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It does seem to be a very local issue. I've just spent a very pleasant weekend in the quantocks, where everyone I met was most welcoming - locals, all the visitors from the New Forest (seems to be a focus for us!), horse riders, walkers, publicans, farmers etc.
Back home in the Forest now to read this, which crops up every couple of weeks in the local press. No problems in areas immediately adjacent - Moors Valley, Lordswood etc, just the Forest.
A couple of things to point out about the 'aggreived parties'
- the commoners are the ones with the ponies and a huge free farm to feed them on, the CDA (Commoners Defence Association) defend their rights to this free farm.
- The New Forest Association is a group of commoners and verderers with an agenda to close campsites, car parks, restrict dog walking and (even) horse riding, close some roads and ban cycling again.
- The Verderers are the ruling body and represent the above.
None of these has any interest in tourism, local economies or conservation beyond maintaining their own rights to the Forest.
Fortunately the Forestry Commission and local groups have a wider view, or we might as well just put a fence round it all and lock the gate.
It really is a lovely place to visit though, and chances are you will be totally oblivious to the above!
The fall out continues from the Countryfile story then. If an event happens in the forest and no body films it...
How slow do you have to be riding to be seen by a slowmo like that... and then caught... and fined??
The fall out continues from the Countryfile story then.
I don't think it's got anything to do with that. As 40mpg says, it comes up regularly -- someone seems to raise bikes as an issue at every meeting of the CDA/NFA/Verderers and the Echo laps it up because it's got pages to fill. All a bit tragic really.
All this bad publicity clearly seems to be having some kind of knock on effect.
Was out at 7.30 on Sun morning. Beautiful morning. Stuck totally to the gravel tracks.
Slowed down for every dog walker I saw, said hello or thanked them for restraining their dog. Not one of them had the courtesy to say hello back. And one particularly miserable chap completely turned his back on me.
You normally get the odd grumpy git, but that was out of the ordinary. How can people be so miserable on such a nice day, in such a beautiful place.
Then again even the MTBer I passed didnt bother to say hello.