Hmm! So a general countryside thing then not a Welsh thing. I have to say only once have I come across any animosity while walking, this was near Crickhowell and I have no idea of the nationality of the female farmer/landowner. I’m not sure I agree 100% BWW but a perceived “threat” is certainly a possibility, but of what?
The perceived threat is the stymied position of the access network advancing and becoming the national asset originally perceived by the 'founders', those postwar politicians, who created the definitive map. A willingness of the producers of our food to welcome their customers into the countryside and share the 'bounties of nature' is being influenced by the attitude to property that is actively encouraged. As a one time farmer, I suppose I may sense more of 'what could be done' and balance that with 'what is not done'.
I suspect in the last but one walk we did in that area I could have walked into a nasty situation, by staying on the right of way. We strayed off the RoW and avoided walking through a farm where we were told we could have had a bit of a barny. The next farm we had to pass through we were harassed by the dog all the way, it was quite obvious that the owner was in the house. When we reached the third farm and had a chat all the my suspicions fell into place by the info we picked up in conversation. Now that farmer, though friendly, was the one, who told us that the old path used by the postman, had been shut off. His farmwork was more diligent and I expect that the boundary fencing was better maintained by him. Trouble was that there was no point to cross the boundary, although the field gates fell into place along the line of the right of way within both holdings.
As we were trying to make a circular walk out of a stretch of riverside, largely A+ rated footpath, I suspect that the outreach part to close the circle was C- as far as the Powys CC were concerned. There were no waymarks nor any voluntary recognition by the incumbent occupiers, which points to a negative attitude.
This is fine walking countryside, offering a different experience to more popular areas, the local economy would benefit from a wider visitor use. The farmer's wife opened up as soon as she knew more of my background, we learnt that her children had used the local pubs as first learning jobs before going on to university, but they are encouraged by their CLA reps to support a negative access attitude, so allowing a really interesting footpath fall below par without fully understanding the connection between tourism in their own community.