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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

'Stay local to exercise' is rubbish

655 replies

ThePants999 · 27/03/2020 18:56

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52062209

Taking public transport to start your exercise is obviously counterproductive.

Driving to somewhere where loads of other people are also going to exercise is not exactly ideal.

Driving to somewhere in the middle of nowhere to go for a walk? Not only is that perfectly safe, I'm going to assert that it's BETTER than walking from your house, especially if you live in a built-up area.

AIBU? And if I'm being U - why? How am I endangering anyone by going out to the countryside by car instead of walking round my town?

OP posts:
Lynda07 · 27/03/2020 19:30

You're not unreasonable, the Pants. Staying local is relative anyway, many would consider up to ten miles as being not far away by car and five miles is nothing.

I don't drive but if I did, I'd travel a short distance for a bit of exercise.

bloodywhitecat · 27/03/2020 19:31

I live on a NSL B road, two lorries cannot pass without one having to stop and there have been several accidents on the bends by my house (last spring we had the air ambulance out to a car vs. motorbike collision). If I were to walk there with the dog and the kids I would be taking my life in my hands and we would soon become a statistic. I drive us a mile and half down the road to a woodland that is very quiet and we all take a walk/run there. I am sure there are plenty who think I am wrong to do this.

QuestionMarkNow · 27/03/2020 19:32

YABU because if you say that people aren’t reasonable and take the mick. They go to the beach (it’s huge plenty of space!) , go walking for the day in the Peak District etc...
And at the same time, you need to have rescue teams available because you can be sure that some of them will injure themselves (twisted ankle, fall etc).

Miljea · 27/03/2020 19:32

goodbyestranger I agree. The 'advice' is creating NIMBY'ism.

doofusmoof · 27/03/2020 19:32

I've not gone to the London park at the end of my road for 2 weeks as it's rammed.

Oopsinamechangedagain2020 · 27/03/2020 19:32

My puppy is crap at walking on a lead. So I can't take her for a walk round where I live she just gets distracted and wants to pull me along. The park is walking distance 12 mins ish but that is too far for her at the moment. I can get in my car and drive to the park in 3/4 mins and she can have a proper run around. We stay away from others and are much less likely to bump into other people than the roads around my house which lead to the shops. It's ridiculous to say not to drive to the park when it's so close. Obviously people should not be travelling out of their local area but within a mile or 2 should be okay depending how close the open space is.

480Heath · 27/03/2020 19:33

The Cabinet Office have CONFIRMED this afternoon,that you CAN drive to exercise or walk your dog.

Obvious not in areas such as parks and forests that have been shut.

Police Forces are NOT at liberty to stop you,they are just being ridiculous,even with the new powers they were give. Yesterday this is NOT included.

MilkTrayLimeBarrel · 27/03/2020 19:34

I live 5 minutes from the beach where we walk our dog every day and hardly see anybody. All of a sudden, it is crowded! This is OUR local area not for people who fancy a drive to the beach. Stay away!

zombieapocalypseisnigh · 27/03/2020 19:34

I get it, OP.

Around here, most people are generally NOT out and about and at home sitting on their couches. We're usually out, 3 very active children, sports teams, including national sports team levels for 2 of them, and out walking/cycling daily when they don't have a team event on, so we see what it's usually like around here.

It's like suddenly everyone in our town has taken up the challenge to do the Duke of Edinburgh award for themselves ... told to stay home, so of course it's suddenly vital that they all go out for extended periods of time. It's amazing, actually ... and annoying for those of us who are usually out there anyway, and now we're struggling to give them space as they amble along paths that are usually empty as far as we can see.

Lynda07 · 27/03/2020 19:35

goodbyestranger Fri 27-Mar-20 19:30:24
To be honest I feel quite guilty. I live by a beach in an area of outstanding natural beauty and we have miles of beach almost entirely to ourselves because of this guidance. Plenty of people could share it perfectly safely. Cones around the village are sending a visual warning that outsiders aren't welcome, but it doesn't seem right that lots of other people are having to exercise in close proximity to others while we have all this space. I think the advice is not brilliantly thought through.
.......
That's a good post.

If people are sensible and committed to staying safe for themselves and for others, I see nothing wrong with travelling a little. At the moment, fuel is not rationed and you can sanitise after using pump and pay by card, sanitise that afterwards too.

Take food and drink with you.

If the car breaks down, the emergency services are working and most of the people doing repair and recovery are glad to be earning - you don't have to stand close to them or anything like that. Of course, no one wants their car to break down but it happens.

AuldAlliance · 27/03/2020 19:35

The argument about having an accident isn't a laugh. It's deadly serious.
We are in "it won't happen to me" territory here, so let's set aside the fact that if you had an accident you'd not get treatment because hospitals are busy with CV patients:

You need to think about who else is on the road.

