<mod edit, April 2016>

The below discussion refers to previous owners of Beeches Farm. We’ve been asked by the current owners to set the record straight. See my update further down this page for info.

</mod edit>

Beeches Farm on Dry Hill above Cowden….6PM

I ride down the hill to the farm gate just as Mr and Mrs “We got money so we bought a country pile with a gobsmacking view” cross their farmyard to their house.
Woman, “Are you lost?”
Me, “No, I’m on a public bridleway and I’m out for a ride.”
Man, “We don’t want you here.”
Me, “Well I’m sorry about that but it is a public right of way and I am allowed to be here.”
Man, “Turn your lights off.”
I dim them down but he still wants them turned off completely. In the meantime he is shining his torch at me. It was like talking to my ex wife! We go into a “I’m quite happy with them on/ Turn them off” standoff.
Then somehow we get back into the “We don’t want you here because we get a lot of crime.”
I had not committed a crime so I say, “Well you should be pleased to see me rather than a burglar who probably won’t have blazing lights to advertise his presence.”
Man, “We don’t want you here.”
Me, “Well there’s not much you can do about it because it’s a public right of way.”
Man, “Well we don’t encourage you to be here.”
Me, “Well it’s not like I do it very often.”
Man…over and over….”We don’t encourage you to be here.”
Me, “That’s a shame but it is a public right of way so I insist on using it occassionaly.”
Man, “It may be a right of way but you have no right to loiter here so get on your way.”
And he finaly gets out of my way and opens the gate for me with several more choruses of ” We don’t encourage you to be here, get on your way.”
So I ride off with a parting shot, “This is a public right of way and I will continue to use it.”

This was very clearly a man who should have bought a place that DID NOT have a right of way going through it, or a man who really needs to do some joined up thinking before he opens his mouth.

At least it was a polite threatening….. a polite discouragement from excercising my lawful rights. I guess he did quite well because I could see he desperately wanted to go that extra mile and throw me “the tresspassing upstart” off his land.

Is this man a Tosser?

don't know where Cowden is but do you fancy a mass forum night ride. Every day next week. Just because.

lol 😆 ohh that's quality, i nearly fell off my chair.
i'd gladly come down from yorkshire to join the mass forum night ride!

my conversation would have been:
"hello"
departs…

You missed the "well if you stopped being so silly I wouldn't be" in response to "It may be a right of way but you have no right to loiter here so get on your way."

I also reckon "well I don't want you here either" might have been a good response at some point 😆

Send an email to your local council who is Highway Authority ( usually County or Unitary unless you live in one of those weird metropolitan areas) and send it to their central customer complaint system marking it for the attention of their Council Rights of Way department with the grid ref of the farm where you were stopped and the start end points for the bridleway, your contact details and willingness to give evidence about the incident were it to go to court. If the bridleway is not currently signed from the road at either end suggest they note that they signs are legally required and may go a long way to help raise users confidence of their rights when challenged and of course they could offer the landowner the chance to have the way through the farm waymarked to avoid the risk / chance of any users wondering off the legal line.

Finally you could report the incident to the Police as it is verging on an act of wilful obstruction that makes it a criminal offence. In the past when one council were reluctant to deal with a particularly well known arsehole farming family who offered violence in Glyn Ceriog to a group of us passing on an old road near their farmyard, I reported the matter to Plod who were not only quite willing to go see the farmer to ask he stop only to receive a charade of abuse themselves from the family. The Police having been rubbed up the wrong way made it personal and they were only too happy to take the case and passed it to the CPS who took it all the way even calling the reluctant council to give evidence to confirm the way was a public highway. That unless the wrongdoer suddenly chooses to change their stance means they end up in court and can pick up a criminal record which tends to focus the minds of any of their neighbours or family who fancy doing a bit of the same.

Woman, "Are you lost?"
Me, "No, I'm on a public bridleway and I'm out for a ride."
Man, "We don't want you here."

I'd have got this far and said "Too bad, it's a bridleway, but if you get out of my way I'll be gone".

Agree totally with Max………
A lot of white settlers in rural areas do not understand RofW legislation, their solicitor will not have explained that – a bridleway through their yard – means that anyone, at anytime can ride, cycle or walk right past their front door.
Quite often they will have been told that "it desn't get used much", "no-one has been along for years", "just the local pony club" etc etc – to encourage the property purchase along. They may then think that by parking their softroader across the track that they can demonstrate that the path is never used and they can get it diverted/closed in 12 months.
Generally this is just ignorance (rather than malice) – best option is todo as Max says, inform the authorities and continue to use the path.

Have to say, follow Max's advice. Best to have something on record just in case this guys does what to try and become a real pain.

I don't mind travelling for a bit of a night ride as well!

