To ask someone not to walk down a footpath at night ?

[Nearlyoldenoughtowearpurple]

We live in the country, at the end of a private lane. This is also a footpath.
For the last few months our dogs have been barking madly about 11o clock at night. We put it down to foxes but I find it really unnerving, especially if dh is away.
One night, just before Xmas, the barking was worse and it sounded like the dogs had got out. It was about 11.30. Dh went downstairs and opened the front door to see if he could see our dog but there was a guy standing on the doorstep. He said that he had come to apologise because he had been walking his dog in the lane and it had got through the fence into our sheep field and he thought it might have chased the sheep . ( sheep all fine in case worried).
He gave dh his card and said that he walks his dog at night as its not good with other dog. From his business card I think he is a bit of a techy up late at night gamer type anyway, who probably doesn't find it weird to be walking at that time.
Since then we have realised that it's his walking down the lane that upsets the dogs as they bark, shut up and then bark again in the amount of time it would take to go past the house to the end of the lane and then back again.
I have his email address, do you think it ok to send him a polite message, just explaining how much this freaks me out and ask him to not walk past the house after a certain time, pretty please ? There is a big field , with a footpath in it, just before the start of our drive so it's not like he couldn't walk anywhere, just not the ten minute walk up the lane past the house and back. Obviously I appreciate I can't stop him, just point out its a bit antisocial?
Am I being precious ? It just really scares me ( and dd)

honeyroar puts it perfectly

Sorry desolatewaist but here is the first line from the OPs opening post:

We live in the country, at the end of a private lane. This is also a footpath.

I read that Nemosnemsis but a footpath is not the same thing as a public right of way.

How are they different?? Public have a right of way on a footpath, but only on foot.

The OP is the one who could clarify in this thread though.

How are they different?? Public have a right of way on a footpath, but only on foot.

A footpath can be anywhere, the public only have the right to access a public right of way.

Is a footpath a public right of way? www.ramblers.org.uk/advice/rights-of-way-law-in-england-and-wales/basics-of-rights-of-way-law.aspx

No. There are many paths that the public is able to use but that are not legally rights of way and do not enjoy the same protection.

Paths crossing public parks and open spaces, commons and other sites to which the public has access may not necessarily be rights of way, though some of them are.

Other routes, known as permissive paths, are open to the public because the owner has given permission for them to be used: often there is a notice on the path making clear the owner has no intention of dedicating the path as a right of way, and reserving the right to withdraw the permission. These paths are sometimes closed for one day a year, with a view to preventing claims that they are rights of way.

Towpaths, paths across land owned by organisations such as the Forestry Commission and National Trust who have a policy of providing access, and off-road multi-user routes such as those created as part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network, are available for public use but may not be rights of way.

Sorry if this has been covered, but I didn't spot it...how do you know it's this guy every night? Are other walkers using the pathway?

If your reply to that is that you know it's this man, then why are you scared of your dogs barking when he walks past?

It's still a perfectly normal time for people to out and about - he's not doing anything wrong at all. If you must address it with him, then as a pp says, you really have to do it face to face, not in an email.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere. There were footpaths all over the place that had been used for generations. However the public have no right to walk on them and the landowner has every right to refuse permission for people to walk on them. You see this all the time in towns and cities also - signs saying 'this is not a public right of way' down the sides of building etc where there are footpaths.

Rights of use on a public right of way:
Your legal right is to “pass and repass along the way”. You may stop to rest or admire the view, or to consume refreshments, providing you stay on the path and do not cause an obstruction. You can also take with you a “natural accompaniment” which includes a pram, or pushchair.

You can also legally take a manual or powered wheelchair (mobility scooter) provided you follow the regulations for taking these vehicles on ordinary roads. However there is no guarantee that the surface of the path will be suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.

You can take a dog with you, but you must ensure it is under close control. Note that there is no requirement for stiles to be suitable for use by dogs.

Public rights of way are owned by the highway authority: The surface of the path is for most purposes considered to belong to the highway authority. What this means is that the authority owns the surface of the way and so much of the soil below and the air above as is necessary for the control, protection and maintenance of the highway. The rest normally belongs to the owner of the surrounding land.

The OP said this was a foot path on a private drive. Therefore he, or anyone else, has no right to walk on it.

However, if it turns out that it is a public right of way the the OP cannot legally tell him to do one and he has every right to march up and down it all day long if he wants to.

Of course all of that is only for England and Wales. If the OP is in Scotland then the rules are different.

Thanks for that information dump desolate. I'm sure most people will already know all of that. In common parlance the term footpath is used to refer to the paths as denoted on OS maps (ie rights of way) and permissive paths are obviously different.

Time in use is a factor. I had a legal battle trying to get a footpath on my land closed when I discovered that it wasn't actually a public right of way. But because it had been in use for decades I lost my case.

As the land in question is the OP's, she would surely know if this was a permissive path and mention it. As she hasn't, it seems reasonable to assume that she means footpath in the common use of the word (i.e appears on an OS map)

To me, there is a huge difference between a permissive path and an established footpath, the footpaths across our land were there before the local roads, the old houses have their fronts facing them and gateways (despite them being just grass fields). The council puts signs up and even does some of the maintenance. There is no way I can stop someone going on them, people have been taken to court for trying to block them/stop people using them.

Yes, YABU. It's not your footpath to police.

I said above that this only applies to England and Wales.

And in the first post I posted the link I was taking it from.

Yes I forgot to say it was just England and Wales. Sorry but I've not committed the crime of the fucking century have I.

It's not the crime of the fucking century, no, but it's fucking annoying when English law is the default law on here in a way that Scottish law (or any other law) isn't.

It is ducking annoying I'm sure, and I apologise however I think I've been rather unfairly told off here.

Did you email him op?

Francis surely you have been just as crass by repeatedly referring to England she English and omitting Wales.

I feel this thread has exposed a real lack of consideration of others

Yes, OP, yours. It's your dogs barking, your dogs scaring you, even though you know why they are barking. But instead of training your animals properly, you want someone else to not walk where they like.

You are the inconsiderate one here.

OP are you saying that your dog sleeps outside?

If so, I think that's absolutely terrible. As for the footpath, it's selfish when people are inconsiderate isn't it? Imagine how your dog feels being left outside in the dark and the cold, it's fucking January and yet here you are complaining about the lack of consideration from others!

Dogs need the same level of comfort and security as humans do, no dog should be sleeping outside and I don't care how you want to justify it.

Hopefully the man walking on the footpath cares for his dog better than you care for yours - Equally I hope he starts making even more of a noise disturbance (maybe he could get himself a foghorn), send me his email address and I'll suggest it to him.

Dogs sleeping outside - disgusting.

I haven't. Their law is also different. England and Wales (in this case) come together. NI does not as far as I know. You spoke about the law in England. No mention of Wales.