Am I a cf for asking a farmer this question?

We did just this when we moved in as our land is adjacent. We offered him money but he was happy for us to just walk the perimeter. Some people on this thread are just plain mean. She asked a question politely and some of you are just enjoying sticking the boot in for no reason. Anyway, it is possible! Just ask!

You can ask, but I doub5bthe farmer will say yes. Would you allow your neighbour to walk In Your garden? It’s the same thing to a farmer.

The roads are probably wider than you think. Certainly even if the hedges/banks are high there’s usually a couple of feet wider than a vehicle or they’d be much more challenging to drive down.

You can't do that on all roads.

Where I used to live a lot of roads the hedge leaves/branches would actually be touching the car, they would get that overgrown. Even trimmed back there was nowhere for a pedestrian to walk and they were too full and tall to walk into.

Any pedestrian on those roads would be in serious danger of getting hit as they wouldn't be able to get off the road.

Under no circumstances buy a house based on a permission which can be withdrawn at any time.

Well quite a few of those stats are town planning issues, not really anything to do with farming.

I suggest the simplest solution would be opening up all the royal estates and national trust properties and rich peoples lands for free access for all - thousands and thousands of acres of land that are not used for farming.

You are angry at the wrong people.

@Whye Firstly you say you like pavements - most rural areas don't have them! I can understand your point about walking on narrow country lanes, but once again they occur quite frequently in rural areas and you do get used to them.

Moving onto to asking a farmer to use their land - the difficulty I think you will have is you need to move in first, get to know the locals which will include the farmers and then take your time to eventually asking the question about using land. It all takes time though, the one thing I can guarantee to annoy locals and farmers alike is to jump in feet first with requests such as using fields. It is just the way it is in rural areas.

Farming family and know many other farmers, a livestock area, and family will happily say to some locals, if no stock in our fields feel free to go in them. Others do they same for us - some farmers though, even if we know them, do not want anyone or their dogs in their fields. There are many footpaths across fields anyway, so you may find you only have to walk on the small lane for a short while with your dogs at heel.

I grew up in the countryside, and I know those rural roads. I don’t have dogs but I have had babies in buggies, toddlers, and small children, and if it wasn’t safe for us to walk out our gate for a 15-minute ramble without constantly being on alert to jump into the verge, I wouldn’t be buying the house.

@OrwellianTimes

I don't think you can rely on this, so go on the assumption something could change even if the farmer agrees.

@OrwellianTimes
As I said, we need education, not restrictions.
A festival is a completely different matter than allowing responsible access.
We need more access to know and love the land.

Some stats on public access in England:

If you’ve seen the absolute carnage that festival goers in the country manage I wouldn’t trust the general British public with that. The general Bristish public can’t even clear their dog crap off the pavements. Never heard my German friends complaining of having to hose dog crap off their driveway daily - which I’m having to do currently.

Scandinavian countries and Scotland are hardly comparable as they are so sparsely populated.

Sorry, but I don't understand why you'd consider this location when it doesn't work for you.

@Scrowy
We need education, not restrictions.

@OrwellianTimes
Or these countries?

My understanding from my farming friends across the border is that there are just far far fewer people around to traipse about, which makes it just about bearable.

plus those that do still have some inkling that they are on working farmland and don't think that a public footpath = free for all in the field.

@OrwellianTimes
How do farmers in Scotland manage this then where people DO have a responsible right of access?

Bollocks. Farmers don’t want peon their land because they don’t want crop getting ruined. One of my local farmers has major issues with local yoof shooting his lambs with BB guns. Where’s the animal welfare in that?

Most farmers I know don’t like the hunt as they wreck the land with thier heavy horses, and the dogs barking makes cattle bolt and wreck gates.

Drones are perfect for catching out those who are being illegal.

I think you could ask. I've had friends who've had this type of agreement as long as there isn't livestock in there and you don't harm crops. Usually if a road is too dangerous to walk on, there is some sort of footpath nearby so look at an OS map for clues.

Don’t buy this house, it’s unsuitable for you. You can’t rely on the goodwill of a farmer, who speaking as someone from a farming family, are mostly a grumpy bunch.

It is respectful to ask however, have you checked what livestock is on the land? If you intend to walk your dog off lease then I would suspect it would not be acceptable to the farmer. Check You Tube for clarification - it is horrific the damage a dog off lease can do. A lot of dog owners seem to be unaware or don't think their dog will attack / chase in fun another animal to its death.

The only unlawful and awful things happening on my land is wild campers shitting behind walls and off lead dogs disturbing ground nesting birds.

Yes agree - there's some awful stuff going on sometimes such as allowing illlegal fox hunts into their land.
We need a right of responsible access.

Check out this wonderful book by Nick Hayes:

The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that Divide Us amzn.eu/d/iqIFS9r

I’m simply pointing out the fact that - if a farmer was to give VERBAL permission, OP could say she had been using the field without permission in order to try and acquire a right - would the farmer want to take the risk? My neighbour is an elderly farmer and I’m fairly confident he doesn’t use email!