Wouldn’t it be easier to paint “Bridleway ->” on a plank of wood and nail it to a tree than sit by the window all day, then rushing out and indignantly saying “This is private property” whenever you see someone in your garden riding around in circles looking for the way out ?

That’s all. Not really a rant. It was quite comical at the time.

That kind of thing amuses me greatly too.

Been there, been abused by the farmer.

(I was riding along the *wrong* side of the wall but to be fair, this was only because he had locked shut the gate and I was trying to find another route across).

Still, I reported him for that, and for having several bulls on a public RoW 8)

(C’mon, he started it)

I would’ve salted his fields.

Talk to me like that..

good move on the bull thing;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-11754727

Never seen a bull/cow attack reported where no dog was involved.

I once was trying to follow the nearest bridleway to where I lived just for the hell of it. It was pretty non-existent, so I found myself standing in a soggy field thinking that the bridleway went across the far edge of the field next to a big hedge, and alongside a house. I could see the road through a gate on the other side of the field anyway so I thought sod it, and rode over to the gate. As I was doing so a woman appeared at the house and set her very fat beagle on me, so I had to sprint away.

As I joined the road she stood there in the middle waving her arms like you would to alert a search aeroplane, so I stopped. She said ‘we don’t allow bikes on the field’. I mean wtf? Your muddy patch of grass is so important that you’ve sat down and prepared a policy regarding which groups of people are granted access to the hallowed turf? You bloody self important cow! Your field was utterly crap, I desperately did not WANT to be on it, all I wanted was to get on my way home. Wtf is wrong with a bit of decency? It’s not like she had a regular problem with trespassers.

And setting your dog on someone is morally and legally much worse.

Several bulls in a field is a load of bullocks.

I don’t seem to have so much problems with farmers.
It’s more townies who have moved to the country and think that if there’s no bridleway signs, no one will try to ride past their big posh house.
They don’t seem to realise that some of us find the bridleways on a map first, then go looking for them, rather than just riding down the road looking for bridleway signs.

I rode through someones garden last month..

suddenly a large old fella who was either a cyclist or a cricketer (VERY impressive facial hair) came bucketing out of an outbuilding at top speed roaring ‘C’MON SONNY!! PEDAL HARDER.. ONE TWO ONE TWO… STAAAAND UP ON THOSE PEDALS BOY.. you’ll never get ANYWHERE LIKE THAT!!!’
I grinned nervously and tried to indicate between ragged breaths that I was giving it my best shot already… to which he instantly mellowed and offered me a nice cup of tea instead!

Unfortunately I was still a bit shaken up from the initial shock of the encounter so I mumbled something about having to be somewhere… although I did actually have to be somewhere I was instantly disappointed that I didn’t accept his offer cos I reckon he had a tale or two to tell…

Ooooh, one of my fave subjects. 8)

A friend of my parents used to threaten walkers with a shotgun (was a while back) and then wondered why the red sock would have massive organised walks over his lands (on footpaths obviously), I always thought it really funny.
My parents just fenced the footpath across our field to make it obvious, and planted a hedge on the side we could see, so they couldn’t be seen from the house.

I doubt either was any kind of motorway for walkers, it funny how ppl react though.

one of my fave subjects

Mine too. Just wondering, when variations on this topic have come up before, have we ever had someone who does have a RoW on their land come on and post? Must be one or two stwers in this position, and it’d be interesting to hear things from the other perspective, as well as the (always amusing) mtbers-in-run-in-with-irrational-landowners stories.

MTG – what was your response to this landowner?

EDIT – perfect timing Zippy

yunki, you need to go back, he sounds like fun (in a good way)

I’m gonna make a point of it z1ppy.. 🙂

yunki, you need to go back, he sounds like fun (in a good way)

He’d probably just finished embalming the last cyclist to come past his house and was looking for fresh meat.

I did a climb once in the Wye Valley somewhere that topped out in someone’s (huge and fabulous) garden. I don’t know if it was a ROW or not, I think it was – but the owner had made a little path behind the large Rhodedendrons and trees leading the 50 or so yards to the road, complete with neat hand-painted signs saying ‘climbers this way please’. Very nice I thought, the signs were handy because we really was not prepared to come stumbling out abruptly into a garden from the cliff-top.

It’s the bridleways that go straight across golf courses that I enjoy…feels kinda “naughty”. Sadly never across the actual putting green though.

Sadly never across the actual putting green though

Bunkers would be more fun wouldn’t they?

He’d probably just finished embalming the last cyclist to come past his house and was looking for fresh meat.

As long as he bums me after embalming me I will feel that I died for a good cause..

There’s one in my local area that goes right across a few fairways. An excellent advert for helmet wearing I feel.

I like the one that runs across the race track in York. Not sure what happens on race day…

I like the one that runs across the race track in York. Not sure what happens on race day…

I would *assume* they get official temporary closure notices from the local council (unless they have just got lazy).

There’s a road across the race course and the golf course contained there in at Ludlow. Cars do sometimes get hit (by golf balls not horses).

MTQ Graham,

Are you talking about the route through Repton Shrubs?

Regards,
Matt.

Me and my wife rode the transpennine trail which goes over York Racecourse. It was on a race day but it doesnt go in front of the starting gates or anything. Just a bloke there IIRC stewarding it to make sure no one walked in front of a horse. I thought it was ace and the trail going into York was fantastic, showed me bits I’d never seen before.

Just wondering, when variations on this topic have come up before, have we ever had someone who does have a RoW on their land come on and post? Must be one or two stwers in this position, and it’d be interesting to hear things from the other perspective, as well as the (always amusing) mtbers-in-run-in-with-irrational-landowners stories.

