Driving to the woods to walk a dog?

[40feetathome]

Has anyone seen any definitive answer as to whether or not you can drive to the woods to walk your dog or whether you have to walk it from home?

Not looking for peoples views but need clarification for a friend who is confused.

Obviously that will count as the one bit of exercise a day and social distancing will be adhered to.

Oh and cars blocking all the drives of the people who actually live here. My next door neighbour recently had a serious operation and has been blue lighted twice in the last month. God help her if she had needed help yesterday as no way an ambulance would have reached her

There are risks when you drive so it’s an added risk does it really need to be added on? You could crash or break down
I have a dog and I play with a ball with him in the back garden or DD walks him round the block (away from others and I am unwell) He doesn’t need a forest area to walk on to be walked - I live behind a field and it’s rammed with families and kids on bikes

NO.

Don't bring your potential coronavirus infection to another neighbourhood, this is how it spreads outside of manageable local pockets into a citywide, regionwide or nationwide epidemic.

Stay in you own neighbourhood.

This bullshit is exactly why we'll end up having a very short distance limit from our house or even being disallowed from going outside at all. Just like China and Italy.

For fucks sake people. You're fucking it up for those of us following the rules. Just follow the fucking rules or they'll stop us going out at all.

Sure, just go at 3am, it’ll be nice & quiet then ;)

What @aurynne said.

Suddenly everyone is a Lockdown-Lawyer.

They are following the rules Pics.

No social gatherings, social distancing. Read the speech, there is nowhere in it that BJ stated daily exercise couldn’t involve a short journey whether it be a walk, a cycle or a drive.

Stop making up rules and stick to your own advice.

It’s fine as long as the car park isn’t rammed full. The car parks near our local wood have been pretty busy so I wouldn’t go there.

What is the difference between walking your dog down a street and a forest in terms of exercise

My neighbours are headed off as a family to a local beauty spot today based on the BBC advice yesterday that it's fine to drive somewhere for your daily exercise.....

When I say local, I've just realised it's more than 10 miles away....

Sure, just go at 3am, it’ll be nice & quiet then

Not if you live near a major road network.
Most people don't see this because they're in bed asleep but there are vast amounts of large trucks working alnight long to deliver to food stores and other vital places like hospitals. Trucks every few seconds on the roads at night. Some in convoys.

Get stuck behind some of the really heavy ones, tankers carrying liquids like milk for example, and you will be at a snail's pace. I saw, from my window, a huge liquid tanker the other night really struggle to change gears and not stall.

Please people just stay near home. Whatever the time of day.

The emergency services and trucks need the roads to be as clear as possible

Boris said essential exercise. Not a drive then exercise.

This is why we got the stricter rules we have and why they'll get even stricter.

Cheeky fuckers trying to find loopholes.

We live on a single track road that becomes a footpath through fields and we've had the same experience as IgnoranceisStrength. Usually it is just a few locals who use the paths for jogging/dog walking etc but now there are cars rammed down the road blocking people from getting in and out. We have lots of older people self-isolating on the road so it is really difficult for people bringing food for them, delivery vans etc. It would be awful if an ambulance tried to get through.

When we've tried to go for a walk there are so many people that it's really difficult to keep to the distance and some people are not paying any attention to the rules but walking in groups across the path so that people going the other way have to go right by them.

This really isn't a beauty spot or anywhere special, it's just a nice enough footpath through some fields. If everyone drives for walks then there's clearly going to be problems with keeping people apart.

Newsreader questioned Boris about driving short distances to get exercise, and he basically said what many of us have said here. That's you use your common sense, and if driving a short distance locally gets you to somewhere quiet where you can exercise without being close to others, that is fine. Obviously it would be stupid to drive to a popular beauty spot like everyone was doing last weekend, but surely everyone realises that now?
Everyone's situation is different in terms of location/population size/whether they have an energetic dog. And no, walking round the block is not the same as a run round a field or woods for a dog.

Ali we have that in our immediate local area. People are going to have to spread out to less populated spots maybe drive short distances to bigger spaces and use common sense. Herding everybody together just because people like to make up their own rules is ridiculous. People will need to be accommodating and patient instead of turning into mini policemen who want to keep everything for themselves.

A common sense approach is better.

I would think the best thing is to use your common sense. You know the drive, how long it is, how many other people are likely to be there. Is it a better idea to go there, or is it better to stay around your own area? These are questions that only you can answer. No-one here knows your situation.

Imagine if everyone had the same thought OP?

@IgnoranceIsStrength it's so irritating isn't it, all these people piling in?! Especially now, when they're making a usually quiet area ridiculously busy and making it difficult for the people who live there. We live on an estate which has 10 farm cottages, the farm and the big house. We are the first cottage as you enter the estate. Normally the only people who ever pass our gate are people who live in one of the other cottages, or farm vehicles/deliveries. Nobody ever passes on foot. We often walk down that road, you can go down past all the cottages round a country lane past the entrance to the driveway of the big house and out the other end. Both ends as you enter have a sign saying private land. Of course you're allowed to enter if you have a reason you but not for a walk, the only people allowed to walk there are the people who actually live on the estate. Yesterday I saw so many groups passing our gate, obviously not in for any reason other than a walk because they came back again, obviously not doing the full loop. It's a narrow road and the groups were passing each other. We've lived here for 5 years and have never once met anyone walking round there, only people outside their houses who we would stop and chat with but even then, lot often. We thought it would be a great place to have our daily walk now but clearly not 😤 We were going to go yesterday but there were a few groups coming towards our gate at the time so we didn't risk it and went the other way. I don't know why it's suddenly become the place for everyone to go, there are plenty of other local walks that you'd expect to be quiet.

In answer to your question OP, I saw a list of questions and answers with a government official and they said it was ok to go for a short drive.

You won't have a choice soon anyway.

If it's anything like where I live, minor roads to local beauty spots, woods etc are being closed off by concrete blocks.

Some small complaints on social media but the vast majority agree with it thankfully

Thanks for your replies everyone. I'll pass them onto her.

Today she drove 1.5 miles to a secluded spot and walked in an open field and was never closer than 100m to anyone.

She told me that counted the number of people she saw walking along her road when she went out in the car and she would have had to pass 6 people in quite close.

She felt her risk of contamination or spreading was greatly reduced by driving.

For those people saying you put the ambulance service etc at risk more by driving - do people never fall over kerbs etc?

Another poster asking “for a friend”.

@NoSauce Err yes is that a problem?

Bloody obvious it’s you.

@NoSauce I've got a 2 acre field to walk mine in so have no need to worry about things like this. Maybe you don't have friends who ever need advice ...

Thanks for your valuable input though 🙄