To just ask you all to either wear some proper wellies and walk on the footpath, or stick to the sodding pavements

[flamingflamingos]

This is my field. It's winter wheat - it's been ploughed and pressed and drilled and rolled and just as it's starting to grow into what will be harvested for flour to produce bread, the general public have trampled it into the ground.

I understand the need to get outside, absolutely I support this country's network of footpaths - we have 6km of footpaths on this farm which are maintained so that everyone can enjoy the countryside.

But this is taking the piss. If you don't want to walk in the mud, don't walk in the countryside in January. Please, stop this. We are all accountable for how we behave.

Sheep netting is not impossible to climb over. Nor is it impossible to knock down. It is however considerably more expensive than straightforward post and wire. In turn, post and wire is considerably more expensive than not fencing off footpaths, a method which survived perfectly well for hundreds of years.

Why am I not walking on it? Because it's too muddy at the moment. For the life of me I don't see the point of walking there just now. It would never enter my head to do it.

This is mad - do people think all public footpaths are indicated by fences? Also to those who said how do people know there are crops, it's bloody obvious usually and if it's not, then people should always assume there are. It's pretty common knowledge to stick to the outer edges of fields.

Agree wellies would be useless, I ran 14 miles yesterday in mud like that, took me 4 hours and bloody knackered by the end. Only really grippy trail shoes stopped me from going a over t on many occasions.its hard work walking at this time of year in the best gear, I passed people in the oddest assortment of footwear

@Scrowy

(1)A person who, without lawful authority or excuse, so disturbs the surface of—

Pretty sure feeding my sheep in winter is a pretty good excuse to drive a tractor over the cart track on my land. Given that I own the land I'm also pretty sure I remember each and every time to give myself authority to do it too.

If you find a muddy cart track inconvenient don't use it or get more suitable footwear.

The law you are quoting is to prevent people blocking or ploughing up footpaths, not stopping from farmers from using their own tracks to get from A to B.

I'm sorry if it gets a little muddy in winter, but that's what happens on farms.

Scrowy:

You were right.I was wrong.

I am sorry I was rude to you in my reply.

My name is slightly different becauseI I deregistered because I was cross at myself at resulting to name-calling. I thought i should briefly re-register ti apologise.

@DdraigGoch

Sheep netting is not impossible to climb over. Nor is it impossible to knock down. It is however considerably more expensive than straightforward post and wire. In turn, post and wire is considerably more expensive than not fencing off footpaths, a method which survived perfectly well for hundreds of years.

Combined with a wire fence and particularly if the wire sheep netting is used on the lower section, it is virtually impossible to climb over if the fence is a reasonable height. I can climb over most fences but it takes so much effort to climb over my own fencing that I don't bother even trying.

Yes, obviously if you just stick some plastic sheep netting up with little plastic spiked fence posts holding it together at about knee height, then its ridiculously easy to step over.

We had this conversation just this morning. I wished I'd taken a photo of a field today that had been churned up by quad bikes making a figure 8 right in the middle of the field. Absolutely disgusting

Well this post has highlighted how much ignorance there is about rural areas. As someone who has lived in both large towns and small country villages is it really so hard for townies to learn the country code.
Even basic manners and care would help.
So sorry op, it’s frustrating for you.

@Trulion

as I mentioned earlier, use sheep netting on the bottom half! Then its impossible to climb over That's what we have, people have still climbed over it which gives me the rage, use the gate!

Wire sheep netting on the gates as well, hang them high and a plank of wood suspended underneath.

Yes, I am a bit of an expert on constructing dog-proof fencing and, as it turns out, people-proof fencing. Its not the people out walking I have problems with in the countryside, its the one neighbour who actually lives in the countryside letting their dogs roam free! A neighbour who also complains about absolutely everything, which is why I fenced off the entire right of way like that, and put sheep netting up around my entire boundaries, in the space of a few weekends, out of sheer spite. Huge effort, cost a few thousand, but well worth it for how smug I feel and the fact that his dogs have given up on trying to access my land because they cant get in.

I also have signs and padlocked gates on the parts giving access to my farm yard area. But its been so worth it for the peace of mind. Its certainly possible and the cost is bearable. And the OP will be able to deduct the cost of fencing (if she goes for that option) and signage from her tax bill as a business expense.

This footpath is part of a route I love to walk. Why am I not walking on it? Because it's too muddy at the moment.

this ultimately is the answer

Farmers are allowed to close footpaths when sheep are lambing, although most do not. We are holding back this year to see how many lambs we lose to worrying - if it starts again like last year then we will

I personally think we should also be allowed to close them when the weather dictates that they are not safe/impassable without causing damage

I can’t believe people are seriously questioning where the path ends and crop begins. You really don’t need to be a genius to work it out.

Hi op. I know this path well as it's one I have walked many times over the last few years. I was up there the other week and was shocked at how bad it's become. We always stick close to the hedge on that walk, but will be staying well away until drier weather. I'm so sorry it's got like this.
Unfortunately there are a lot of new walkers who don't know how to treat the countryside and public footpaths with respect. I'm all for people getting out and about (I'm a townie myself and am very thankful I can get out to the countryside and enjoy nature), and I love the fact we have such a network of public footpaths in England but the amount of litter and damage to fences, crops and footpaths since lockdown is very sad to see.

