to find this really fucking annoying even though it doesn't really affect me much

[walkway8]

I live in a detached house with a walkway between myself and the neighbours to access both our gardens at the back (diagram attached).

The neighbour has a front garden whereas I have a driveway. They have a gate that opens to the side of my house to allow them access to the walkway to get to their back garden. The walkway is shared land according to the deeds but stops at the top of my driveway (basically my driveway isn't shared but the walkway is).

Whenever my neighbour is doing anything in their garden, bringing this in / out of the garden/ taking things from the garden to their car on the road or whatever, they will go up and down my driveway instead of going through their gate and then down their garden.

It really annoys me. I don't really know why but AIBU to think this is just an odd thing to do?

My living room window looks onto my driveway and some days they will be working in the garden and making multiple trips up and down my drive and I feel awkward and like I need to close my blinds.

I don't even have a bad relationship with them, not friends or close but fine neighbours and we say hello how are you etc when we see them.

But I just find the whole thing really weird. I would never dream of strolling up and down their garden path repeatedly.

We also have cars on the drive so when they are bringing things in and out it worries me they will get scratched.

Aibu to find this annoying and tbh a bit rude?

Did you post this previously in another chat?

Oh I am also aware I could just add my own gate at the top of my drive which I will do eventually but I still think regardless it's a weird thing to do.

Can you put a gate in to stop them walking over your drive? To be fair, it’s an odd design.

Not really, they could easily get whatever it is they are bringing through their own gate and down their own garden. In fact there is probably more room doing that because we have two cars parked on the drive so not a huge amount of space. I think it's because they cba to open and close their gate when they are coming and going to be honest!

And no never posted before.

Privacy film on the windows they pass...

This is one of these teeny tiny things, which as you say, has no impact, but would drive me nuts!

The answer is to barrier off your drive. Can you do that?

They basically walk up and down my drive onto the road instead of going through their garden. But this will include bringing things up and down my drive next to my cars and will be multiple times. Instead of just going up their own garden and through their gate into the walkway.

And it's not their driveway!

To be honest good relations with close neighbours are priceless. I would personally ignore this if they aren't doing any harm

I think it's weird to be bothered by this unless they're scratching your car on the way past. It's obviously much easier than opening their gate, going into their garden and out again to the road, especially if the reason for the gate is that they have pets in the garden.

You have completely misunderstood me. The walkway is shared. They have the right to use that I am not in any way disputing that. But I want them to not walk up and down my driveway to access it (which is NOT shared) instead of using the gate which opens off their front garden into the walkway.

No, it is their drive, but the point remains - the neighbour is using the OP's property in a way the OP wouldn't use someone else's property.

The neighbour has no right of access.

I can see why they do it. I can also see why it’s annoying.

If they had a drive not a garden, then it wouldn’t annoy you, probably. The driveways together would feel more shared, and sometimes maybe you’d be walking on their drive too. It’s the demarcation being so obvious that’s annoying, I think.

Gated drive probably your only solution - but it’ll be obvious why you’re doing it!

Just to clarify there is a fence between my drive and their garden so I would have no reason to walk down their drive (if they made one) or garden.

Just put up a low fence alongside your drive with a padlocked gate near your house.

yes UABU