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Original poster

Are people driving to exercise?

119 replies

confusedofengland · 18/02/2021 13:22

I am having a bit of a rubbish half term & finding it difficult to keep the DC entertained, as well as feeling a bit bored myself. We are lucky enough to live in a village with 2 decent playgrounds plus a good half dozen decent walks, but we have done them all to death since March! The recent wet weather hasn't helped either, as a lot are too muddy to be passable. But we are sticking with it & going on a bike ride tomorrow to mix things up a bit.

However, I am noticing that more & more people are driving to parks/woods in other towns with their DC & I am dreaming of doing the same myself, but can't bring myself to until guidelines allow. I am talking anything up to 30 mins drive away (12-15 miles).

I do drive - to shop for food & care for my elderly grandparents - so I don't know if that makes me hypocritical? We have also been going to playgrounds regularly. One friend says that she is comfortable with the risk she is taking because they have only just started going to playgrounds as they are bored of our village.

So, I just wondered, is everybody driving for exercise and am I being over cautious in not doing so? I feel like I'm the only one! We're in England btw (I think rules/guidelines are different elsewhere).

OP posts:
midgedude · 18/02/2021 14:03

Staying local doesn't mean no driving

MolyHolyGuacamole · 18/02/2021 14:06

[quote confusedofengland]@MolyHolyGuacamole there is no need to be rude. It is a genuine question I was asking for clarification on 🙄[/quote]
'I feel like I'm the only one!' Is a common theme in threads where people post about how closely they're following the 'rules' they made up and scorn others who aren't doing the same. It's boring. Go out and get some fresh air.

Babdoc · 18/02/2021 14:13

We are supposed to stay in our own local authority area. In my case, that covers 2,500 square miles - the biggest county in Scotland! And it is far safer to drive to a deserted mountain, loch, moor or forest, for exercise alone, than go to the busy park where hordes of children are potentially spreading covid filled aerosol with every breath.

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Exercise & fitness
BarbaraofSeville · 18/02/2021 14:25

That's not the case in England though Babdoc.

Here all we have is the guidance 'you should stay local, which means the village, town or part of the city that you live in'. This is not law, but at some point, it must be deemed as too far away to not be reasonable, and be at risk of a fine. But when? I think we will all agree that it's not reasonable to drive 50+ miles to a national park or the beach, but where beyond 3, 5, 10, 20 miles should we not stray and not argue or get upset if we are fined?

Original poster
confusedofengland · 18/02/2021 14:26

@MolyHolyGuacamole I'm not scorning anyone. I'm merely trying to determine if what I'm doing is right, because if it isn't then great, I can go out further! And expressing my frustration & boredom.

There is still no need for you to be rude.

OP posts:
PurpleDaisies · 18/02/2021 14:27

@LadyDanburysCane

Well as the papers have reported people being fined (in England) for driving to exercise I don’t think I’d risk it.

I do head out for walks of 5-6 miles though, my car only gets used for work (in school).

People have challenged those fines and they’ve been withdrawn. There is no formal definition of local in the law. I’m talking about England.
anotherlongwalk · 18/02/2021 14:30

I drive about 4 miles 2 or 3 times a week to a place that I can let my dog off lead and give him a proper run... he's very energetic and if he was only to have lead walks around the streets every day he'd be bouncing off the walls!

Pinotwoman82 · 18/02/2021 14:34

I do my MIL shopping then we drive the 15 miles or so to her house, park up and walk there. It’s nice to see different scenery and I have to go there anyway

PurpleDaisies · 18/02/2021 14:36

My local supermarket is 15 minutes drive away. I’m not sure why it would be any different to drive there to do the weekly shop amongst a load of people verses driving for 15 minutes to a quiet bridleway where I can run safely and see nobody.

shinynewapple21 · 18/02/2021 14:37

I think you are allowed to travel for exercise if it's not practical to exercise straight from your front door .

We've just been walking around local streets (suburb not town centre). There are a couple of national trust areas with hills and footpaths about 10 mins drive from our house and as the weather's getting better I'm considering going .

Initially I was worried about any unnecessary travel in case of accident and not wanting to further stress NHS but I think hospital cases going down now.

I'm also concerned having seen police handing out fines and I'm not sure if wanting to give the dog an off lead run is adequate reason .

PurpleDaisies · 18/02/2021 14:39

I think you are allowed to travel for exercise if it's not practical to exercise straight from your front door.

In England, the only stipulation is to stay local. Nothing about only if you can’t go straight from your door.

shinynewapple21 · 18/02/2021 14:42

So do people reckon a 10 min drive is staying local ?