It’s not just the countryside. It’s park land and any vaguely rural type area that is currently being trashed by the huge increase in people who are suddenly’going for a walk’ . The lovely fields behind our house are a mud bath now. Too many people overusing the resource. Side effect of lockdown.

@Aloamilk

Agree wellies would be useless, I ran 14 miles yesterday in mud like that, took me 4 hours and bloody knackered by the end. Only really grippy trail shoes stopped me from going a over t on many occasions.its hard work walking at this time of year in the best gear, I passed people in the oddest assortment of footwear

Yes, I am surrounded by muddy paths, and run in trail shoes. I have occasionally warned people if the path ahead is particularly bad and they're in ordinary shoes, but no-one has ever taken any notice. It's fairly quiet on the paths around our village, but there is a field about a mile away where a few more popular walking routes converge , and it currently looks like the one in the OP's picture, from people going further and further onto the grass trying to avoid the knee-deep mud.

I'm a bit about all the suggestions that the OP should spend thousands of pounds creating paths that people can walk on without being inconvenienced by mud or uneven ground. It's the countryside, not a theme park. If people want flat, smooth paths to walk on, then they can walk somewhere else. And yes, people are currently restricted in where they can go, but that's just how it is right now. It's not the responsibility of the OP and other farmers/landowners to prevent other people from being even mildly inconvenienced by the restrictions involved with a pandemic.

I'm struggling to find passable running routes at the moment, as almost all my usual loops have stretches which are barely manageable even in trail shoes designed for mud. That doesn't mean I'm going to decide I have the right to create my own personal route over someone's private land, or go whining to the local farmer to sort out the mud for me. I suspect he might be less than receptive, even leaving aside the fact that some routes go straight over the middle of fields, and that I can't imagine how many tonnes of gravel you'd need withstand the trampling of a herd of cows who like to hang out on the wet ground by a stream. I'll just have to find a different route until the ground dries out.

OP, one other thing that might be worth thinking about is the type of gates you have. All our parish gates were replaced by kissing gates a few years ago, as it was thought that it directed people more clearly onto the path, rather than a wider opening gate which let people emerge in any direction, if that makes sense.

Not the only reason, obviously - they can't be left open either - but it was discussed as a consideration.

As a Scot I can't help wondering if freedom to roam wouldn't solve this issue.
Only allowing people onto very small parts of the countryside causes this overwear and bottlenecking.

A farming neighbour of mine was out for a walk and met a man who engaged her in conversation and started going on about how farmers shouldn't be allowed to put their cows out on a sunny day where there are footpaths as people want to walk there. She is a very forthright person and suffice to say he picked the wrong person and was re-educated!

Gwent Police have tweeted a horrific picture of 50 dead ewes killed by dogs 'worrying' them. Please keep your dogs on the lead just now. The ewes are in lamb.

I don't think people understand the countryside who don't regularly use it. I often see people walking straight across crops.

@snowliving

As a Scot I can't help wondering if freedom to roam wouldn't solve this issue. Only allowing people onto very small parts of the countryside causes this overwear and bottlenecking.

From my limited experience of Scotland, I think the English countryside is very different. In Scotland, it feels like there is lots of fairly "unused" land, or else it is in a different kind of use.

There are large areas of the English countryside which are mainly in constant use for crop growing. Walking across areas where crops are being grown obviously damages the crops. Walking through fields of livestock presents its own issues (I've never fully understood how right to roam works with livestock).

However, many rights of way were originally routes used by agricultural labourers, so that's where a lot of the footpaths are. I don't think allowing people free access to agricultural land is a good solution.

I do think there are bits of land where freer access could/should be granted, and this might divert some people away from walking across farmland.

And perhaps also some solution of allowing farmers to divert/change footpaths temporarily if they are becoming damaged/impassable.

@flamingflamingos really feel for you, our house backs onto fields and we walked on Sunday around the local tracks to see that one of our farmers tracks was completed blocked by parked cars, and then some plonkers had helpfully hung dog poo bags on the gates he uses daily.

So the poor guy will have to move dog poo in stupid bags to open his gates and if he had needed access for his machines he'd of been blocked by idiots.

We saw a couple about to scale a fence and walk through his dairy herd field and just told them the footpath wasn't there and the cows may trample them. Equally the cows may not be bothered but I couldn't see them risk it.

I am sick of people walking up this estate's private roads which have signs saying private. We could put up gates but that would make it harder for deliveries to come through and I am hoping it will all be over soon.

Xenia, is the actual route clear? Signs saying go this way can be more effective than private signs

Although I agree with some others , that might help those with experience rather than the newbie walkers

In the spring, several idiots decided that blocking the access wasn't enough, so they actually parked in the fields near a beach. The farmer got the muckspreader out.

I often wonder whether the forks on some tractors might solve the problem. After all, without CCTV, who's to say that the plonker didn't park their upside down!