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?

@Whye don't buy the house.

There is nothing wrong with asking the question. I know somebody who asked the same question and the answer was yes as long as there was no livestock in the fields. Currently there is, so they can’t.

Obviously I’ve caused some offence by the replies. I’m a nice and considerate albeit ignorant neighbour. I’ve never lived in a setting with fields so am clueless on etiquette. The last thing I would want to do is piss off the people I will live close to.

Yes, I agree. As a landowner, I would much rather people came and talked to me and you can have a conversation about why it might be a problem. Then you get to know your neighbours, and they feel more approachable, on both sides.

People in the countryside expect to find dog walkers (and cyclists, or even occasional horses or tractors) along narrow 60mph lanes. In the nicest possible way, I think if you don't know this you may not be best suited to the location - you need to always be very aware when driving that you might turn a corner and find yourself facing an obstacle; while you may be judging others for bombing down the road, they may well be less of a threat than you if you don't realise this, even if you're tootling along at 30. And wandering idly along listening to a podcast while your dog ambles on an extended lead won't really work, you'll have to train him. But many people happily walk their dogs along roads like this, and most have taught their dogs to press themselves into the hedge to let cars pass. I just say "in", and in they go.

No cheek/no chance. you could knock say hi,potential new neighbours...then judge from there?

I dont know where the OP lives but farm fields aren't all anywhere near the farm yard and, at least where I live never have tractors in them as a lot are for livestock

I'm sure the OP isn't stupid enough to walk her dogs in those places but if it s a deal breaker I'd say even if the farmer says yes when the field is empty that won't be a year round solution

As the moment I can see ploughed and empty fields around me but next week the unploughed ones might be full of sheep and before line the ploughed ones will have crops growing and no path to walk round

It’s not the length of time that annoys me it’s the hassle. It feels so much freer walking straight out the door with my wellies, fanny pack and sweet boys.

It would be such a pain having to load up my dogs, find my glasses, open the gates etc

Another thought is if it belongs to a dairy farm it very well might not have stock in it and is used to intensively grow grass as a crop for a no grazing system in which case it would be a definite no due to the risk of the crop becoming contaminated.

We unfortunately have to remind people regularly that their right to use a footpath through our fields does not extend to a right for the dog to run about in the whole field as they pass through. People have become so ignorant of the countryside code - its so sad when you see wildlife being disturbed and livestock being stressed even if they aren't physically hurt.

Why do people think its OK?

It’s unusual for a country lane to have a 30 mile an hour limit. Most are 60 and it’s very normal to walk your dogs along them. A two minute car ride is presumably 10 mins on a short lead. I can’t see the problem.

I understand not wanting to walk your dogs along national speed limit roads. But most rural areas have plenty of footpaths - where I lived rurally there were 3 accessible within 300 yards and another couple within another half a mile.

Do you have to really go absolutely no distance on the road, or could you walk reasonably far from the verge and make sure the dogs have fluorescent harnesses and that you're easy to see?

I think this would be a lot easier than trying t schlepp round a field border.

This is a very odd thread. Just check for footpaths on os maps?! We live in the countryside and walk in woods, fields, bridleways, green lanes. Never a problem Only at pheasant shooting season do we keep dogs on lead going past the pheasant woods (and don't ever go into them). This really isn't a big deal OP. We stay away from livestock and stay round the edge if it's crops. Chat to the gamekeeper if we see him and wave to the tractors as we pass their fields. I've never come across any hostilities.

I just open the boot and in the dog jumps...I keep glasses I need for driving in the car. It's not that much hassle and it just becomes part of daily life if you don't want to walk down the street outside your house.

everything about living in the countryside is a hassle.

I really would think very hard about this move if you think having to jump in the car each time you want to do something is a hassle.

OP, we turned down a beautiful house opposite a national park because we were cut off from it by a busy road. We would have had to put the ponies on a trailer to get to it and the dogs in the car. My children were too young to drive at the time so would have been dependent on me to give them lifts to go for a ride. NOTHING beats the feeling of just saddling up and riding off, so I know exactly what you mean.

My dogs can walk along busy roads on short leads perfectly nicely thanks! I just prefer to walk my dogs places where they can be on the flexi lead which gives them the freedom to explore.

We live in a cul de sac near some woods. Currently I walk the dogs on their short leashes along a busy B road and switchover to flexi leads when we get to the woods.

So why wouldn't that suit here, along to a footpath?

If this is the case, the decision is already made. You won't buy the house.

So where's the issue? You can do exactly what you're doing now, without the annoyance of loud traffic?

You've compared two normal and acceptable questions with, well, a much less normal and acceptable question.

Actually, OP, you could ask one of the neighbours (if they have dogs) where is ok to walk them. I drew a map for our newbies.

YANBU to ask the question.

BUT if I was the farmer I would say no if you were a stranger. If we had been neighbours for a while or knew each on good terms then I might consider use of my land if I wasn't using it. That permission could be cancelled at anytime too.

It's not wise to buy a property on a hope of being able to walk your dogs on someones else space.

The road would worry me, if it's single track and people speed accidents are inevitable, and what's it like in the winter, does it become impassable if it snows, or flooded in heavy rain. We have one that does both.

Not one person has posted anti-dog comments (unless those were all the deleted posts?).