O, To Be In England...

[Floyd]

It's not too bad around here although I have come across fields that have produce growing in them and totally blocking the path that was there a few weeks before.

I don't particularly like walking through the middle of farm yards, but if I were the farmer I'd re-route a path around.
It wouldn't take much- just a few posts every so often and the odd sign along the egde of a field.
(I'm not sure if they are allowed to do that thought).

Have you ever had any land owners confront you?

 

[SimonBurchell]

Have you ever had any land owners confront you?

No, never. They have pointed me in the right direction when I've been unable to find the path.

 

[maximus otter]

Public rights of way blocked in 32,000 places​

Walkers wanting to enjoy footpaths across the British countryside are being blocked or obstructed in nearly 32,000 places across England and Wales.

But they are fighting back, with one rambler even training as a lawyer to force councils to keep the way clear.

A BBC investigation found councils which have responsibility for footpaths had 4,000 more access issues on public rights of way in 2023 than in 2022.
Campaigners said this showed a "growing abuse and neglect" of the path network.
Local authorities said "funding constraints" limited what they can do.

In Cornwall, which has 2,796 miles (4,500km) of public rights of way, Lucy Wilson is one walker determined to make sure countryside footpaths are kept useable.

Campaigner Lucy Wilson has trained as a lawyer in order to challenge her local council's work on access

Standing on a footpath tucked into the folds of the Tamar Valley, Mrs Wilson points up at a sheer muddy bank, topped with a thicket of brambles.

"That's where the path should go," she says. "You can't see anything. It's just gone."
Her finger traces the registered right of way on a map on her phone. We scramble up the bank but have no chance of forcing our way past the thorns.

She explains that people have been trying for five years to get Cornwall Council to make this path accessible.

"The council doesn't have the resources - but that's not an excuse, because they have a statutory duty to do this. It's not a choice," she explains.

All landowners have a duty to keep paths clear but the ultimate responsibility rests with the local highways authority - usually the local county or unitary council or national park authority.

The BBC asked 118 local authorities how many obstacles, blockages and inaccessible footpaths they had in their areas.

Meanwhile, across England and Wales, The Ramblers - Britain's walking charity - say they are coming across similar problems - but the true scale of blocked and obstructed footpaths has so far remained unknown.

So the BBC used Environmental Information Regulations to ask 118 local councils outside of London and national park authorities how many blockages and obstructions were recorded at the end of 2022 and on a specific day - 31 October 2023.

Seventy-three authorities were able to provide the data, with 31,816 obstructions - ranging from overgrown vegetation to deliberately fenced-off paths - recorded on 31 October, an increase from 27,696 at the end of 2022.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67937253

“The council doesn't have the resources - but that's not an excuse…”

OK, Lucy-who-trained-as-a lawyer-in-order-to-challenge-her-local-council (l bet she’s fun!), from which bee in somebody else’s bonnet should the council divert resources so that you can walk unimpeded across a muddy field somewhere? Surely all those road potholes don’t need to be filled in? Surely we don’t need all of those street lights? Why do bins need to be emptied every month?



maximus otter

 

[Stormkhan]

I was about to say that, Max.
She admits that the council doesn't have the resources but demands them do it nevertheless?
If she knows this then perhaps she should go to the higher authorities that can allocate the required resources, eh? Or does she like being a big (and vocal) fish in a small pond?

 

[Floyd]

“The council doesn't have the resources - but that's not an excuse…”

OK, Lucy-who-trained-as-a lawyer-in-order-to-challenge-her-local-council (l bet she’s fun!), from which bee in somebody else’s bonnet should the council divert resources so that you can walk unimpeded across a muddy field somewhere? Surely all those road potholes don’t need to be filled in? Surely we don’t need all of those street lights? Why do bins need to be emptied every month?



maximus otter

You get your potholes filled in and have street lights that work?!
Bloody posh southerners.

 

[Stormkhan]

I'm not a frequent 'walker' but I have been. One notable walk I did was on the Isle of Wight, walking from Godshill to Knighton. I had an OS map and a compass (just in case) etc. Following paths, the map took me across the middle of fields and through farm yards. I wasn't so silly as to follow these directly; walked around the edges of the field and felt really guilty walking through obviously private property, being willing to explain myself to any one encountered.
I enjoyed it immensely but didn't mind actually having some courtesy. Just because it's an 'ancient right of way' doesn't mean you must assert your rights.

