BWW - if you had been faced with the situation pdstsp found himself in, how would you have handled it?
I think I would have handled it very much as described, however I would have, as described, tried to probe the landowner or his minion on the estates reasons and motives.
1.) Their motives of going against an apparent public need for access at this point and was it driven by the points I have previously mentioned.
2.) The need for good PR between agricultural producers and there very loyal customer base and this being jeopardized by the self-interest of property owners.
3.) The vulnerability of any rural commercial identity relying on sales on the internet getting into conflict over access issues.
4.) The expanding importance of the leisure industry and it's complex structure of interests being in conflict with outdated notions of privacy and privilege.
Many of these points and more had their origination on the conflict between property and access prior to the Scottish Land Reform Act, but landowners have forgotten it. The more simple objectives identified in that affair may be masked by a more complex and disparate set of issues in England and Wales, but they may be a very heavy cost in the future if they are not recognized.
I think the OP did well to voice his concerns here and describe this incident, just how important access to The Nab is at this point I do not know. Could there be a safety issue, as there is a bridge to the bungalow over the Rampsgill Beck? Were there old access rights for grazing on the higher ground, the geography would suggest that there could have been.