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?

Tbf, I’d say 95% of the people on this thread are townies too. They’re talking out of their townie hats.

if you’re walking on the edge of a field, not allowing your dog off the lead, picking up after them, you’re not establishing anything at all. But do check the footpaths around you. You could be surprised.

we have plenty single tract roads near where I live and walking with a dog on them for short distances is fine. Have a look at the paths available to you. I’m sure it’ll be better than you think

No harm in asking as long as you make it clear you’ll accept a no, I used to live next to farmland and the farmer didn’t mind people in the village walking on it, however I wouldn’t buy the house if being able to do this is a dealbreaker. The farmer could sell off some land or could decide to use it for livestock or just change his/her mind in the future. Even if you get permission you can’t guarantee it won’t be revoked at some point.

It may well be that it just isn't practical. There will be different things happening in the field at different times of year. Not sure it if is pasture or arable, but if the latter it may well be ploughed and planted right to the very edge at some point in the year, in which case walking isn't really practical, and there may be distribution of pesticides etc that the farmer wouldn't want people to come into contact with.

Farmland can be a bit like a factory floor in the sense of being a production zone with unpredictable hazards. Farmers' health and safety responsibilities may make them cagey of giving permission.

When you have been in an area for a while you get a sense for which field edges are accessible - some are 'de facto' footpaths, others are no-go areas.

Yes but that may well be because it is in some sort of environmental scheme agreement which case they REALLY won't want random townie dog walkers in

Most lanes are national speed limit, I wear high vis and jump in the hedge if I hear anything coming. There is probably a public footpath near though, check on the OS map. I wouldn’t ask the farmer personally but then I grew up rurally so am quite wary!

If you asked me, I'd say no. I'm asked these types of (what we consider) nutty questions all the time. Last week it was someone asking about flying their hawk.

I don't own any fields with footpaths, but my neighbours who have get their gates left open, dog shit left for their cattle to eat, sheep going missing, sheep worrying (have you ever seen a pregnant ewe that has been mauled?) and god alone knows what else.

i have to pay for insurance every year in case someone just decides to go into my fields even if they have no right to be there.

i don't want to sound get orf my land but there's a reason why farmers don't want you on their fields. There is nothing in it for them but hassle and god knows being a farmer is generally just hassle anyway.

I have no idea why you find that particularly hard to believe.

I come from a farming family. This happens. Have you seen the damage that can happen to sheep being worried by dogs? It costs the farmers a fortune and they're often more attached to the animals than they'd let on.

If dog owners are responsible with their dogs around farms, they won't have a problem.

Plus being trampled by a cow isn't an irrational fear. It's a very real possibility in the countryside with dogs involved even for farmers, and even more so for someone with a limited understanding of farming and the countryside.

Estate agents will tell you anything to get a sale. I viewed a place where the yard backed onto a row of houses. The owners had died and it had been lying empty for some time. ALL of the houses had installed gates giving them direct access to the yard so they could walk through it to the land. Most didn't even bother doing that, judging from the amount of dog shit that was lying around. When I pointed this out, the agent said, "I have a friend lives in one of the houses and she told me no one ever uses them," despite standing in a fug of fresh dog shit. "Why did they go to the trouble and expensive of installing them?" No answer! Another told me that the neighbours were very friendly and would have no problem with us riding across their fields to access a bridleway and cut out a busy A road. Another who told me the land was not prone to flooding despite water bubbling up around my boots during the driest summer in years, etc. I have LOADS of stories like this!

I live on a narrow country lane like this and yes, despite two cars not being able to pass, some people do bomb along. However I still walk my dog, most people when seeing me, slow right down. I also stand as far in to the hedge as possible, so they can pass. People that use the lane regularly, will get used to seeing you.

There is no way on EARTH I would ask the local farmers if I could walk my dog on their land. He’d say no. Whilst there may not be livestock there now, it’s not to say there won’t be next month. It’s his land, don’t ask. Imagine if someone you never met was thinking about moving to your street and using your drive once a day just for 5 mins during the school run? You’d laugh at the audacity.

Oh, yes, forgot to mention: If pasture, then ... cows. Bloody bastard scary cows. Used to be fine with them til one broke my finger the bastard.

To be honest OP, the best thing you can do is buy yourself a dayglo pink hi-vis, and your dogs reflective pale blue coats, and walk them along the road, like the rest of us do.

I run on similar roads and just make sure I am very visible. People will slow down.

Also check an ordinance survey map as Pp suggested. There may already be a footpath.

I wouldn’t buy the house then because even if the current farmer said yes how do you know that the next one will and no field will be accessible every day. If stock are in or crops are growing you’d need to stay away. If you don’t t like where the house is don't buy it.

From experience, the lovely farm fields opposite to where you're moving could well be full of new Barrett homes in a few years' time. Does the farmer own the land he farms? Or is he a tenant farmer? Don't take anything for granted.

Second the advice to check an OS map or app for footpaths, there maybe some v nearby.

I wouldn’t ask for access to walk the dogs on the fields if not though, most farmers would see it much the same way as you’d see it if someone asked to walk their dog round your garden or office. Fields are workplaces.

This is the best solution. It's what everyone else does. I hear of more sheep mauled by dogs than dogs mauled by cars.

🤣

Where do you live? Definitely isn't in the countryside and if it is you don't have a dog

What nonsense

being that you haven’t yet moved into your new house you might want to ask yourself two questions….
is this the right place for a cf townie?
do I want to embarrass myself by asking the farmer a cf question?

Farmers here are really not keen on dogs in the fields, as they are private property and they have issues with poachers etc., bikes, so don't won't anyone on them who shouldn't be there. There are also issues with what is sprayed on the field, something to think about in regards to the health of the dog.

Save your breath. The farmer is not going to say yes. The risk of you or your dog being injured on his land is not worth the hassle.

Either find a different house or buy it and accept you will have an excruciatingly long 4 minute round trip to walk your dogs.

It always baffles me when this kind of threads come up why people think it is "rude" or "entitled" just to ask a question.

"Would you consider reducing the height of your tree?"
"Would you mind if the electrician came round for an hour to the holiday cottage I am letting to you this week?"
"Would you mind if I walked my dogs carefully through your field?"

None of these are cheeky to ask. Rude to demand or to do without asking but the act of asking itself is not rude or entitled.

So not at the edge of the field then, but actually a strip several metres wide?

Imagine if someone you never met was thinking about moving to your street and using your drive once a day just for 5 mins during the school run? You’d laugh at the audacity.
If he was thinking about just doing it then yes, outrageous. If he was thinking about asking no problem and not in the least audacious.