So can we drive to mountain walk now?

[Hugglespuffed]

I thought I'd heard earlier on today on tv (could be bbc news or this morning as those are what I have watched today) that we are now allowed to drive to exercise of the exercise will take longer than the drive
.. so can I get my walking boots and go for a walk up my nearest mountains? I expected to hear it on the briefing but heard nothing. Don't want to do anything 'wrong' and wont of course. But if we are allowed then I would love to. Living in a city, it is hard to find walks that aren't too busy (people are being great about keeping apart but sometimes it is more effort than it is worth!) And can feel the pound already piling on and need better exercise! Thanks :)

trouble is that lots of dumbos go for hill walks in jeans, hoodies and fashion flipflops, carry a tiny bottle of water and a chunkphone, and then need to be rescued because it rains, gets windy or they fall over
That's made me laugh but it's so so true.

One sets of hills near me is hugely popular with families who think nothing of going up in flip flops, non-active clothes, no extra layers (I'm guessing from lack of day packs). Usually a handful of tiny dogs who are struggling because it's clear their daily walks are a quick 15-20 mins around the block too. I always worry about those dogs as it's not good for them.

They've been blocking popular carparks on the main routes during lockdown and rightly so because before lockdown when we had nice weather and were told to avoid busy places, the place was overrun with people having a lovely day out. 🙄

I’m not sure what’s legal around driving to walk.... if you do, please PLEASE don’t do walks that go through gates. We’re in the Lakes and our valley and nearest village is totally overcome with corona and we don’t want to pass it on.

Eh what? How does that make any sense? If you are 'overcome' you should be isolating at home. WTF have the gates got to do with it??

I’m really pleased they have finally clarified that it’s perfectly legal to drive to walk. We have been going up to some local woodland, about 5 mins away. It’s very quiet, we see a lot less people, and it’s not farmland. We feel safer walking there than in town and it’s bloody lovely too. I had a note on my car the 1st week saying you should only be exercising from home and ever since then I’ve felt like I’m doing something wrong despite knowing it was within the rules, as Hancock has clarified several times. I do think they could have stipulated that people shouldn’t be driving long distance to take their exercise though. I mean you could technically drive a hour to the beach, spend two hours there walking and swimming and that would be ok? The new guidelines could cause a lot more confusion.

I'm also a mountain bagger but live in W. Scotland. There's a big of a longish route of about 57 miles near but it does require driving to it (not far for the first 4 stages but the last 2 are overnight camps anyhow) so think we'll give it a go if the weather stays as it is. Was hoping to do it before the midgies really get a foothold, they're already about.

I am amazed that someone asks this @Hugglespuffed

The College police guidance people linked to is for the police who may stop people and ask why they are driving etc.

It doesn't mean you can or ought to aim for doing exercise a long way from home or drive to a beauty spot or National Park (and most UK mountains are in National Parks.)

Unnecessary journeys are still not allowed.

The guidance is that you can exercise but that it is close to your home.

You can walk the streets or go to a nearby park.

Presumably you live in Scotland , Wales or the Lakes if you want to climb a mountain.

As far as driving goes, the guidance is that no one should do unnecessary driving.

The way I'd think driving was remotely reasonable is if, for example, an elderly person wanted to walk for an hour on the flat, but had to walk up a very high hill or bank from their house to get out to walk and they weren't fit enough or able to do that.

@Peapod if you are going for a walk why do you need to drive for 5 mins to get to the walk? Serious question. Can't you add that distance to your walk? Is the route impassable on foot or something?

Article on the BBC covering the police guidelines...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52312560

Not in Wales. The police are merrily chasing people away and tweeting about it to the delight of the masses.

We are all a bit cross about the PPE thing though, so you really don't want to need one of our very few ICU beds anyways.

@Peapod29
It's a police training guide for the police.

It doesn't overrule the advice of the HOme Secretary.

It gives the police the power of using judgement if they stop someone but it doesn't automatically give the public the right to start bending the guidelines willy nilly.

That guide for the police is not 'in the public domain' in that it's being advised by the government.

It's showing the police to use some discretion but of course some people will use it as 'proof' they can be exceptions to the overall guidance.

