That`s a long read Fernman but interesting .
& my apologies this is a bit of a long shaggy dog story too.
By coincidence I walked from the village of Leintwardine in Herefordshire a couple of days ago , on a circular route which took me near to the grandly named Downton Castle , which looked down at me rather imposingly , as I passed .
All around the estate are signs "No Entry Private" or as below "Our tenure of the land does not allow public access"
My route took me to yet another No Entry sign which I obeyed but when I arrived at the top of the ridge via the Herefordshire way , yet another "No entry" sign greeted me .
I thought to myself I do not want a two to three mile detour in this heat , thank you.
I decided to open the gate which was firmly tied with a double knotted polypropylene rope and retied it firmly . I walked through four such gates and stepped over one barbed wire fence , making sure not to damage it .
All the time I was conscious that I could be easily seen from the Castle Windows and another cluster of buildings in the valley .
I came to Bow bridge to cross the river Teme . Sadly it was festooned with no entry signs , steel railings & steel gates . I decided to climb over them and also the others railings at the other side of the bridge .
I then walked along the track to be confronted by an English Springer Spaniel which turned and trotted off the way it came . I passed a bend and was then met by a tall rangy guy with six spaniels at heel , stood in the middle of the track staring at me . He looked like a game keeper , dressed all in Khaki . Now I cannot read minds and try not to jump to conclusions , but I did think ok maybe the guy would like me to turn and go back the way I came .
Then one of the dogs came tearing up to me . I know it is best to keep eye contact with any dog that I do not know . The dog sat by me as if he had found dead game . I stood there , and the dog sat , and the guy stood there , still looking at me ...dadada...daaa.
I asked him " Can you tell me the way to Downton Rock " ? He did not reply but stood momentarily and then turned and walked away.
He called his dogs "come" and off he went not a single word .
I am sure I will be looked upon as a common trespasser to many on here but at the time I was on a huge estate and doing no one harm or damage to anything . I just wanted to walk on .
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I relate to the sentiments shown in this quote from the article :
Not only is Hayes practically a professional trespasser these days, no sign too forbidding to be ignored, no fence too high to be climbed. In my case, he’s like a naughty younger brother, egging me on, urging me blithely to step over whatever impediment happens to be in my way. “They can’t do anything to us,” he says, cheerfully. “They can ask us to leave, but we can’t be prosecuted. Trespass is a mechanism for seeking redress for damage, and it would be absurd to suggest we are damaging anything.” (Trespass can be actionable through the courts, whether or not the claimant has suffered damage – but such cases are rare, and usually only brought to deter persistent trespassing, or where there are boundary disputes.)