I don't know if this makes me a sad human being but I have just taken time out and reported this to the Surrey CC Rights of Way Office. I'm not hopeful that anything positive will come out of it but at least it will give Mr "Getorf-Myland" a minor problem for trying to bully me out of my lawful recreationals.

Long term it's going to save a lot of people a lot of bother. Nothing sad about that.

isn't Cowden in Kent though?

Yes, but Dry Hill/Beeches farm is in Surrey (just).

What night is the forum ride? Will pack the higher powered lumis 😀

Same thing near Chester, a woman,comes out and threatens cyclists if they stop outside her house,on a Sustrans cycle path,also somewhere near Kelsall,a chap has been threatening cyclists,alos near Mollington a few years ago a woman farmers wife,pointed a shotgun at 2 cyclists,on a Sustrans route, she was arrested by an armed responce unit, again near Chester, and finally up in the Clwyds near Cilcain, a house has large signs on the gate,advising everyone to pass quietly by,and not to stop.

Just bloody move if you dont like people,we dont like you either,but will be polite.

I encountered a problem like this in the Dales once, from established land owners – Arncliffe Cote*, the farm at the bottom of the valley. This was one of those "odd" RoW because on the 1:25000 OS map it was dotted line – bridleway – dotted line. Land owner really shitty, and did the same as OP "Get off my land, you can't ride here, that isn't a Row", in sight of the road. I offered to turn around and go back the way I'd come, and eventually he relented and let me carry on to the road.

Fortunately I met up with a YDNP ranger en route, and checked with him what status the route had. He confirmed that the bridleway in the middle meant YDNP would consider the RoW either side to have the same status, and that the land owner was notorious for such actions. The Ranger encouraged me to write to YDNP & the LA as such behaviour from the landowners wouldn't go in their favour if the authorities did consider revising the RoW status.

Makes sense to make a noise about what happened.

*Not got a clue what status this RoW has now, and it wasn't great considering Mastiles lane is so close anyway. I was new to riding and was following a route from a guidebook, which went down this track and then back up Mastiles lane! I joined a local club and stopped following guidebook routes soon after!

don't know where Cowden is but do you fancy a mass forum night ride. Every day next week. Just because.

+1. Definitely.

Arncliffe Cote was a king of proving ground and was upgraded to a full bridleway along its entire length about 3 years ago.

IMHO The descent from Malham Tarn to Arncliffe is bloody awesome compared to Mastiles lane – what's fun about going fast on a wide lane?

Definately report. Their request to divert the route was turned down in 2005 with very strong support from the Parish council for maintaining the current route through the farm yard.

I guess the issue was more the time of day but that's tough you have a right of way any time/day. Personally if I was them I would provide an alternative more attractive permissive route as rarely will a RoW be divererted just because the owner wants it moved.

The Surrey CC Rights of Way Officer has just contacted me back. They have written to the man outlining my complaint and advising him of his responsibilty to allow free and unhindered access along this bridleway at all times.
………….which is probably a proportionate response and definately better than nothing.

Well done Billyboy. I was wondering if the cc would do anything or even bother to acknowledge your report, but how wrong that was and excellent result!

Put up on here if you're going to do a mass forum ride though, anyway.

Holy six year old thread resurrection, Batman!

We’ve been contacted by the current (new) owners of Beeches Farm Cowden regarding this thread. They had this to say:

The former owner, who was somewhat rude to one of your contributors (Billyboy) has now left the property and as the new owners, my husband and I would like to make it clear that we have no problem at all with cyclists using the bridleway/cycleway and I am rather distressed at the idea of anyone thinking that the said contribution was in anyway connected with us!

We’ve been politely asked to remove the out-of-date information, but I think it’s more useful to post an update as people have long memories and would probably appreciate the new information. Plus there’s interesting / useful RoW discussion here.

Anyone up for a ride event through Cowden this bank holiday weekend? 😆

A happy update after six years! 8)

This comment purely so’s I can contribute to a 6 yr old thread..

Give them a year and they’ll discover just how many cyclists are actually self-righteous annoying pricks.

Anyone up for a ride event through Cowden this bank holiday weekend?

Please, please be nice if you do, she was lovely.

Shows how what happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet, amazing they came across a 6 year old thread!

Not really, google “Beeches Farm, Cowden”. As any new/prospective owner may well do.

The goodness here is that the new owners realise what a nobber the previous owner was 🙂

Great update!
Mind you, cyclists need to be respectful as well, it really boils my blood when I come across cycle litter like energy gel packs on bridleways.

Thumbs up to the new owners who sound lovely

Agreed lets all not be dicks out there – we have this place to be dicks 😉

Let’s hope the behaviour of cyclists doesn’t make them think the previous owner actually had a point.

Play nicely wherever you ride.

I suggest that anyone cycling through that BW drops a packet of hobnobs off with the new owners 😀

“Agreed lets all not be dicks out there – we have this place to be dicks”

+1