Author Topic: Edgelands, P.U.T. and Lockdown?  (Read 2747 times)

barewirewalker

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Re: Edgelands, P.U.T. and Lockdown?
« Reply #30 on: 13:28:35, 20/05/20 »
I think it depends where you live. I only use ROW or permissive paths I dont use unofficial paths as it's tresspass.
I am using PUT as a measure of the needs of local population for access, by observing it may be possible to come up with better ways of challenging the landowner lobby's case that public access is a negative factor working against better land management.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

barewirewalker

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Re: Edgelands, P.U.T. and Lockdown?
« Reply #31 on: 10:48:53, 21/05/20 »
The area that I have been able to walk during lockdown is a @ 1600 acres and has a periphery of @ 7 Miles, a few years ago I would have been able to push these distances a bit further. There was little evidence of PUT before lockdown apart from shortcuts to a RoW taken mostly by dog walkers and some teenage dens in woods. The tracks that have developed during lockdown are quite interesting, I think a wider range of the public have discovered just how beautiful this area is, but their ability to fully explore is not handicapped by respect of 'private land' but more out of ignorance of how to exploit terrain.


Were many of the RoWs we now use PUT from 200 years ago. Then the motivation was earning a living and need to reach destinations on foot. Now leisure is an important motivation, having direct links to public physical and mental health.


In my mind I have been mapping the trails I have tracked, observed the users and tried to guess the routes. Discreetly I have been able to converse with a few, only being able to infer from a quickly passed greetings or remark relevant facts. But the little I can guess is quite interesting.

One trail follows a field margin, despite there being a RoW across the middle of the field and early on I noticed the clockwise and anti clockwise ways, as weeks have passed the footfall has beaten a solid track around the field of about 0.75 mile. The crop is field beans and though not field margin has been left, there is negligable damage to the crop.

Returning from one of my more devious routes with Mrs BWW, we met a mother and young teenage son running along part of this field margin, when we joined the main high way this couple caught up with us. They could only have run around that field. The distance of traffic free trial was 1 mile, by the time they passed us on the pavement their action was jogging. There are more reasons for choosing a route than I can think up, I have no doubt.


Shame to think after lockdown nature will eradicate many of these trails, and perhaps they are worthy of anthropological study. I expect to see a few more privacy signs, which will make some small contribution to the recovery of rural industry.
In my grandfathers day of farming, the headlands of a field would been ploughed out to within a foot of the base of the field hedge, such behaviour as running around a field would cause crop loss. And the ploughman, who allowed such a margin would get a right flea in his ear. In the story I related about 'Basil' in another topic, he said to me after that the Old Gaffer would have given him a 'right Bullocking'.

Although the field in question does not have a SFS claimable field margin, the margin is wide enough to allow these runners to to create a track without any crop loss, because the field was ploughed with a 6 furrow reversible plough, probably by a contractor.


When we reached the pavement of the highway, some 300 yds from 30mph signs and despite the road having a 40mph limit, traffic regularly pass us at well over the limit.


Seeing that mother sensibly running with her son around that field took my mind back a couple of years ago to the eve of my granddaughter's birthday party, when we had a hasty cancellation. A little girls aunt had been killed by a hit and run driver, whilst out on and late evening run using lanes in Derbyshire.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

Toxicbunny

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Re: Edgelands, P.U.T. and Lockdown?
« Reply #32 on: 11:48:35, 21/05/20 »
I am using PUT as a measure of the needs of local population for access, by observing it may be possible to come up with better ways of challenging the landowner lobby's case that public access is a negative factor working against better land management.
Good idea. We have a country road that is 50mph the edge of the road is lethal. Cars never go 50 mph always much faster. There is a farm field not walked on to the edge which is a shame it's not a official pathway. 

barewirewalker

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Re: Edgelands, P.U.T. and Lockdown?
« Reply #33 on: 19:36:05, 21/05/20 »
Good idea. We have a country road that is 50mph the edge of the road is lethal. Cars never go 50 mph always much faster. There is a farm field not walked on to the edge which is a shame it's not a official pathway.
Thanks for that remark. Good ideas have little use on the own, but as part of a dialogue they can build into a powerful line of argument. In an era when carefully structured reasoning takes second place to sound bites, introducing little snippets that may be useful in dialogue may seem pointless.

Your example has an historical precedent. Replace road safety with obstruction by act of nature you will find many examples recorded on the ordnance survey. There is one about 2.5 miles away from the landowner, who is responsible for the recent CLA's policy on access.

Is the safety for the pedestrian on country roads so different from the counterpart in the 1800's, who could not afford water proof boots? Their needs for a dry path was recorded by the OS.

If ideas such as this can enter into the general dialogue, when talking about rights of access will the users voice become more persuasive.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

barewirewalker

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Re: Edgelands, P.U.T. and Lockdown?
« Reply #34 on: 07:52:22, 22/05/20 »
Here is a classic example of the above anomaly, where a footpath is mapped on the field side of the hedge. If you visit this site on Google Earth, I think, it is easy to see how this stretch of road would flood prior to 20th century road improvements. So if our ancestors took to field margins, to keep their feet dry, on the way to church, does it not make sense that the leisure walker of today should follow suite, if safety to the person was the issue.
Out of interest, if you do look at this example on GE the field gates serve the length of footpath exactly.

About a 1.6 miles north, as the crow flies, you can find Garnons, the family home of Harry Cotterell, whom I have quoted in the past as an expert on reasons for keeping the public out of the countryside.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

 

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