A river in the ‘world’s most beautiful village’ is set to be fenced off after large crowds of tourists were accused of paddling in the water, leaving rubbish behind and putting wildlife at risk.

Thousands of visitors travelled to Bibury, a picturesque Cotswolds village, over the summer. Many made their way to the River Coln to cool off in the water.

Frustrated residents have previously said they avoid the village, which can attract up to 20,000 visitors a day during peak periods, because of the crowds and constant flow of coaches.

The village, home to around 600 people, draws huge numbers of tourists with its famous 17th-century weavers’ cottages, which have appeared in films including Stardust and Bridget Jones’s Diary.

Bibury first gained wider attention through textile designer and writer William Morris, who described it in the 19th century as ‘the most beautiful village in England’.

But many locals say the number of coaches arriving has become unsustainable. The village’s narrow country lane regularly leads to dangerous traffic gridlock and disputes over parking.

Councillors are now also concerned about the growing number of tourists entering the River Coln, which flows through Bibury beneath the historic stone Swan Bridge.

Residents have described the amount of rubbish left floating in the river, including bottles and coffee cups, as ‘unbelievable’.

The sheer number of visitors is believed to have created several problems for local wildlife, prompting Bibury Parish Council to consider drastic action.

Craig Chapman, chair of Bibury Parish Council, said the authority had approved new fencing to protect swans, ducks, water voles and fish living in and around the river.

He said tourists had been ‘doing what they want’ in the village in recent months.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: ‘In the hot weather over the summer tourists were sitting on the riverbank with their feet in the river, walking in the river and even setting up tables and chairs in the river.

‘That’s highly detrimental to the wildlife.’

Mr Chapman called fencing off parts of the river a ‘drastic measure’, adding that it was ‘absolutely not what we want to do’.

‘It seems it’s what we have to do to protect the environment around the River Coln,’ he said.

Kris Watts, 71, says life in postcard-perfect Bibury has become increasingly difficult as visitors continue to pour into the village.

She said: ‘We’ve had people paddling in the river, which is a protected site because we’ve got water voles.’

 ‘You just think – for goodness sake.’

Gloucestershire County Council has introduced trial coach drop-off points in an attempt to tackle congestion, but residents claim some drivers are still stopping elsewhere in the village.

Ms Watts, who has lived there for 10 years, said: ‘I don’t go into the village at weekends now, it’s that bad.

‘We knew it was a touristy village when we moved here, but since covid it’s just got worse and worse.

‘A big part of it is social media influencers advertising how beautiful the village is.’

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Victoria Summerley, 70, who has lived in Bibury for 14 years, added: ‘The Coln River is a trout stream. It’s supposed to be a really clean river.

‘The amount of litter that ends up in the river in terms of drinks, bottles, coffee cups and so on, just unbelievable,’ she added.

The increase in visitors is partly driven by so-called influencers promoting the tiny village.

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 frustration for Brian Skarda, a parish councillor in nearby Cirencester, who 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.

Earlier this month, 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.

Ms Summerley 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 claim that 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.

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.’  

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, with the county council holding formal public consultations over the future of the restrictions in place.

In 2025, Bibury topped the list of Forbes Magazine’s 50 most beautiful villages in the world, boosting tourist visits even further.