Is anyone else really, really struggling without a garden :(

[Radn]

I just can't bear to be indoors when the weather's so lovely, and every time someone tells me about their lovely barbecue or sitting out sunbathing it makes me want to cry. I'm really struggling. I'm just sitting indoors feeling hot and upset. I can't wait for this to be over.

"I am in the republic of Ireland. In a very big park. Lots of people are here. Sunbathing/ at picnic tables/ playing football by themselves - practicing goals."

Nice for you. We're NOT allowed to do that. Only people with gardens are allowed to sunbathe.
I presume if you live somewhere quiet, you can do it because you won't be seen, but in cities it's a no-no.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/coronavirus-police-clear-sunbathers-park-21749822

Radn - I'm so sorry. My DD doesn't have a garden and said she wished she did. I'm not sitting in mine in some sort of useless solidarity.

@gwenhwfar. I am not bragging.

What I am saying - is I don't understand why the UK have made that rule.

If you are far away from people, why on Earth would it matter if you sit in a park by yourself. It seems very draconian

"Are you really not allowed to sit in a park in the UK?

Why? If you are far away from other people. That doesn't make any sense."

We are allowed out for specific things, exercise no more than once a day, food shopping as infrequently as possible, medicine collecting, to help a vulnerable person or to go to work if you're a key worker. Nothing else that I know of. Sunbathing, loitering, sitting down as part of a walk not allowed.
People are taking photos of people in parks committing the heinous crime of sitting down.

I really feel for you. This whole policing of exercise vs "sunbathing" is all well and good for those with gardens but pretty shit if you don't. I'm pregnant and any longer walks generally involve a "little sit down" at some point - I'm waiting to get shouted at!

@thatgingergirl that is incredibly sweet!

Amy, I suppose we're supposed to be out as little as possible. There are health reasons for allowing the other things but not for sitting/sunbathing I suppose.
If you lived somewhere isolated you'd have no chance of being near somewhere else and nobody would see you anyway, but in a park in town...

@Gwenhwyfar yes. It will be nice when this is all over wont it

All the people saying go for a walk. It's not quite the same is it as sitting in your own garden and just enjoying the weather and relaxing. It is so hard without a garden (we don't have one) and people cannot comprehend it if you have a garden.

Imagine people saying you can only use your garden if you walk round it constantly and you can't loiter in any way.

I feel you OP. It is a fucking shit situation. When lockdown is over this place is going on the market and we are moving.

Do you have any windows that face the sun. If you do, you could open it and sit in a comfy chair in the sunlight.

I agree it must be terrible to not have a garden during these unprecedented times and lockdown.

If I were you I would take the DC and a ball, go to the park under a tree perhaps for some shade and run about with them.

Ignore the 'volunteers' - how dare they try and stop people exercising when you have the right to. You could even call the police to get rid of them!

Did you know the gov asked those parks to re-open so people can have the right to exercise.

Also, in our city park people do yoga and exercises on mats. It's all exercise. And yes we have police also.

It's called lockdown and that's the rules- don't go out unless it's absolutely necessary! Sunbathing/sitting quietly under a tree is not necessary. There are countries in far worse lockdowns than us too. My family in Cyprus have a curfew and can only leave once a day but have to get written permission by form of text first. The permission is then sent through time stamped so the requested task must be completed in a certain time

I'm stuck in a flat and desperately jealous of those with gardens too 😩
I've got all my windows open and have been going for an hours walk each day, but like others have said...constantly walking and not being able to sit down in the sunshine and just take it all in for 10 minutes is shite.
I have lots of big parks nearby that I would normally take a picnic blanket and a book to on a day like today but that's not allowed (quite rightly).
At least I'm not the only one.

@midnightstar66 I just don't understand that.

Why not go out and do yoga under a tree - an outing for exercise is allowed isn't it?

Yes definitely struggling - we're stuck in a cramped two bed flat on the second floor with a two year old. To top it off the sun comes straight into our windows and it's roasting - more then outside. I know we're in a privileged position but what i'd give for a garden my dd could play in and i could sit and just be outside in...

We have a bit of a green grass at the back of the car park which i sat in earlier while dd kicked a ball around - some other residents decided to come and camp out for the afternoon sunbathing so have had to retreat back indoors

Hi, really feel for you OP, until recently I lived in a flat with no garden. Could you try pushing a dining room table or something similar up to a window and sitting on it with the window open. Not great I know but might feel a bit more freeing.

Orangeblossom78 the council were out moving on people doing yoga, people playing ball with toddlers, DH playing hide and seek with DS3 (because DS’s bike was lying in the grass “and they might have been planning to sunbathe”), and I got told off for stopping my run for a sip of water (I was standing up at the side of the path, bright red and sweaty, apparently that’s “loitering” and is illegal). This was Ruskin Park, South London, yesterday.

Lambeth council have gone nuts, basically if you aren’t moving at their minimum speed, they come over and threaten you. Police in the park too, and helicopters overhead all day.

They can’t stop you running and walking because Gove has specifically said that’s fine, but anything else and they will try to intimidate you out of the park.

I tell you how shit it is with no garden we are going from a 10 minute commute to a 1.5 hour commute just to be able to afford a garden. This has only come about since this pandemic.

We don't live in london but in a large town that has very very high house prices and so moving north to more rural just to get a garden.

I did say they should give people who have no gardens a pass so we can use local parks and actually sit down in them, of course it would he very very hard to enforce but it would make it easier!

@ChristmasCarcass jesus that is horrendous. They are totally abusing their powers

I thought they had been told to tone it down a bit Christmas seems not in some places.

How awful and intimidating for children too. I'd complain to the MP

They obviously want the park shut, and are doing their best to make that happen.

@Amymayapple yeh I know it’s ridiculous , but that is the rule here / how the police are behaving and the overwhelming majority of the British public seem to support it.

@ChristmasCarcass ugh it’s awful isn’t it? I got told off the other day because my 10 month old baby stopped to look at some ducks- we were nowhere near any other person.

@Gwenhwyfar you are being far too literal when you say

We're allowed out for a walk so I will be going for one later on. My issue is that I'd like to go out briefly to feel the weather to decide whether I should wear tights or not, but I can't do that as only allowed out once.

Standing outside to check the weather obviously doesn’t count as going outside for your daily exercise