 

[Floyd]

If the path is through the actual farmyard, I wouldn't deviate from it.

 

[Floyd]

No, never. They have pointed me in the right direction when I've been unable to find the path.

There's a councillor here who has a public footpath at the side of his pad and apparently his wife comes out and shouts at you if you walk it.
I keep meaning to go down to see if she does it to me, but if she does it could end in trouble, so I've refrained so far.

 

[Stormkhan]

Isn't Noel Edmunds in conflict with a local council in NZ because they want to upgrade a cycle path near his 'commune' and he doesn't want an increase in traffic?

 

[maximus otter]

She admits that the council doesn't have the resources but demands them do it nevertheless?

I speak as someone who loves country walks, and who has through-walked two long-distance footpaths. In England and Wales alone there are 140,000 miles of footpaths, much of that mileage rarely used, yet Fun Lucy insists that the local authorities use non-existent staff and cash to keep them clear.

What image does the BBC use in the above link to illustrate the nightmare of footpath blockage?

Oh, the horror!

Tell you what, Fun Lucy, buy a pair of secateurs and a bow saw, get off your backside and get some friends - assuming you have any - to help you in keeping your local paths clear. You might even start a group and call it the West Cornwall Footpaths Preservation Society... Oh wait, there already is one...



maximus otter

 

[Stormkhan]

Perhaps she can be allocated a council worker to walk with her, bending the branches out of the way, laying a large mat over the muddy bits etc. etc.
I wouldn't call that path blocked - looks perfectly normal to me. I wonder if she wants the whole re-surfacing, litter bins every 100 yards, signposts and descriptors at suitable locations etc. Or would that 'spoil' the 'wilderness'?

 

[Kondoru]

Around here it the lack of use that is the problem.

Used paths seem to clear themselves mysteriously.

 

[Mythopoeika]

You get your potholes filled in and have street lights that work?!
Bloody posh southerners.

From my own personal experience, the posher parts of the South have larger potholes.
People there can afford 4x4s, with huge chunky tyres.

 

[catseye]

I can't remember whether I reported on here or not, but back in the Lockdown Era (it was like the Stone Age but with better TV) I had to report a local bridlepath, because the farmer had stuck a home made poster on the gate saying 'Horses Only - No Walkers, No Dogs, this bridleway is for HORSES ONLY.'

As we all know, bridlepaths are for anything apart from cars. I used to run down that bridlepath, but one day found a sign tacked to the gate telling me that on no account were dogs allowed along this track because there are sheep at the end. I used to run with my dog off the lead along there, because the track is completely fenced, and we never went out at the end where the sheep graze. But I thought, ok, never mind, they've obviously had some dog attacks lately, so I won't go down there again. But the sign telling us that nobody, unless on horseback was allowed there, was beyond the pale, so I reported it.

Some time later I found that the sign had been removed, so the local Rights of Way officer had clearly had a word.

 

[SimonBurchell]

Somewhere around, buried under the detritus of time, I've got a photograph of a font in a church on the Isle of Wight. It's clearly carved with pentacles!

Yesterday, I came across this in the church in the tiny hamlet of Charles, Devon:

The locals were giving me that old "I bet he'll fit in the wicker man right well" look, so I moved on fairly sharpish.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Yesterday, I came across this in the church in the tiny hamlet of Charles, Devon:

View attachment 72886

The locals were giving me that old "I bet he'll fit in the wicker man right well" look, so I moved on fairly sharpish.

Looks mildly Luciferian.

 

[Sollywos]

Tell you what, Fun Lucy, buy a pair of secateurs and a bow saw, get off your backside and get some friends - assuming you have any - to help you in keeping your local paths clear. You might even start a group and call it the West Cornwall Footpaths Preservation Society... Oh wait, there already is one...

My first thoughts exactly! For the local walkers I'd have thought a get together to clear the footpaths could be a good fun way to socialise! In my days when I regularly walked I always took a pair of secateurs just in case! If I had a bow saw I'd have taken one of them as well. Silly woman! pah!

 

[SimonBurchell]

My first thoughts exactly! For the local walkers I'd have thought a get together to clear the footpaths could be a good fun way to socialise! In my days when I regularly walked I always took a pair of secateurs just in case! If I had a bow saw I'd have taken one of them as well. Silly woman! pah!

When I walk in the summer, I always carry secateurs.

