To walk on nearby moorland as my daily exercise with the kids? (COVID19)

[Krisskrosskiss]

I have seen this drone footage of people going on 'unnecessary' walks shared by the police... and its given me the fear! I dont understand what the people are doing wrong? I thought you were allowed out for exercise once a day? I've been going out for a walk with my kids every day.... we live quite rurally and altho there is a town within walking distance... the other way there is open moorland... I've been avoiding the town and walking up onto the moors...is this wrong or something? I asked on facebook but just got shouted at to 'stay home'... which isnt helpful... I do not have a garden and I have two children under four... if this is going on for months I am going to need to take them for walks. I wouldve thought its safer to go up to the moors rather than down into the town? The government guidlines seem to say its allowed but the police seem to be acting like it's not allowed....

The police are now being criticised for acting in typical thuggish fashion. It’s funny how when there’s actual crime going on they’re overstretched and underfunded yet when it comes to telling dog walkers to go home they can miraculously appear out in force. Our local PC was out taking selfies at local beauty spots yesterday. Captioned ‘despite the sun all areas were quiet’. Absolute joke, waste of space and public money.

I'm no where near london. I'm in the north fairly rural but walking distance from a town centre... also walking distance from open moorland

I hadn’t heard you weren’t allowed to drive, when did they say that?

You are. The police have made up their own rules, lacking all common sense. The government guidelines are clear that at the moment people driving to exercise in more remote locations is acceptable.

I think the ‘don’t drive’ edict is to stop hordes of people from miles away descending on the same spot and making a mockery of ‘distancing’ as happened last weekend.

There is no logic to preventing you from taking your permitted excercise on moorland rather than streets.

*I hadn’t heard you weren’t allowed to drive, when did they say that?

Oh glad it's not just me*

I’ve been reading the news obsessively too, and if that’s now advised I’ll follow it even if I think it’s putting extra pressure locally, but if it isn’t advised maybe I could get a nicer walk this weekend!

Peapod29 I agree that drone footage was so hostile and scary... not what people need at a time when everyone is already very scared.... I get they want to stop people flocking to beauty spots but that was very heavy handed... just to film a lone man walking in a rural area... it's horrible it's like 1984 or something...

still got shouted at that I'm killing people by wanting to take my kids out for a walk on the moors

Stupidity and hysteria spread as fast as the virus.

Police stopping loads of people driving to popular places and crowding into car parks, parking in daft places is 'common sense'.

Chasing a solitary walker on the moors by drone (unless it was a place only accessible by doing the above) - not so much.

It's an evolving response, some of the judgement calls at the moment won't be perfect.

I drove 15 minutes out my town yesterday. I parked in an empty lay-by in the country. I walked for over an hour and passed not a single person. That has to be safer than walking round a town.

If you think about it sensibly, every car journey is at a risk of an accident. Surely our NHS service have enough to do at the moment without sorting out possible injuries from idiots decided to 'drive' to go for a walk???
One walk a day.
Stay Inside - Stay Alive

I live where people are driving to. There are cars and people everywhere. I’ve never seen so many people there. Usually it would be really quiet. So you can’t guarantee seclusion. I’ve been walking up the steep hills from my house with my dogs just to get away from the crowds walking in the valley. I’m still only out an hour.

The whole point is you’re meant to be at home. You shouldn’t be driving unless you have to.

I think that you have to ask yourself "Is my action likely to be more or less likely to lead me to come into contact with other people?"

If the answer is "less likely" and you are acting within the spirit of the rules then I think it's OK. So your example of a short, local drive in order to take exercise in a people free area makes common sense to me. Better than walking with young children and risking them brushing against a stranger.

What isn't OK is for hordes of people to treat lockdown like it's a bank holiday and flock to NT and beauty spots and promenade with the great unwashed infected.

If you can walk to where you exercise, it's absolutely fine. We have open fields over the road from us and we've been taking the dog there for his daily walks.

It's one of the advantages of living rurally at the moment! I went out with DH yesterday and we saw one dog-walker and another couple out and about. Otherwise the fields and tracks were deserted.

Well yeah people are driving here too... it's a tourist destination.. on mothers day I didnt go outside at all because it was rammed.. there were cars parked all up my street from people visiting the town... and I dont even live that near the town! So i am glad theyve cracked down on it a bit because it has died down round here... but this is the reason I was initially driving to the edge of the moorland rather than walking.. because there were so many people milling around here!.... but it will probably be okay to walk now if I avoid the weekend

They're cracking down massively on driving anywhere unless it's absolutely essential.

If you're lucky enough to live within walking distance of fields and open space then there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of that.

I don't get the 'don't drive to exercise' thing. We live in a city centre. If I just walked around the streets in my immediate area I'd come into closer contact with many more people than if I drove 15 minutes out to the nature reserve. Last week I went for a walk there at 6.30am and saw only one person.

People are driving to remote places to walk and sun bathe, one of those pictures was of a group climbing to take a selfie. All these trips add to risk of accidents that the NHS can not deal with. I do wish the guidance was clearer and as simple as stay in unless medical or food needed but I guess they hoped by considering people’s mental health and well-being adding exercise would not be taken advantage of the way it has.
It may get to the stage they have to be more rigid and say 30 minutes exercise (walking, cycling or running) a day only which is the NHS guideline for people to think a little more.
I appreciate you are less likely to encounter people in rural areas than cities but will they be as secluded if people all drive there for walks?

Ahundredpercentthatbitch yeah I think I'd do the same if I were you... weve only switched to walking because that's the guidance and we feasibly can walk... I think if I were in your situation I'd drive to the nature reserve.. you've got to weigh up the risks.. being away from people is best

It's stupid to make it a blanket rule. I live extremely rurally in a hamlet. If we all walk our dogs in the same area we will all be close together. If we all drive to a bit further off, we won't meet anyone. There is one footpath in the hamlet. There are about 7 within a five minute drive.

I ran for 7km yesterday and did'nt see anyone! It should be tempered with common sense.

Yes I agree... maybe the police are going to use common sense but have to give firm hard rules publicly to stop people being dickheads and driving twenty miles away to sunbathe and drink some cans... that drone footage just scared me because I couldnt see what the problem was with that lone man just walking... i guess it's just a matter of being sensible and doing your best to avoid others whilst staying in your own local area

Apparently people are being moved off benches by the police

Now I haven’t a huge issue With that happening when it comes to someone sat there reading or people lying down sunbathing

But Some old people quite often Need to sit down to catch their breath before they head home or out shopping

Seems a bit heavy handed in that sort of case

I havent dared sit on a bench for weeks... virus can live on hard surfaces!! But yeah older people may have to let's hope the police are just being heavy handed in the media to try and scare people into behaving themselves but when it comes down to it will use common sense and empathy

Just be sensible. I'm walking along the beach but it's a 10 minute walk away. I don't see how it is different to walking along streets, probably better

My sister actually lives in The Peak District and she and her DH look very like one of the couples snapped by that drone walking their dogs.

PuppyMonkey this is what I mean! People live there how did that drone know they weren't people who lived there just taking their daily walk?! I dont want to get attacked by drones for walking around my own area... ridiculous. As if I wasnt already nearly dead with stress as is lol