Riskywhisky · 18/02/2021 14:45

We have been driving 12 miles to the beach. I couldn't find any definition of local but I was still worried. DH is ill and this gives him a boost. The police arrived one day and I chatted to everyone and said it's fine and if you live near the beach you should make the most of it. They were so lovely that I offered them a cup of tea from my flask Smile

PurpleDaisies · 18/02/2021 14:45

@shinynewapple21

So do people reckon a 10 min drive is staying local ?
How can that be a question? Of course it is.
BarbaraofSeville · 18/02/2021 14:54

There was the advice at one point, that I cannot remember if it is still current, that it was OK to drive for exercise if your exercise time exceeds your driving time, which seems reasonable to me. I think this was from an official source.

So it's fine to drive half an hour to go for a two hour walk, but it's not OK to drive 2 hours to a national park for an hours walk and picnic.

yearinyearout · 18/02/2021 14:58

Yes I'm driving to exercise, although I'm still staying fairly local (within ten miles) just because I can't be arsed with the aggravation of an over zealous police officer if I happen to get questioned.

Even on our most local walk there was a community support officer marching about a few weeks ago checking people weren't in groups. I wouldn't mind but we have so much ACTUAL petty crime round here that they apparently haven't got the manpower to deal with. I can't get my head around them hassling people having a walk outside and doing no harm at all.

Carycy · 18/02/2021 14:58

CautiousIt does not say you can’t drive in the the circle you have ringed. It says stay local, that can be interpreted differently.

If I go out in my local village I bump into a million people I know. My kids play with other kids If I got a bit further afield we are able to keep to ourselves more. So I really don’t see what the issue is. Staying local in my case can potentially be more of a risk.

OP Just do what you think is right for you as well as the mental health of your family. I am specifically avoiding my mother at the moment as she is in her 70s and has just had her first vaccine. I could technically bubble with her as she is on her own but I choose not to as I am nhs and I don’t want to pass anything on to her. But yes I will travel a bit further to give my young kids a bit of variety in their lives.

PurpleDaisies · 18/02/2021 15:01

There was the advice at one point, that I cannot remember if it is still current, that it was OK to drive for exercise if your exercise time exceeds your driving time, which seems reasonable to me. I think this was from an official source.

That was a previous lockdown and it was never law, or officially in the guidelines.

I can't get my head around them hassling people having a walk outside and doing no harm at all.

It’s nuts. The risk outdoors is tiny. You’d think they’d have better things to do.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 18/02/2021 15:03

No, for me local means where I can walk too so having to drive there would seem wrong to me. It would just mean other people’s local areas are busier too.

PurpleDaisies · 18/02/2021 15:04

Can you see that other people’s definition of local could reasonably be different @IceCreamAndCandyfloss? There is no formal definition so those driving short distances aren’t doing anything wrong (in England).

Champagneandmonstermunch · 18/02/2021 15:05

I have driven a few miles a couple of times in half term as I've got so bored of local walks. Are there any walks you could do near grandparents/supermarket, to make one journey for two reasons. That might be a bit more in the spirit of the rules?

cautiouscovidity · 18/02/2021 16:14

@Carycy It says stay local in your village, town or part of the city you live in. By definition, this would mean that you should stay very local (within a radius of 2-3 miles for most).
So if your town is fairly large, then yes it would be ok I guess to drive 5 mins from your house at one end of town to the park at the other. But not to drive from your village to the big country park 5 miles down the road.

SteveBrexit · 18/02/2021 16:21

There was the advice at one point, that I cannot remember if it is still current, that it was OK to drive for exercise if your exercise time exceeds your driving time,

exactly

plus schools were closed, parks, forests, national trusts, public toilets, public car parks etc.. were closed and we were told TO STAY HOME.

Now the advice is to stay local, so I try to drive up to 45mn or 1 hour, no more.

If it was illegal to drive, the national trusts etc car parks would be shut.

PurpleDaisies · 18/02/2021 16:21

By definition, this would mean that you should stay very local (within a radius of 2-3 miles for most).

Where have you got those numbers from? My local supermarket is further away than that.

Boris Johnson was cycling seven miles away. That was fine.

The women walking at Foremark reservoir had travelled five miles to get there. That was fine.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-england-derbyshire-55625062

It says “stay local” not “stay very local”. I really wish posters would stop inventing new rules.

rawalpindithelabrador · 18/02/2021 16:23

Yep, sure do!

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