@Fizbosshoes
I notice that some people (runners, walkers, dog walkers) almost seem a bit possessive of the area that they always walk (I was here first, type thing) and are annoyed that it's more crowded and now other people are there.
Theres literally nothing else to do! Even lazy people who dont like walking will probably force themselves out for a walk because they dont want to be indoors all the time!
I run regularly and I know lots of routes away from the more "obvious" parks and footpaths which tend to be busier. But me and DH walked a 5 mile route the other day in country lanes , I've run it multiple times and I never see anyone. Last week we saw probably 12 sets of people walking/cycling. I think it's nice, it means people are exploring their local areas more.
I've noticed people getting stroppy about other people walking in their general vicinity too - but, rather bizarrely, where I live it's the people coming from elsewhere who are getting the hump with local people daring to cross their path while they're walking!
I live in a tiny village less about a mile from the residential edge of a built-up area. The paths in between aren't all that obvious, so until last year we rarely saw anyone else when out walking or running, and when we did see someone, we usually knew them. During the first lockdown, people seemed to be ranging further and making more of an effort to find nice places to walk, so we did start seeing people on our usual routes, although still not all that many - maybe a family and a couple of dogwalkers on an hour-long walk. There are lovely walks round here - woods, streams, accessible fields, amazing views - so I was really pleased to see more people enjoying the area. Most people were considerate, and people smiled and said hello, and sometimes stopped to chat from a distance. It was lovely.
This time round, however, I'm getting increasingly irritated with people coming to the area and then taking umbrage at anyone who dares to come within a hundred yards of them. We always give people as much space as possible, even if it means getting off the path to let them pass, or going back to a passing place if we're on one of the very narrow paths. When I'm out running, I always stop for walkers or give them a very wide berth when I pass, going into mud to do so if necessary. I also warn people well in advance if I'm coming up behind them, and ask politely if I can pass when there is space. I can't remember the time anyone said thank you, or even wasn't openly hostile. It wasn't like this in the first lockdown at all. I've been tutted at, glared at, had people stomp past in clear bad temper when we've just gone out of our way to make space for them. The kids and I have had to squeeze out of the way of other families walking 5 abreast, who then glare at us and make comments about people not giving them space. The other day I was on a run and met a woman on a narrow path, so I went back and waited for her. She was on her phone, and when she passed me, she tutted, and then started complaining to the person on the phone about 'too many people on the paths round here.' I later saw her getting into her car, having clearly driven to the village from elsewhere.
It's very strange. It doesn't seem to cross many people's minds that the people they are getting huffy with might actually live here, and be doing exactly what they should be doing and exercising in their local area. I thought I was being oversensitive until our very easygoing neighbours also commented on it, after someone apparently snapped 'this is the third time we've had to go into single file in about five minutes' at them. Apparently they at least had the grace to look embarrassed when our neighbours pointed out that they actually owned the field they were walking through, and that they were on their way to put a sign up warning walkers that the path is steep and very muddy.
I'm not sure what's changed - whether people are just thoroughly miserable and fed-up and don't have the mental energy to think beyond their own wants and needs, or whether it's people who have been coming here since first lockdown and now feel a sense of ownership over the area. But it's a shame, as I know a lot of other people in the village were equally pleased to see walkers out and about during the last lockdown - almost all of us objected to one person putting up signs telling people not to drive to the village to exercise - and a lot of them are now complaining about similar experiences.