Would people do this?

[Nochangeplease]

I’m prepared to get flamed. I‘ve followed the rules. We don’t go out for a walk every day and claim it’s our exercise just beciase we want to walk in the sun.. We maybe go out for a walk twice a week and did this even when it was cold. It’s just me and 2 kids and we’ve been on lockdown since just before the schools shut.
Now, we live in a 2 bedroom flat in central London and unfortunately have no parks or large (or small) green spaces nearby. So a walk consists of just walking round the streets, which is difficult as pavements are narrow and we have to keep walking in the road to avoid people.
Could I drive for 10-15 mins to a park so we can do our walk twice a week there? Obviously it’s be a lot nicer to do that, but also easier to maintain distance than the narrow streets.
I guess I know the answer is no, which is why I haven’t done it. I understand if everybody done that the nice places would be too busy and roads would be too crowded and I’m no exception to the rule. But at the same time, on a personal level, I don’t see how it increases the risk. People are allowed to walk in the parks, I’m just unfortunate in that I don’t live near any.

It’s a non essential journey so the answer is no.
I do sympathise with your situation though. I am also walking around the streets and it’s pretty dull.

The answer is no. I understand why you feel it doesn't increase the risks but just imagine if everyone drive for 15 minutes to get somewhere they wanted to walk.

The problem isn’t while you are walking around the park.
By driving you are increasing the risk of a traffic accident, you will have to fill up with petrol sooner, there’s the possibility of a breakdown or a flat tire which will need you to ring a breakdown service.
All these things are increasing your contact with other people and surfaces.
Now you may say well I have a full tank and I’ve never had an accident but if everyone said the same thing it increases the odds of contact by millions of extra car journeys.

So no it’s not about where you walk or how careful you are but about the actual car journey itself

Plus if you have it and you drove to an area that doesn’t you will be shedding the virus as you walk increasing the area the virus is present

If you live in central London how are you not in walking distance of a park? I think the idea behind discouraging unessential road journeys is the risk of an accident at a time when the NHS is under such pressure.

Yeah I get all of that. I do. In all honesty lockdowns not been too tough so far and I’m trying to focus on being grateful for what I do have rather than what I don’t. But it’s becoming harder. No parks nearby, playgrounds with patches of grass. But my closest all that large green space is a 15 min drive. I’m in zone 1.

No no no

I'm trying to think of where in zone 1 isn't in walking distance of a park. If you're willing to say where you are some of us may be able to help suggest a green space. I understand if you don't want to.

You live in zone one and have a car? Where do you park?

Central London is full of parks, and it's hard to imagine where you are that there are none.

But be aware that other boroughs are having to close parks - much to the annoyance of locals, because non-locals come to use them. Battersea Park may well close for that reason.

So please don't travel to others. You can take exercise just as well on the pavements, or in smaller parks. Youndo not need to be in a large green area for your exercise to be effective.

I’m prepared to get flamed.

I don't think any of us need to read past the first sentence. I think a dozen posts a day start the same way.

I'll hazard a guess that you want to "bend" the rules, as there are all sorts of extenuating circumstances why they shouldn't apply to you. You'll get 10 people tell you you're an arse, 10 people agree you're a special case, then all the posters will start arguing between themselves and forget what this thread was even about.

Just make your own choices OP. It's you who will have to deal with the consequences. Probably.

If you are in zone 1 you have the river to walk along and lots of parks. Lots of green squares too. Crazy to get in a car. Zone 1 is quiet because it isn't as residential as zones 2-3. My friend was working in central London running a blood bank yesterday and said it was a ghost town.

@SnoozyLou well that’s exactly what I haven’t done. Seems like I’m one of the few round here that have stayed in with my children and doesn’t go out every day.

@SquirmOfEels Truthfully it’s not about exercise. It’s just about having a walk with the kids and getting some fresh air. I can exercise in my living room. Just.

@DarnedSocks I have lived here my entire life so I know the area extremely well. There really aren’t any. There’s playgrounds but no large parks. Not within walking distance.

@KenDodd I park on the street outside where I live as does everybody else that has a car in London I assume.

@SquirmOfEels I was in battersea Park just before the lockdown. It’d be a shame if it has to shut. The people that live close by are extremely lucky.

I guess I’ll just have to stick to walking the streets/middle of the road. At least it’s not as polluted at the moment. Not planning to go out whilst the weather is nice anyway as it’s too busy round here to maintain a distance.

@DianaT1969 The river is where we have been going but it’s not quite the same for the kids. Would just be nice to walk around a green space. The river is still fairly narrow at places and lots of joggers and some people also walking makes it too stressful. Just on high alert all of the time.
The really isn’t any big parks here at all. Possibly some small greenery bits as you say but not enough to go walking around. Also bigger parks are much easier to keep a distance than a small green space.
It is very residential really, lots and lots of flats in zone 1 both old and new, which means lots of families needing to get out.

Just to be clear I’m not going to go anywhere in my car. I just wanted to see if people thought it was acceptable. I still wouldn’t have gone. I think I just wanted to moan about it tbh