway to her home at Hoodgill, Newbiggin.
She said: “It started happening about a couple of years ago after a guidebook wrongly put that to get to Gibson’s Cave, walkers needed to come up my driveway.
“I did get in touch with the publishers and they said they would correct it when it was next updated.”
However, since the easing of lockdown restrictions she said the number of daily visitors driving up to her home has increased significantly.
“Google Maps have used my postcode as Gibson’s Cave’s postcode when it should be on Bowlees.
“It has got far worse since coronavirus and we get between five and ten cars a day driving up, as well as people coming through the field at the back and walking back down. I did get in touch with Google because they have this reporting mechanism, but I got the bog standard email back saying they would review my request.”
Google has since agreed to fix the problem but another mapping glitch remains.
If people search for Gibson’s Cave on Google Maps without using a postcode, the popular website points to another wrong route – via a private drive to the north of Ms Hough’s home.
This error is next on Ms Hough’s list of complaints.
She added there are no signposts on the road from Middleton-in-Teesdale and asked for the issue to be brought up during a meeting of Durham County Council, the police, the North Pennines AONB Partnership, Raby Estates and Strathmore Estates last week.
It was being held to discuss the ongoing issue of large numbers of tourists flocking to Bowlees and Low Force.
Judith Mashiter, clerk to Middleton-in-Teesdale and Newbiggin parish council, who attended the meeting, said the matter was discussed but it was felt there was sufficient signage to Gibson’s Cave. Ms Hough added: “I think since coronavirus a lot of people are just looking for different places to go to get out into the countryside and when I tell them they are in the wrong place, they are really sorry. But it’s really annoying and a little worrying.”