I'm in France, we're ahead of the UK in terms of the curve, and a nurse died recently when she was driving home after a night shift. She swerved, probably due to exhaustion, and hit another vehicle face on. The other driver was fine. She died.

Sure, she might have died if there had been no one else on the road - or she might just have gone off the road onto the verge or snapped awake in time and straightened up.

These are the people saving lives and risking theirs to do so.

You have to weigh up your priorities and your desire to go for a walk is not more important than the lives of people who have no choice but to go to work.

Lynda07 · 27/03/2020 19:35

PS: goodbyestranger - please don't feel guilty, it's not your doing.

Sparklingbrook · 27/03/2020 19:37

I am sure some of the people doing repair and recovery would be Hmm at rescuing someone from the middle of nowhere. If they have to tow your car back you have to sit in their van with them. Lovely.

As for the emergency services I have a slight feeling they might have more important things to deal with.

nervousfirsttimer1985 · 27/03/2020 19:38

I think the issue is the nukber if people with the same idea. I live close to the lake district. It was rammed last weekend. During that weekend a person had an accident and it took 19 members of mountain resuce to assist them. I am not saying that it was someone from outside the area, they could have been a local, it doesn't say, however if they had followed advice to stay an exercise near to home this wouldn't have happened. They drove there as their wife was waiting in the car park to take them to hospital. If they had listened to the advice this wouldn't have happened and 19 volunteers wouldn't have been called out.

bmbonanza · 27/03/2020 19:39

The reason given by many is if you have a road accident then it will stretch the NHS staff further. I agree totally. So WHY are there loads of cyclists setting off on recreational jollies on the roads every day as part of their allowed exercise?

Veterinari · 27/03/2020 19:39

You make some excellent points @waterlego

The government should have stated social distancing measures that apply to everyone except a select few with your specific circumstances.

That would be totally enforceable wouldn't it? Hmm

nervousfirsttimer1985 · 27/03/2020 19:40

*Number, rescue and and! Really should of checked that Blush

luckylavender · 27/03/2020 19:40

It's not 'just common sense' though is it? There are either rules or there aren't. And lockdown should be the same for everyone because everyone's interpretation would be different & everyone would find a reason why they're an exception. This is how it started in Italy & because people thought they were all special, it's much stricter. And the roads need to be as clear as possible for emergency vehicles.

yabadabadontdoit · 27/03/2020 19:40

The Cabinet Office have CONFIRMED this afternoon,that you CAN drive to exercise or walk your dog

Have you got a link for this please? We’re North Yorkshire and they’ve turning people round who are trying to do this

avocadoze · 27/03/2020 19:42

I live next to a beauty spot. I can’t walk near my home as it’s so crowded. YABU

LittleRootie · 27/03/2020 19:42

The Cabinet Office have CONFIRMED this afternoon,that you CAN drive to exercise or walk your dog.

480Heath have you got any link for that info or name of the cabinet spokesperson who put it out? I'd like to be able to cite it if/when I get stopped!

thequeenofsandwich · 27/03/2020 19:44

I am a frontline essential NHS worker in one of Europes largest teaching hospitals .
At the moment my husband drives me in & home to keep me off public transport. I feel guilty & am worried we will be stopped & questioned on the road ....
And yet apparently some of our fellow road users are out for a jolly ?

Bbang · 27/03/2020 19:45

You’ll get shouted down but honestly I don’t disagree with you, some of us don’t have lovely big gardens to go out into so have no other option but to go outside. I have three children and they do need to get outside of the house at some point.

We are being sensible, walking to places and not driving and socially distancing, wearing masks etc.

lokoho · 27/03/2020 19:46

I think it depends?

Mountain rescue are busiest during good weather. The summer holidays are the peak. It's mostly walkers that need help - I think it's 80% of all rescues are walkers? And it's mostly people from cities, not locals. People drive out to the middle of nowhere, get lost, and then someone has to go and get them. Locals pay for the rescue themselves - it's not government funded - and staffed by volunteers. By us it's mainly paramedics on the rescue. - I don't know if that's everywhere. Our rescue goes out LOADS.

So no I don't think it's a good idea to drive out from a city to a random moorland you don't know and then stride out. Not right now. Everyone is a bit busy. They would come and get you, of course they would, but maybe it's not very wise. If you do know the land and you're not going too far, then maybe it's more sensible. If you live up a hill you can't help it, after all.

I think it has to depend?

C8H10N4O2 · 27/03/2020 19:46

This is OUR local area not for people who fancy a drive to the beach. Stay away!

If its a private beach then presumably you have signage to say so and that visitors are prohibited?

If its a public beach then see 90 gazillion threads along the lines of "wahhhhh someone parked outside my house on the public road".