Can I drive 5 miles to walk in the woods?

[R2221]

Just that really. We’ve been isolating for over a week and these woods are the only thing that kept us sane. Isolated woods - not many people there. Those we came across were mindful of distance.

With the current lockdown rules, are we allowed to drive there?

It's not very rational or intelligent to suggest that someone who gets in their own car, drives for 15 mins, gets out, goes for a walk, sees noone or someone at a safe distance, gets back in the car ,sanitises their hands, drives home, gets in, washes their hands is a high risk for spreading coronavirus
But it is rational to point out that most members of the public wouldn't take this approach.
It is rational to consider that there'll be lots of people who use this clarification as a way to justify going to whatever outdoor place they like.

For example, when I walked the dogs this weekend I walked through a park. Most people were either alone or in pairs, some families had children on bikes and they were a safe distance from others, dogs were on shorter leads, people kept their distance... Until you got to the children's play area.
There you found dozens of families all huddled up close on the benches, loads of kids all over the play equipment. The council had advised against this because it's a haven for spreading germs. Of course this crowd of people knew best and the guidelines didn't apply to them.

Now the park is closed because some people are idiots and either give zero fucks or will tie themselves in knots about how essential it was for them to take their children to a play area, sit in crowds of people, touch lots of germy surfaces in a park where there's no toilets to wash your hands (because they were closed). The sensible majority lose out.

Battersea Park is crowded not because people are "stupid and selfish" - it's because London is really bloody crowded, so there is nowhere you could exercise in complete isolation! It's not their fault, they're just following instructions.

Then it’s just unfortunate but you take one look at the crowd, turn around and go home. Or knowing what it will be like you don’t leave home in the first place. Do you not realise that the Coronavirus won’t be thinking to itself, ‘well, I won’t infect these people because they have no choice but to be in a crowd’. It doesn’t matter that it’s unfair or that I live in a city so there’s no space or that I need to exercise for my mental health. You or your loved ones may end up dead and then your self-justification for your thoughtless actions will be worth nothing.

For the record, I believe totally in Social Distancing measures as the best weapon we have against the virus.

However, driving by yourself, to an isolated spot to walk, is not what will spread the it.

Meeting up with others will.

I cannot see how what the OP is doing can spread CV. People coming into close contact with each other spreads CV. If everybody does it then the measures are ineffective. If some people can and others can't, how do you police it? If people in cities don't have space, they'll decamp to all the previously deserted places.
It's not hard to understand. You stay at home. You don't need to exercise outdoors. Would you prefer to? Well of course. So would I. I have 2 primary aged kids. They haven't left the house in 11 days. But I understand that we all need to stay at home for a while.
You can open a window if you have NO outside space, you can get fresh air when you buy food. You can exercise indoors. You don't NEED to walk in the woods. Nobody does.

They said that is fine to do it but id say just stay in.

If the 'quiet spot' is crowded, you turn around and go home.

I give up, people are just revelling in being difficult

Why can't your kids leave the house? Can't you go for a walk?

If some people can and others can't, how do you police it?

If places are too crowded, people need to be sensible and go home.

But the fact remains that driving to an isolated spot and walking there is safer than walking out of your front door if you live in a built up and highly populated area.

I understand that we all need to stay at home for a while.

We're all going shopping, which is infinitely more dangerous. Perhaps people's ire would be better channelled into looking at how this could be reduced.

Tonyaster Is it that it hasn't worked or it hasn't had chance to? In Italy there were more deaths, but, crucially, less new cases. Many of the deaths will be from contraction prior to lockdown. I'm sure there's a reason we're set to review after 3 weeks and not before.

However, driving by yourself, to an isolated spot to walk, is not what will spread the it

Meeting up with others will

Exactly. People are not all stupid and are capable of carrying out risk assessments.

