AIBU to be fed up with walkers trespassing on our land?

[Pricelessadvice]

We have a family farm that, unfortunately, has a footpath that runs through it.
The footpath turns and goes into some woods and off our property but many people ignore the turn and just carry on around our land. This is mostly dog walkers. They then let their dog crap on our fields and just leave it. We take a crop off the land- some years a hay crop, some years beans, others wheat- but people just don’t seem to care.
I am always polite when I see someone trespassing. I ask them if they know they have left the footpath and I point them back in the direction of it. 9 people out of 10 get really arsey about it. I get all the excuses in the book- “it’s just fields/I always walk here/I can do what I want/it’s just grass/other people do it”
Ive had off lead dogs chasing my liveries horses (who have permission to ride the headlands), sheep being worried, the list goes on.

There are plenty of signs telling people where the footpath is and where it isn’t, but they get ignored.

When I try to explain to people that they wouldn’t like it if I walked my dogs in their garden every day and let them poo everywhere, they just argue that it’s not the same coz “these are fields”
SIGH
The Covid year was a bloody nightmare with people wandering everywhere.
When did people get so entitled? AIBU to think that people just think they can do whatever the hell they want nowadays?

We lived in an army quarter near York, by the entrance to an area of heath with PROW across it- much favoured by dog walkers as you can imagine. Immediately after we moved in, DH pulled 67 bags of dog poo out from under our hedge. People would bag the poo then sling it under our hedge before getting in their cars to go home. Apparently there had been a bin there previously so people felt they weren't responsible for disposing of their dog 'products'.
That was before Covid. I dread to think what it would be like today.

In the interests of fairness, I had a lovely couple appear today to say they had recently moved in nearby and had been told about the footpath and they wanted to check exactly where it was and where it went as they didn’t want to go somewhere they shouldn’t.
I showed them the footpath and where it went in both directions said if they had any problems at all, just come and find me or knock on the house, and that I was looking forward to seeing them around.
I have no problem with genuine people. Infact, I love chatting to the locals who walk the path and respect it. We go to a lot of effort to keep the path mowed and clear for them. Occasionally I do get reminded that there are decent folk out there who enjoy our countryside and don’t want to harm it 🙂

That's a really nice update 😊

People are extremely rude when you are explaining where they gave gone wrong, and it’s generally women who film it, and then edit it to make themselves look victims

The fields near me have lots of footpaths, and I walk my dog through them regularly. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m following the official routes, I mostly stick to the paths that are already worn down from frequent use.

At different times of the year, the fields may have cows in them, and later they plant corn (It will be soon ish). I know some paths run close to the farmer’s house, but I usually avoid that area.

Is there anywhere I can check to see the official footpath routes? as they are not sign posted well at all.

OS map
Local information boards/websites/groups - our Parish Council has info on the local paths.

Google maps!

I wouldn't rely on Google maps for rural areas.

As far as I am aware, Google maps doesn’t indicate which paths are actually public rights of way so is pretty useless if you are trying not to trespass.

You could buy an Ordnance Survey map for your local area. I’d recommend the 1:25,000 scale over the 1:50,000. It shows field boundaries.

Put electric fences up.

Just be mindful when the cows have calves, likely round about now. They can be extremely protective when they see the "wolf" you have with you, to the point of people actually getting killed.

If their off-lead dogs are worrying your livestock, you're within your rights to shoot them.

Well an OS map then. It's not exactly a mystery.

I used to rent an old farmhouse with a public footpath nearby and well signposted. We used to have walkers (without dogs) who had strayed from the public footpath but decided to press forward through a gate and into our private garden and down our drive. All for right to roam but not in my garden where I have a right to privacy.

But some public footpaths go through gardens! Obviously there’s no excuse in your case if the route of the path was clearly signposted, but friends near Oxford had a well-frequented ROW to the village that went up their drive, across the front of the house and around the gable end before going over a stile into a field and on to the churchyard.

As a foreigner new to UK public footpaths, I absolutely hated the ones that went through gardens or farmyards.

I avoid the field if it has cows in it. I just carry on walking and go to the field next to it.

The county council will maintain a "definitive map". These are usually available online. Here's Oxfordshire's for example:
https://publicrightsofway.oxfordshire.gov.uk/standardmap.aspx

More dangerous stupidity:

Derbyshire farmer taking action to stop TikTokers hugging cows - BBC News