Don't travel to Surrey's beauty spots in the Surrey Hills during lockdown!

That's the message from the Surrey Hills AONB Board, the group tasked with managing and maintaining the areas of outstanding national beauty which cover much of this part of Surrey.

In a statement, the organisation urged people not to travel to popular beauty spots for fears they could become overcrowded with visitors and make social distancing impossible.

The statement said: "We want to highlight this is not the time to travel to visit the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Over the coming months we hope to welcome everyone back with open arms, but until then we encourage you to access the countryside greenspaces closer to home and observe social distancing measures to help restrict the spread of the virus and ensure the countryside is a safe place for all. "We encourage you to use countryside sites close to your home rather than travelling into the Surrey Hills. Over the coming weeks and months we will see car parks and facilities gradually re-open and we urge you to check before you travel that car parks are open and would advise you away from the more well-known sites which may become congested and therefore difficult to socially distance. "Where possible, please try to avoid busy or narrow footpaths where social distancing is difficult. Please try and avoid known hotspots because if sites become crowded it will be impossible to safely socially distance. If you arrive at a site that is already busy, we encourage you to find an alternative or head home."