Visited Hawkshead a couple of weeks ago and was appalled at the daylight robbery carparking charges. The main carpark is now 'private eye' or whatever it's called and £1.80 for up to 1 hr !!!! second mortgage for a few hours, no overnight parking. Locals recommended after car park closing time to drive in thru the exit, or over the grass
However we drove round the corner and parked in the local school playground which has an honesty box encouraging drivers to donate to school funds ( admittedly there was also a small notice - no overnight parking ) -but we bunged in double the recommended amount - explored the local village and spent £££'s on a meal and beer. The public toilets in the main carpark are very clean and open 24hrs - 2 mins walk from where we were parked. Felt like an hour at 3am in the morning
We didn't put the AFT up. School staff on site the following morning were polite and we left the playground tidier than we found it .