I can’t answer for peapod, but I am in a similar position and my reason is that we live on a rural national speed limit road with no pavement one way and a very narrow (1-person single file) path in the other direction. No good with dogs and children. Tractors and lorries whizzing by sun-up to sun-down.

Jingling It’s along a nasty country road with no pavements, lots of speeding, and we have 2 little kids in tow. Can’t get there by foot really as there’s a racecourse and then farmland in between. We’ve seen a handful of others up there, where as our local town is packed with walkers and hardly any social distancing going on in the park. People are even letting their kids play together down there, meeting up with friends for a natter, whilst sitting on a bench.

Oh god, why did they update the rules?!! It's taken ages for some people to grasp/follow them. Now this really muddies the water.

@Peapod29 That seems reasonable.

But it never was ‘against the rules’ to drive for a country walk anyway was it? The police basically made that bit up. This has just clarified that they really don’t have a right to stop people doing so and can stop wasting their time driving round leaving notes on people’s cars in obviously deserted places.

The 'relaxed' guidance relating to people with conditions like a learning disability or autism being able to travel further away from home for exercise also states that time away from home should be limited and as close to home as possible.

I don't think driving for a long period to walk up a mountain fits in with limited and close to home as possible.

@TiddlestheCat The rules have not been updated.

It's all about 'degree' and judgment.

If they changed the rules and said everyone could drive to a beauty spot for a walk how on earth could it be policed as it's all too subjective and open to abuse; they cannot prove how long anyone walked!

You would have idiots driving 4 hrs to the Yorkshire Dales and swearing blind to PC Plod they had done a 6 hr walk so it was okay. This is what was going on before- people driving halfway across the country.

The rule is still no unnecessary journeys and most people can exercise without getting in their car.

@Peapod29
The rule was and is we all stay at home except for 4 specific reasons.

The exercise guide was you can go out once a day for exercise but also that no one should be taking unnecessary car journeys.

There may be some instances where exercise outside the home and a car journey to do so are necessary but for most people they are not.

If you follow the rule of no non-essential trips anywhere, exercise should not necessitate using a car unless there are exceptional circumstances.

One reason is that it's possible the virus is spread by shoes/ footfall, as well as coughing/sneezing/ breathing it out, so moving to new locations will possibly transfer it.

Oh god, why did they update the rules?

I don't think this does update the rules, tbh. The police guidelines are an extrapolation of the law that was passed to cover the social restrictions. That law came into affect at the end of March and all this does is explain how it might be applied to different everyday scenarios as well as make it clear that the legislation uses the test of whether an action is reasonable, not essential.

I suspect this has been done because different police forces seem to have taken some rather extreme views on law interpretation and need to be brought back to a consistent, centre line.

It doesn't overrule the advice of the HOme Secretary.

The advice of the Home Secretary isn't remotely legally binding jingling.

I suspect this has been done because different police forces seem to have taken some rather extreme views on law interpretation and need to be brought back to a consistent, centre line.

Indeed. Things like this don't help the image of (some) police being very heavy handed with the law...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-52148020

It would have been better if they’d limited the distance you could drive in miles. I’ve been driving a mile to walk in a quiet area due to major roads and children. I’d think a very short drive to access somewhere to walk is what they meant, not a trip to the mountains or lakes unless you live near them, and even then it’s probably not a good idea due to safety.

It all depends what you call ‘local’. I’d take it to mean a mile or two or so. Longer journeys make breakdowns and accidents more likely too.

@Haffianafarmers near us have asked people not to come into farmyards and cross fields even if there are footpaths, because there is a theory that the virus can stay on hard surfaces for about 72 hours and farmers don't want to be touching gates that other people may have recently touched.

Yy would agree this is likely a response to various instances of police completely crossing the line, in some cases acting illegally themselves. It's vital to get that shit under control.

@pictish we might be neighbours

The advice of the Home Secretary isn't remotely legally binding

Dicey's rule of law... no one can be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by law.

Law = legislation, not what the Home Secretary says.

He is, of course, free to request for people to do something. He just cannot punish them for ignoring him.