I am not driving to exercise because I am concerned about having an accident - fewer people on the roads means more people driving at stupid speeds. I went out for a walk with my DH today and saw someone doing at least 50mph in a 30 limit (unsurprisingly an Audi driver).

But that is a completely different point.

If everybody does it then the measures are ineffective

No, plenty of places are remote enough to SD effectively. If its too crowded, go home.

We're all going shopping, which is infinitely more dangerous

Yes the supermarket represents my greatest risk of catching it at the moment. Fortunately we don't need to go until at least the weekend.

Of course you can. Assuming you won't be seeing or coming close to others.
Much safer than the supermarket. I suppose all of you who are saying no will also be starving your children to death

Why can't your kids leave the house? Can't you go for a walk? Because I live in Spain and the whole country is under quarantine. We can go to work if our work is not able to be done from home, go to buy food (one at a time), go to the pharmacy and that's about it. We aren't allowed to go for a walk, except to walk a dog and that's to be within a few metres of our homes. 47 million of us are managing. I don't see why all of you NEED to walk in woodland. Seriously, it won't kill you not to exercise outdoors for a bit.

Seriously, it won't kill you not to exercise outdoors for a bit.

No, but it could have a significant impact on your mental health. If you can exercise outdoors while practicing safe Social Distancing, then its valuable to do so.

Thank you @BirdandSparrow for trying to get across what it is currently like in Spain. Sadly, people just aren’t going to listen, I don’t think they can conceive how things are going to look here in a very short space of time.

No, but it could have a significant impact on your mental health. If you can exercise outdoors while practicing safe Social Distancing, then its valuable to do so.
I agree, but we should be mindful of opening the door to piss takers.
They take the piss enough through this crisis and for some people the idea of full lockdown and not being able to leave the house has a much more substantial mental health issue than others having to make do with walking round their local area where they can easily follow social distancing and even remain on the other side of the road from people if required.

There are only 4 criteria whereby persons are allowed out of their property and where they are conducting one of the below tasks that this is done in a group not exceeding 2 persons.

1. Shopping for basic needs (for example, food and medicine, which must be infrequent as possible and by only one person of the household where possible).
2. One form of exercise per day (for example, a run, a walk, or cycle – alone or with other members of your household).
3. Any medical need (or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person).
4. “Key Workers” travelling to and from work (but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home).

Point 2 doesn't say anything about getting in a car to go to your chosen place of exercise, so no you can't go to your deserted woods.

Point 2 doesn't say anything about getting in a car to go to your chosen place of exercise, so no you can't go to your deserted woods

It was clarified today apparently that driving to exercise is allowed

Point 2 doesn't say anything about getting in a car to go to your chosen place of exercise, so no you can't go to your deserted woods.

Read the thread.

I have been very worried about CV and read a lot about it as have we all. Very relieved we are now in lockdown.

However, I think a lot of you are missing the point. People driving a few miles to isolated woods will not spread CV. We have been forced to go into lockdown because because people don't seem to think it's inappropriate to go out on the piss, pile into Tesco to panic buy etc. not because of people going for a walk where there are no other people. It was less than 2 weeks ago we were being told Cheltenham Festival was fine because it's outdoors.... same disease. Yes we should use our common sense and if it's busier than usual, go home. But some one having a random breakdown or having to buy fuel slightly early is not going to have any effect in the grand scheme of things.

Go for it @R2221 drive 5 miles or 8 miles or 13 miles or 21 miles, heck go for 34 miles. Nobody else in the country will have the same idea as you.

I agree, but we should be mindful of opening the door to piss takers

Yes, but the piss taking is about gathering in groups. I would support coming down on this like a tonne of bricks. Substantial fines and so on.

What the OP is suggesting is fine. Surely we can find a way of clamping down on actually dangerous behaviour without impacting this.

The boy racers and Clarkson wannabes in their noisy cars are out racing on the bypass of the town near me every evening. We have heard them all weekend and again this week. I’d rather people quietly drive into the countryside for a walk.