is there an issue with going for a long walk in the countryside?

[EricaNernie]

that is remote and accessible on foot?

why should this be for an hour?

You are mixing up walking for pleasure with taking limited exercise to get through the lockdown.

For most people, the are one and the same.

Of course, me too, but for a few people they seem to have lost sight of why they cant have a great long walk when we have all been told to stay at home.

Public footpaths are for leisure purposes

Many public footpaths (and bridle paths) were established as rights of way in times when Shankses Pony was the normal means of transport, and as packhorse routes and drove roads. And there are some notable paths which were for transporting coffins.

And?

And, so they're mostly not really 'for leisure purposes' as such. That's more of a lucky byproduct - having lived in the US I really appreciate our public footpath network. It's a right to be cherished.
Paths designed for leisure tend not to be routed through farmyards IME.

No.

Once upon a time, they had a different purpose. Now their purpose is for pleasure (including exercise).

Yes it is why most public footpaths are between villages. People walking to the next village or hamlet..

The history of public rights of way does not include leisure walks. They were rights of way so agricultural labourers could walk to work and for church goers to walk to church. Leisure walks were invented by the very rich landowners to show off their extensive gardens.
I have a number of friends and family who farm around us and we are right in the middle of lambing which is a 24/7 job. They will shoot your dog first and ask questions later if you tramp through a field of pregnant ewes with an uncontrolled dog.
We have already had two families lose their dogs in the fields next to us since lockdown.

May I give you a little advice. Most farmers will be letting cattle outside soon. It wouldn’t surprise me if they use the cattle strategically to stop people using footpaths across their land. Cattle have been inside all winter, I won’t go near a field of cattle with a dog.

I am so glad I live in Scotland, with our land reform act and good faith presumption of responsible access. Just back from a fantastic 3 hour walk, hardly saw a soul.

Very true - I fear there may be some nasty incidents if there are more people with less sense out and about than usual. Today we looked over a stile into an apparently empty field, but as we couldn't see the whole thing because of the slopes and could see a lot of fresh cowpat near the stile we decided not to venture further. (And that was without a dog).

I've just remembered a thread about perils of the british countryside.... I'm not sure I ever RTFT but iirc it was mostly cattle.

https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/thegreatt_outdoors/1434151-Outdoorsy-Shite-My-most-perilous-outdoorsy-moment?reverse=1

We are allowed to leave the house once a day for exercise. Give clarified in an interview last Sunday. It's restricted on purpose. The hour is a guide but if we don't abide by it we may be on full lockdown

"Michael Gove has offered some clarity on exactly how long people can exercise outside for during the coronavirus lockdown.

The minister appeared on the BBC’s Marr programme on Sunday morning, where he spoke about the sacrifices people are making, as well as offering guidance on how long people should be leaving the house for exercise.

“Obviously it depends on each individual’s fitness,” he said.

“But I would have thought that for most a walk of up to an hour, or a run of 30 minutes, or a cycle ride between that, depending on their level of fitness, is appropriate.”"

@TheNavigator Scotland has substantially less people than England per acre.

Yes, that's a reasonable general guideline. If you're accustomed to doing more and you live somewhere this won't negatively impact on others then hopefully you'll be allowed to continue to do so as at present. (Though maybe Michael Gove isn't best suited to calibrating the amount of time needed for a decent run. The link below is for the description of MG.)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/this-fad-for-fitness-could-last-a-lifetime-qz6np0kw6?shareToken=33eef4a3b5568d14c1e34cb5269792d7

That is true and I live in a quiet village where the streets looked post zombie apocalypse before social distancing. I am very lucky to have fabulous walks on my doorstep so have huge sympathy for those in more built up areas and their need to get fresh air and stay sane.

Oh well. All these discussions may be irrelevant as it seems increasingly clear that 'common sense' is an oxymoron.

Well, here in Scotland our Chief Medical Officer is still popping up tp her second home at the weekend, so clearly the need to stay indoors must have been overstated up here. After all, she knows more than anyone what is safe to do

no, there were cattle in the field which deterred us from making it a circular walk.
i do these walks all the time and would not go into a field with cattle