We have a Footpath across our land, infact it forms part of a National Long Distance Footpath. There are signs up saying No Horses, No Motorcyles, & No MTBs; I kid you not! 😯 The reason for the signs are that the path runs through woodland that is a SSSI and nature conservation area and it’s the riding in the woodland that would be the main issue rather than actually riding along the path. There is very little conflict though because the terrain is mostly too steep for riding and the path itself is pretty uninteresting to ride, plus there is some excellent riding just a few minutes away 😉

As I understand it, it is either the Parish Council’s or the Highway Authority’s [depending on type of ROW] responsibility to signpost the ROW at junctions with other ROWs or Highways but it is the landowner’s reponsibilty to maintain and keep usable the ROW for the passing and re-passing of users. Have to agree though that it makes a lot of sense to put up signs or whatever and make it easy for people to find the legitimate route rather than stressing about people getting lost because the route is hidden away or overgrown.

I was chatting to a nearby farmer down the pub last week about this. He was thinking of cycling along all the footpaths on his farm just to see if he could get a rambler to complain that he shouldn’t be there 🙂

When did all this exclusion stuff start in England? Was it around the time of the “Enclosures” or did it exist before.

Scotland’s rights of access exist because of its Scandanavian past, but England had a similar past, so I can’t help thinking you folk have had a right of access stolen from you within recent history.

Maybe it’s time to claim it back.

Are you sure they were all bulls, M-F?

Sounds unlikely; and I’d be interested in why a stockman might do that?

Plenty of people have commented on the “bulls” on our farm when there has not been a single one.

couple of locations near me the signs provided by the council always seem to disapear very quickly after being erected – not surprisingly been challenged at both places only to say that i can read a map and that I’ll be asking the council to replace the signs when I get home
surprisingly whoever steals the signs never makes off with the all time legal classic “private road”

When did all this exclusion stuff start in England? Was it around the time of the “Enclosures” or did it exist before.
Scotland’s rights of access exist because of its Scandanavian past, but England had a similar past, so I can’t help thinking you folk have had a right of access stolen from you within recent history.
Maybe it’s time to claim it back.

1967, I believe, when ROW’s were officially recorded onto definitive maps. Problem was because it was the responsibility of parishes to record routes, so you get issues with a route starting as a Bridleway and becoming a Footpath at a parish boundary. There’s an example near me, a path leading down to Castle Combe that changes on the OS map halfway along. I ride the whole thing regardless.
[edit]

The path changes right at the ‘y’ in ‘Macmillan Way’
[/edit]

Molegrips. At Wintours Leap. i am very surprised that the landowners put up with people. Tremendous liberties are taken there at times. Even as a climber I would put a dirty great fence there and get the unwashed buugers to ab off.
We have a several RoW across the families land. Most users are ok but the odd pain really winds you up. I have told off for mending my fence, cutting the hedges so the path is clear and riding my m/c . On access roads and all legal! Biggest pains are those in gangs. 25 ramblers mona about me annoying the birds whilst shouting at each other, clicking those flamin sticks and wearing red jackets. Grrrrrr
Oh yeah and cyclist who treat the paths as down hills. pillocks, they should learn how people live in the country or go to Afan

Know what you mean!

“Excuse me can I help you”

= Get the **** orff my land you orrible oik!

We’ve one past our front door and there are lots of others in the area (Bath) that do similar – through gardens etc.

Even more have been deliberately obstructed or allowed to become ‘disused’. There is a legal dictum “once a footpath always a footpath”

We make a deliberate policy to walk or ride all the ‘disputed’ paths at least once a year

have we ever had someone who does have a RoW on their land come on and post?

I’m here.

From my point of view, as a land-manager and stockman, it’s not use but abuse that is the problem. there are many who seem to think they know better or have more rights than even the landowner. this includes ramblers, cyclists, the hunt (about the worst), mistletoe-picking pikeys, idiot satnav-misguided ****, and often the opening exchange when we meet is adversarial rather than friendly.

I ride a mountain bike, but I also represent some of the loathed groups on here because I farm, ride horses, walk the mountains and drive an AUDI! I hope this gives me a balanced view on some things.

Are you talking about the route through Repton Shrubs?

No, it was in the Wyre Forest, here
The house where the two bridleways meet, immediately to the right of the word Ford.
I rode in from the East, near the old railway line.
If I’d been looking at the map, I would have seen that the bridleway went to the right of the house, even though it was overgrown and almost invisible from more than a few feet away. I just followed the obvious track which curved round to the left in front of the house.

what was your response to this landowner?

I wasn’t confrontational. I thought it was quite amusing that in the time it took me to slow down, scan the perimeter of his parking area looking for an exit and turn round, he had jumped out of his chair, unlocked the door and stepped outside.

I was chatting to a nearby farmer down the pub last week about this. He was thinking of cycling along all the footpaths on his farm just to see if he could get a rambler to complain that he shouldn’t be there

Ha ha, excellent Ian!

“The reason for the signs are that the path runs through woodland that is a SSSI and nature conservation area “

Do bicycles kill kittens? Not an issue is Scotland….. So better to drive there rather than cycle? Etc.

(You point about the suitability of the terrain for cycling is taken, but honestly, it’s only a bike).

Are you sure they were all bulls, M-F?

Yep, I can spot the difference between a bull and a cow.

mastiles_fanylion – Member
Yep, I can spot the difference between a bull and a cow.

Is the bull the one that gets frisky if you try to milk it?

🙂

Bulls not bullocks? it would be unusual to have more than one bull on a farm