EIGHT DEVON MOTORCYCLISTS FINED £960 AT NORTH WALES LAKE

Eight motorcyclists from Devon have each received two £60 fines after stopping twice to buy ice creams at Llyn Tegid in Bala, North Wales, bringing their combined bill to £960. The fines were issued following the introduction of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) parking cameras on 13 July, which the Eryri National Park Authority (ENPA) implemented to tackle overnight camping at the lake. Motorcyclists are now charged £1 to park in spaces they say were previously free. One regular visitor from Torquay said he had visited the lake for many years and had never previously been aware of parking charges for motorcycles.

The ANPR cameras were installed as Bala grapples with increased tourism pressures on local roads in recent summers. The lake's two car parks have been expanded in capacity, and parking charges have been raised: standard rates are now £5 for up to four hours or £8 daily, with separate tariffs for watersports users and extended time allowances for Blue Badge holders. The motorcyclist said he and his companions did not recall seeing new signage in the motorcycle parking area and would have paid the £1 charge had they been aware of it.

The fines have drawn wider criticism from local residents, who argue they are being excluded from accessing their own lake. A petition has been launched with ENPA calling for free car park access. The dispute reflects tensions between managing visitor numbers and maintaining local community access at popular attractions across Wales.