I think the police have better things to do than hunting down folk who have driven a few miles from home for a walk. There are examples of those clearly taking liberties and associated risks. If any one else here is on the UKC website they will know that many were for a few weeks after lock down. But that seems to have been tamed by natural peer pressure now, rather than fines and police man hunts.
How ever boring it is, it"s not forever. Well I sure hope it isn't.
They clearly don't otherwise they wouldn't have fined this woman.
I presume this story is the one from Crosby beach which is less than a mile from me. It falls in the Sefton area of the Liverpool city region. This is a large open green area leading to the beach and is a magnet for hundreds of people every day in normal times, but, in the first lockdown was spectacularly busy, so much so that I only go down there before 8 am with the dogs - any later and it is quite difficult at times to avoid people. This caused a lot of friction between people visiting and, in particular, those who live in the (very expensive) houses which overlook the beach. Even when the car parks were closed, people parked on pavements and blocked access etc. I do not think things have been nearly so bad, in terms of friction, in this lockdown, though it has been busy. I think the lady came from within the Liverpool city region but not from within the borough of Sefton, which, I guess would have been ok in the police's eyes though, ironically, may have been more than nine miles. For instance my daughter lives in Sefton but is about 11 miles from Crosby beach as the borough is long and thin.
To me the spirit of the rules is to walk from home whenever possible, and I have been doing that through this and the earlier lockdowns - as BuzyG says, however boring it is not forever. However, I see little to be gained by punishing people who have traveled a short distance. I do not see the attraction of trying to push the "rules" or test the definitions - I'd rather everyone just took it seriously so we can get back to normal(ish) as quickly as possible.
Yes, it probably was as it says Merseyside on the report. It just seemed silly to punish people like this woman when there's idiots in supermarkets refusing to wear a mask but there's no police in sight.
I think focus should have always been on preventing transmission indoors. On the news today it mentioned the overcrowded beaches last year during the heatwaves and how it's been concluded that they didn't result in an increase in cases. There's virtually no risk of transmission outdoors by just being close to someone momentarily so passing someone in the middle of nowhere (or on a beach in winter) is safe.
What's not safe is having only limited stores open and everyone crowding to them. One supermarket apparently made so much money during the panic buying that when customers were limited inside they noticed the drop in takings so have greatly increased the number of people allowed inside to abolish the queues. Imo all shops should have remained open but had a limited amount of people in them. Those who couldn't be bothered to queue would head home. These are the areas the Government/police should be focusing on, instead of the odd walker who is a mile or two out of the imaginary 'local' limit. You just don't get police making sure these supermarkets are sticking to the rules too. It's just a free for all.
Today was a lovely day, it would have been lovely to go for a good walk by the river since I'm off holiday from my job working with the public. I'm getting annoyed at risking my life when it could be preventable but not being allowed to go for a walk miles away from most people. I'm spending the week decorating though anyway, so WORST HOLIDAY EVER!