There are two strangers sat in my garden eating their dinner

[Scrowy]

I've told them it's private property and not part of the footpath that passes next to it. Apparently they will be on their way soon.

I've now chickened out of saying anything else but I'm passive aggressively watering the hanging baskets about 5m away from them and they are very deliberately not making eye contact with me.

It's weird, whenever people do it they always sit in virtually the exact same spot, in direct line of sight of the kitchen window.

My theory is that it's the first bit of proper shade on the footpath for a few miles. But it's not even that sunny today.

Or perhaps people just think because it's a farm they can sit where they like even if it is in front of my gooseberry patch.

Did you say it’s private property or your garden?
Not that it should matter but I think some people would understand it’s not to be used by public more if you said it’s your garden!

Have you no fences or boundaries? If this happens a lot it must be not obvious that it's yours. If it bothers you make a boundary!
They are OF COURSE unreasonable to still be there but you are also unreasonable not to take permanent action to delineate your garden.

Well you won’t tell them to go so what do you expect?

Can you fence it off and put up a private property sign. Maybe you could go and ask them if they need help with directions then say they really have to leave now. They might not understand the land rules. Do not let them use your toilet. I might offer to fill up their water bottles. They could be cf but I am a bit of a pushover.

I'd let the dog out and he would eat their lunch, a toddler might work too

Does the local council have a warden service? You could ring them? www.gov.uk/find-local-council

You are a much calmer person than me OP, I couldn't put up with this at all. It makes me angry just thinking about it.

Time to put your sprinkler on.

If this happens a lot you need to think about some plants or a hedge.

I’d get the hose out.

Honestly.

You need motion sprinklers

@viques

I think you ought to take out a garden chair, or a huge blanket and go and sit next to them, like really close, like this

OP,CF,CF,

Or if you can

CF,OP,CF

Take your phone, put it on loudspeaker , phone friends and CHAT

Best post ever.

YY to motion sprinklers and a big ‘keep off my garden’ sign.

If it's happened before are you sure it's obvious to everyone that it is your garden?
Now they know they're probably just covering up their embarrassment with that pompous self entitled way some middle class people have

We get people parking on our drive because they don’t want to pay for the beach car park a couple of hundred yards away.

The cheeky fuckers are the ones that ring the bell to ask if they can use our toilet!

Tell them again to move! Or start taking very obvious photos of them.

Just tell them to move! Good people don't do that kind of thing. Are they blokes by any chance?

This is outrageous!

But you need to install a fence.

They have gone now. Just got up and carried on with their walk.

I don't know, I think it's obvious it's private property... unless you believe that all grass adjacent to a footpath is fair game?

to get here they must have walked across at least a couple of miles of open fell. They have then come off the main walking route, through the farm gate and cattle grid with a 'private, no vehicle access' sign on it (but also a public footpath arrow pointing past the house). Right outside the house at the front there is a steep grassy banking with a low wall at the bottom of it with some flowers growing in it, and a veg patch and gates into fields at the top where it flattens out.

They were sat on the steep bank bit.

@Bluntness100

Are either of them an elderly Korean lady?

😂😂😂😂😂😂

Is there no fence to separate your garden from the public footpath?

I think I need a diagram

Picture?

Lol cross post

Most footpaths are through private land, that doesn't mean you can't stop for a picnic, or does it?

Have to admit I wouldn't do it in what is obviously a garden mind. TBH I always feel slightly uncomfortable when the footpath passes through a garden or farm yard. I know I have a right to be there, but it doesn't feel right to be there iyswim.