Am I a cf for asking a farmer this question?

[Whye]

We want to buy a house which is off a rarely used but fast winding country lane - only wide enough for one car. The speed limit is 30 but we have seen cars zooming along. I would not feel safe walking my dog on these country roads. There are some woods nearby but I would probably have to load dogs up each time for the 2 min drive.

There are fields all around. Would I be cheeky to ask the farmer who owns the fields opposite us if I could potentially walk my dogs on the perimeter of his fields, obviously I will pick up messes and be respectful.

We would be 5 mins from a decent sized market town so there are plenty of options just not convenient. Am I being cheeky?

Why would that be cheeky? It’s just a question 🤷🏻‍♀️
Have you checked if there’s any right of way there anyway?
Is it an arable or livestock field?

You haven’t even moved in yet? I’d work on the basis of driving the 2 mins to the woods, an 2 minute drive is no time at all, asking before you even have any neighbourly relations feels off. For walking on country roads, it’s not too bad, I walk mine along a single track road, 60 limit, you can hear traffic coming because there’s not much of it and can get into the verge to let them by, hi viz jacket for yourself and the dogs.

Well i won’t buy house if this is not possible. I need to be able to walk dogs without getting in car.

Then id look somewhere else, what could start as a yes could easily become no in time.

There is no verge, it’s all hedgerow

Just look on an ordnance survey map for footpath in the vicinity. Many fields have them at the sides.

Would you actually be in his field?

What is it used for-crops/livestock etc?

Woukd you mind him driving his tractor around your garden?

There's nothing in it for the farmer except greater insurance liability, risk to animals, and some nosy bugger skulking around the fields. I'd imagine he'd tell you to do one. If you'd lived there for years and established a relationship then maybe.

I suspect you'll be told to keep off, rightly so. If it's a working farm you run the risk of potentially losing a dog under a tractor and the farmer won't be pleased.

No livestock but not sure exactly what is farmed

I would find that quite rude given you’ve not even moved in! I live on a country lane and walk my dogs on it and no issues

If i was the farmer I’d be concerned you were going to try and establish some sort of right, over time, which would obviously devalue his land

@Whye

i know what you mean about not wanting to
losd them in the car for a walk, it's bloody annoying.

i don't think it's too cheeky to ask, but if you wouldn't buy the house if he says no, I wouldn't take the risk. He may lease the fields out in. Years time, which may mean you had to stop using them, then you're stuck.

id do as others suggested & look for existing public footpaths (muddy walk ways!) but if there aren't any & you don't think you could cope with the road then I eouldnt buy the house.

Even if the farmer said yes, which could be a real pain for him having to check for you and the dog, the farmer could sell up or change his mind a few months in. If you're not happy with the land you own and can access publicly then do not go for the house.

I live rurally on a single track road and we walk it fine, we just pull ourselves into the hedge if needed!!! The fields around us you could walk a dog in over the winter but not once the cows are put back out in spring. You never know what fields will be used for. Also it will go down much better to ask if you move in.

Well you can't buy a house completely conditional on this answer. He might not be there forever, he might change his mind.

This. We have ponies and turned down lots of places that didn't have access to safe hacking. It was the whole point of the move, so was non-negotiable. The farmer is more thank likely to say no to your request if there is no right of way as it opens him up to a lot of hassle and sets a precedent.

We lived by a farm, and the farmer really didn't like people in his fields, the dogs would trample young crops, other people would see the walkers and presume it was ok to enter etc. When we got the dog the first thing he did, not knowing us, was ask that we keep her out of her fields.

We got to know him over the years and he was a lovely man. He let us use the fields over lockdown, but on the proviso we kept the dog on the lead and shooed anyone else away.

He doesn't know you. He doesn't know if you'll be responsible. So the likelihood is, he'll say no. Either find somewhere else to walk or don't buy this house.

The thing is, it sets a precedent if he allows you to do it, others may start asking.

The farmers who farm the land that surround our house are lovely. I look out for their livestock or anything dodgy going on and let them know.
Conversely, the farmer across the lane is notoriously grumpy and even berates people walking as established footpath.

I would maybe ask around and see how approachable the farmer is.

Farmers I know would say no on the basis that you'd be establishing a right of way by using it regularly, which could in time lead to others insisting on their right to use it too.

Thanks for input, we’re townies so clueless on issues such as this.

Id check to see if the field is up for development, which is far more important than walking dogs.

Even if it's a "yes" from the farmer now, it might not be a "yes" in a year's time.

If buying the house is dependent on being able to walk out with the dogs and not need to get into your car, then don't buy this house.

I would expect a no, because it is exactly this kind of thing which establishes a right of way, and becomes a headache down the line for farmers. If you’re not willing to deal with the road, don’t move there.

Please don't do this, it sounds incredibly entitled.
Even if he/she doesn't have/appear to have crops/animals in there now they well use it in the future/have plans, never mind not wanting random folk in there.

We live rurally in Wales and are surrounded by farmland. The farmers where we are would definitely not like anyone on their land. Even if there is a proper public footpath or right of way through them they hate people using them. And even worse if you have a dog. Some have had some nasty experiences with dogs and their livestock so now they see someone walking a dog near or through their land and you get 'the evils'. Personally I wouldn't even ask.
However we walk our dogs down some lovely single track country lanes with no problems at all. You just listen out for traffic and be sensible and be prepared to move out of the way and onto the verge if something is coming.