To think it's nonsensical that I'm allowed to go to the pub but not the local beach?

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I'm in one of the Welsh areas of local lockdown, so we're not allowed to leave the local council area without a "reasonable excuse"

The beaches have just reopened to dogs after the summer, and normally I'd take DDog to the nearest local beach, which is 7 miles away. DDog loves the beach. However, this would take me across a county border, so my planned trip is now illegal.

However, it's still totally legal to go to my local indoor pub.

I really can't see how a trip to a breezy beach to walk the dog, keeping 2m+ apart from other people is higher risk than going to the pub. This rule feels like a complete nonsense to me.

@AvocadosBeforeMortgages

I'm in one of the Welsh areas of local lockdown, so we're not allowed to leave the local council area without a "reasonable excuse"

The beaches have just reopened to dogs after the summer, and normally I'd take DDog to the nearest local beach, which is 7 miles away. DDog loves the beach. However, this would take me across a county border, so my planned trip is now illegal.

However, it's still totally legal to go to my local indoor pub.

I really can't see how a trip to a breezy beach to walk the dog, keeping 2m+ apart from other people is higher risk than going to the pub. This rule feels like a complete nonsense to me.

Yes you are being quarantined.

You cannot leave your area, the beach is outside your area the pub is not.

That's what qurantine means, containment.

You can go to the pub near you but you cannot go the pub outside your county by the beach is a better example than your silly title

Honestly, what would determine the answer to me (theoretically, as I'm shielding and don't have a dog! 😂 I am in wales though), is whether the area the beach is in is also in local lockdown?

I can absolutely understand why moving from a local lockdown area to a "free" area is a problem, regardless of distance. But when the distance isn't far, it would - imo - make more sense to restrict travel to distance rather than to county lines.

I mean, for instance during proper lockdown we were helped out with food etc by DWs parents, as none of us could leave the house at all. Now both our area and their areas are in "local" lockdown, so they can't cross county lines without the stupidly subjective "good reason".

@Lindy2

Unfortunately the rules can't be tailored to each individual circumstances. You know it's really to stop unnecessary long journeys but unfortunately as you're on a border it limits what is actually local travel for you.

Personally I'd only allow outside dining/drinking or takeaways at pubs and restaurants and I'd not limit travel within the country. It should be unnecessary international travel that is stopped as I feel that is much higher risk.

It's a bit sledgehammer to crack a nut but whatever is put in place will annoy someone. Maybe this could be an opportunity to discover new dog walking places for you.

This

Taking a dog to a beach 7 miles away is a BRILLIANT reason to go somewhere. And not risky at all. Have a lovely time.

Or of course if you take a photo whilst you are there and sell it to your neighbour for 50p you're a paid photographer travelling for work.

The three counties in local lockdown each have beaches so not sure you've got to cross a border 🤷🏻‍♀️

@tbtf

The three counties in local lockdown each have beaches so not sure you've got to cross a border 🤷🏻‍♀️

🤦🏻‍♀️ I forgot Wrexham existed... and all those counties in South Wales.

I'm tired, soz

Honestly, what would determine the answer to me (theoretically, as I'm shielding and don't have a dog! 😂 I am in wales though), is whether the area the beach is in is also in local lockdown?

Yes, both my area and the neighbouring area with a local beach are both in local lockdown

Or of course if you take a photo whilst you are there and sell it to your neighbour for 50p you're a paid photographer travelling for work.

The other loophole is that the restrictions only apply to entering or leaving the area with a reasonable excuse. From everything I've read, if you have a reasonable excuse to cross a border, then you can do other stuff while you're there. For instance, a person who lives in Caerphilly but commutes to work across the border in Cardiff can go shopping in Primark or buy a Starbucks while they're in Cardiff - but wouldn't be able to go to Cardiff solely to shop at Primark and drink Starbucks.

Work periodically requires me to cross the border into the county with the beach. DDog can come with me to work, so technically I could simply do a detour to the beach with DDog after work

Surely it’s ok if you are only going to the beach to test your dogs eyesight?

If either you or your DDog are a member of parliament then it should be fine.

What SoupDragon said.

Another option is that you could just quietly go without trying to be a smartarse on mumsnet about how rules are stupid 🙄

@RuffleCrow

It's ridiculous. Isn't interesting how all the poorer areas of Britain like Wales, Scotland, The Midlands, the North, are being locked down one after the other, but where I live, in hooray henry country, remains relatively unnaffected. How much of this is about controlling the virus, and how much is it about controlling the masses?!

I would say an awful lot of it is on one hand about people who take responsibility for their own health seriously and understand that by doing so they are also protecting others ,and on the other hand about people who don't give a shit.

You can't legislate for stupid.

Thing is that these rules don't say 'this is a rule but you need to work out whether it is sensible or not'. They say you mustn't do this and you must do that.

YABU because you are not being asked to make judgement on the rule based on your (or your dog's desires and opinions) but to follow it. To save lives.

What a horrible snobby comment. You don’t think perhaps that those might be the areas where people have less opportunity to work from home, are forced onto public transport and live in more overcrowded areas; and who don’t get paid if they don’t work might be something to do with higher transmission rates rather than it being ‘stupidity’ or ‘not giving a shot’?
If you had to decide whether to feed your family/ lose your home/ take chance on catching Covid what would you?

@TinyTornado I may be wrong but this isn't about poverty. This is about someone wanting to walk their dog somewhere where they are currently prohibited and them justifying why they should ignore the prohibition.

@Lilybet1980

Teaching the dog about waves is right up there with testing your eye sight.

This.

I get that rules are frustrating and can seem stupid. But encouraging a mindset of "I am exception to the rules because xyz" is the reason we're heading into another lockdown.

Or of course if you take a photo whilst you are there and sell it to your neighbour for 50p you're a paid photographer travelling for work.

The thing is, the virus doesn't care about all this rules-lawyering. You can probably find a legal loophole to practically anything.

Much of my working life at the moment is covid-related risk assessments, and there's two stages to it. One is determining what will keep us within the law. The other is determining whether, just because the law says it's permissible to do something, that doesn't necessarily mean it's safe to do something. So we have made decisions not to do activities if would be legal for us to do, because while be legal, it's still risky.

Taking a photo and selling it to a neighbour for 50p does not make anyone magically less infectious to others.

You say your business is down the toilet which is sad and you are right to be angry about that but, you are not helping your financial position by risking a trip to an out of county beach for your dog and getting caught and fined. Unless of course your dog has a savings account and can pay your fine for you.

I love my dog but wouldn't risk that just so he could have a splash in the water (aside from all the other potential issues pointed out).