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?

Massive CF question. Buy a house that suits your needs, this one isn’t it.

Why is it better to inconvenience him rather than inconvenience you by getting in car?

Are you sure you're suited to rural living?

It’s not remote in the slightest. Just the setting has a rural feel. It’s 6/7 mins from a Gail’s 😂 And 30 mins from a large airport

What have you got to lose? If you won't buy it unless you can walk through the field then ask him/her. Don't argue if they say no

You mean there was no livestock in it when you went to look round a few times?

some of my fields don't have livestock in them at the moment, for a number of reasons:

1. that they were in there a few weeks ago and that field is now having a few weeks rest before we put weaned lambs onto it.
2. its been included in our SFI herbal lay claim and we have just scratched £££ of herbal grass seeds in and need to let them get established before putting stock back in
3. it's been a very wet summer and we would usually have cows in there through summer but it has a tendency to get a bit boggy in prolonged wet weather so we've kept them out and will soon be putting tups in there to put some condition on before tupping time in the autumn
4. Weve just sprayed the dockings /thistles in it
5. its a field of stubble turnips that will be eaten by sheep in winter/early spring

if it's got no existing footpath in it the farmer will most likely say no. It's not a public park it's a private working environment (as are fields with public footpaths in - farmers fields are not dog parks!) , it's like asking if your kids can go and play in a working quarry because climbing on the rocks looks fun and you can't be bothered to walk to the park instead.

Dogs would be on a flexi lead, one is going deaf so his recall is hit and miss. He sticks close to me but you never know. He’s quite happy walking that way and I get peace of mind

I’m a farmer and I’d definitely say no. I don’t even walk my own dogs in all my fields at all times - it depends what’s in them. By walking your dogs, you would be leaving a trampled path around the route that you normally use. Also dog poo can carry parasites that are dangerous to stock not to mention the risk of dogs worrying stock. If I let one person, I’d end up being asked by others and then everyone would think they could walk there. To be honest, I’d think you were pretty cheeky for asking. You may find the country lanes aren’t as bad to walk along as you think. The lanes round us as exactly as you describe but there aren’t many cars and you can hear them coming. It might not be as bad as you think. Alternatively you can restrict your house search to places with an accessible footpath nearby - if you look at the OS map there are more around than you might think.

You need to keep to public areas. You can ask, but expect a firm No, for all the reasons listed above. It’s his/her workplace.

It's irrelevant regarding the lead - farmers simply don't want people routinely walking their dogs on their working land. Please do not embarrass yourself by asking.

@Scrowy we asked the estate agent who told us it not used for livestock. Something we verified with a neighbour. I have an irrational fear of being trampled by a cow.

Again irrelevant.
It's none of your business what the farmer uses the land for, unless they're doing something illegal!

I’m answering a question

I agree. It wouldn't be any kind of permanent arrangement.

It's an irrelevant question and answer though. Why were you even asking the estate agent?

Look up public footpaths nearby. You would be very very surprised how many go across/at the edge of farm land. I lived on a farm and had walkers through all the time.

Some farmers will get arsey about it, even if there is a path. Not something I was ever bothered about myself, but if a saw a dog off the lead I would shoot it if it was bothering stock.

Maybe offer to bring some sour dough from Gail's as a way of compensating the farmer?

🤣🤣

You can ask, you are not a CF for asking.

Your problem is that you'll be dependent on someone else. They can change their minds, they can sell.....where it will leave you?

Practically, find another property to suit your needs, and your dogs.

You could ask, but expect a no.

I have permission from one local farmer to use his land for training my dogs for about five months of the year. But I know him, and had known him a couple of years before I even asked. And he knows me and expects me not to take the piss.

I don’t think it’s the right house for you.

If you’re not able/prepared to either take the dogs in the car or walk down the lane - for whatever reason- I think you need to look at other properties where you don’t have to compromise.

If there’s no footpath through the farm field, then he’d be reasonable to not anccept everyone walking their dogs there.

You could ask but I doubt if any farmer would agree to this.Neopsora is a real problem and I doubt if they would risk it. Estate agents will say anything you want them to and I doubt if they would know whether livestock graze the land.
Has you investigated where other residents walk their dogs locally?

It’s the wrong house if you want to buy a house in a rural location - but the location means that you would feel unsafe walking down the road outside your house. If it’s a one lane car only type of road and cars go over the 30 mph - how are you going to feel when you are driving down it and a car comes zooming along in the other direction ?

The farmer may change what the field is used for. Crop/stock rotation is a real thing.

They may not be livestock farmers at the moment but they could diversify. Many are changing what they farm because of costs, weather etc.

We looked at lots of houses and areas before buying our house for a pretty similar reason. Having an active dog and a small child, plus a lovely of being outside, we wanted to be able to walk out of the door and be walking, not having to drive. Check for public footpaths and if there aren't any, this house doesn't tick that box for you.