 

[Floyd]

“The council doesn't have the resources - but that's not an excuse…”

OK, Lucy-who-trained-as-a lawyer-in-order-to-challenge-her-local-council (l bet she’s fun!), from which bee in somebody else’s bonnet should the council divert resources so that you can walk unimpeded across a muddy field somewhere? Surely all those road potholes don’t need to be filled in? Surely we don’t need all of those street lights? Why do bins need to be emptied every month?



maximus otter

To be fair though, the councils do waste a lot of money and don't do many jobs they are supposed to do.
I hate Shropshire council even more than Sainsbury's.
Have a read at how much money they've wasted in Shrewsbury for eg.

And now, our town hall, sorry, 'civic centre', is probably going to be knocked down permanently because of the concrete issue- even though they spent thousands doing it up only a couple of years ago.

 

[Floyd]

That's always been a bad idea; damp, piss etc.

However, it might have been the rational expression of a futile desire for warmth during one's winter ablutions. Can remember my family's move to a house with an actual bathroom. Though a step up from the old tin tub in front of the fire, it was still unheated. Brrr.

Yep, carpet at least makes getting out of the bath in a freezing bathroom not quite such a horrific experience. I had one in my last house (carpet, not bath, although I did have one of those too). It was a washable carpet though, that would go in the washing machine, because anything is better than stepping on lino with wet feet.

Those west end do-gooders - theys have gived us a perishing inside toilet now.

Inside toilet? I ain't never not heard of one of them nor I ain't no know nothing. As you knows, I doesn't know its. Mind if I pop outside and foul your pavement?

 

[Floyd]

@escargot
''Yup, lino or tiles are not only cold, they can be slippery''.

Years ago my mother put down cork tiles which I always liked.
East to cut and lay, warm to stand on and with a bit of sealing (varnish of some kind) quite water resistant.

I'm not sure about the grip-factor, as there wasn't enough room to slide anywhere, anyway.

(It was a tiny bathroom. Might look a bit naff over a larger area).

 

[Stormkhan]

And this is why bath mats are a thing. Warm on the feet and washable.
Those U-shaped ones aren't for the toilet - they're better for the washbasin pedestal.

 

[Floyd]

And this is why bath mats are a thing. Warm on the feet and washable.

I prefer a towel as you can also mop up any splashes and easily hang it up to dry/wash it.

 

[Stormkhan]

Not in my house - towels take so damn long to dry in our damp surroundings. Even had to buy a folding 'electric clothes dryer'.
Mumblemuttermoan.

 

[Floyd]

Not in my house - towels take so damn long to dry in our damp surroundings. Even had to buy a folding 'electric clothes dryer'.
Mumblemuttermoan.

Ours seems to have got worse in places this last couple of years.
It's always been damp due to solid walls and no damp course, but it's getting worse higher up now as well.

De-humidifier is taking lots of moisture out the air so at least that's something.

I'm going to take the old/rotten (and mis-matched) skirting boards off by the back door and replace with some tiles as soon as I can get round to it.
My predilection for diy has somewhat dwindled though and it takes all my effort these days.

 

[catseye]

And this is why bath mats are a thing. Warm on the feet and washable.
Those U-shaped ones aren't for the toilet - they're better for the washbasin pedestal.

Trouble is that bath mats can also be very slippery. My bathroom has a tiled floor, and if I get out of the bath wrongly I can perform a very daring (and highly pictureseque) manoevre right across the bathroom floor.

 

[staticgirl]

I got a rubber bathmat and put the slippery but cosy bath mat on top of it. Cosy and stays where it's put.

 

[Erinaceus]

Yesterday, I came across this in the church in the tiny hamlet of Charles, Devon:

View attachment 72886

The locals were giving me that old "I bet he'll fit in the wicker man right well" look, so I moved on fairly sharpish.

A five pointed star has been used as a reference to the five wounds of Christ - His punctured hands and feet, plus the puncture in his side by the soldier's spear.
Or they're devil worshippers.

 

[SimonBurchell]

A five pointed star has been used as a reference to the five wounds of Christ - His punctured hands and feet, plus the puncture in his side by the soldier's spear.
Or they're devil worshippers.

It was all part of the Christmas decs, so that's how I took it - a kind of visual pun on the five wounds of Christ/star of Bethlehem. Still, in these rural communities you never know, naaaarp.

 

[Tigerhawk]

Trouble is that bath mats can also be very slippery. My bathroom has a tiled floor, and if I get out of the bath wrongly I can perform a very daring (and highly pictureseque) manoevre right across the bathroom floor.

Spoiler