Parking prices at a seaside tourist haven have been slammed as ‘daylight robbery’ after one visitor had to pay £25 for just over an hour’s stay.
The owners of the estate for the world-famous Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door in Dorset have increased its prices and put up recording cameras.
Now cars and campervans have to pay four times more if they stay longer than an hour.
For one hour for a car it is £3.10 and £10 for larger vehicles and £12.40 and £25 respectively for one to four hours.
Tourists have been quick to comment on the price of the day out, saying that the cafés on the beachfront are also overpriced.
Shane Waller, 51, a London-based lorry driver, has been going to Lulworth Cove since he was eight and visits Dorset twice a month in his Volkswagen Transporter campervan.
He said when he used to pay at the parking machine he would put in £6 which would cover him for four hours.
However after spending around an hour walking on the beach he returned to his campervan only to be told that it would cost him £25.
He went into the visitor centre with his wife Paula to question the price and was told that was correct but they regularly get people coming in saying how ridiculous the prices are.
The couple contacted the company responsible for the car park the next day and found out that a large is defined as anything more than 5.5 metres long, yet their campervan is only 5.3 metres.
The Weld Estate, who own the land, said they had not heard about a complaint and would refund them if a mistake had been made.
Shane now says that he will not be returning to Lulworth Cove because of the prices.
He said: ‘I love Lulworth Cove but the parking charges now are daylight robbery.
‘It will suffer as a result of this. We were charged £25 for one hour and 20 minutes parking.
‘Imagine pulling in, you’re directed to the top of the car park, you have three small kids with you so you take a few minutes to get them ready.
‘You then walk down the hill only to discover you’re already 15 minutes into the first hour before you find out how much you’re being charged for the car park.
‘I genuinely think it’s a bit naughty that there’s nothing to tell you about the prices.
‘If you buy some food there you could easily end up spending £40 for one person for an afternoon. It’s supposed to be a cheap day out.
‘How many people have been charged more than they should have been? It’s a very popular spot for campervans but I don’t know if they’ll keep going back.
‘It’s still a beautiful place and I know that people will keep going but it isn’t the same as when I went when I was a child.’
Tourist Pam Rogers said: ‘Whoever owns the Lulworth Cove car park is taking the p***. £12.40 to park! That plus £18 for two coffees and two sausage rolls makes an expensive hour out.
John Griffiths added: ‘I was a first time visitor to Lulworth Cove and it’s a lovely place to explore, but I was shocked at the car park charges!
‘Do they seriously want visitors to enjoy the local shops, cafés and pubs without being stung in their pocket?
‘A jump from £3.10 to £12.40 is really prohibitive in my opinion. Will sadly seriously think about going back again.’
Julia Rosser said: ‘I really enjoyed a walk up to Lulworth Cove to get the magnificent views but the parking was extremely expensive.’
A spokesperson for the Lulworth Estate said: ‘Our car parks are laid out to accommodate cars and over-size vehicles.
‘We have specific parking areas for vehicles over 5.5m in length as they take up more space for parking and manoeuvering and can make it harder for other vehicles to park, especially at peak times.
‘Our team are well practiced at identifying vehicles and directing accordingly, as well as being happy to provide advice to our customers.
‘This is a new car parking payment system that we have invested in over the winter, with the aim of it being more user friendly for our customers, however as with new systems some teething issues can be expected, albeit swiftly rectified.
‘We took the decision to increase our prices last summer after thorough research on other coastal and World Heritage destination access prices.
‘The income from our car parks is fundamental in supporting our schools’ education programme, on-going care and projects to preserve the surrounding landscapes and heritage for everyone to enjoy for years to come.’