Been for a walk...

[imamearcat]

We've driven to some quiet woods 10 mins away.. which I believe is within the law and guidelines. But I've been berated by family for it!

We saw a couple of families in the distance and that's it.. so I'm not exactly worried about spreading covid19 but I don't know, I feel a bit guilty??

Just wondered what other people were thinking about this kind of thing?

[Somanythingsmakemesad]

These aren't "my" rules. You need to exercise for longer than the drive. Gove suggests you shouldn't need to exercise for more than an hour.

He actually said that in general most people would exercise for up to an hour. That is true, most people probably aren't fit enough to do much more than an hour, if I were to drive for 30 mins to a deserted area and run for 2 hours then drive back 30 mins I have still exercised longer than I drove and away from the madding crowds. Your dictate about between 20-60 mins is made up - by you

[PickAChew]

I think someone on this thread is missing their pub to be a bore in.

[BubblesBuddy]

I think there is a necessity to keep cars roadworthy. They are a life line for many in the country. I don’t have a bus route coming anywhere near me! We use a car to go to the shops. We take a scenic route back and stop for a walk. I would need a car if there was a family emergency.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Tbf the only limiting factor is my middle aged bladder.

They ought to put that in the guidelines. Walking time must be far more than driving time (not 'the same' or 'more', it's 'far more' )... but the sum of these must not exceed your bladder time. (unless you're a bloke and it's a walk where you know for sure you'll be able to find a suitable tree...)

With these clarified parameters, DH identified a way to access a favourite nearby walk. The car park is shut so the only way to get there is either totally by foot or from a few lay-by spaces. It's still 'locals' because you wouldn't drive a long way not knowing for sure if a space is free or not.

[ErrolTheDragon]

I think there is a necessity to keep cars roadworthy.

That's also true. We're not going to the shops at all (far more likelihood of contact than on a country walk) but one of our cars is old enough it's battery isn't great, and the other is a hybrid which apparently must be driven a certain amount each month... if the lithium ion battery goes flat it'd need towing to the garage except the only one which can deal with hybrids in the area is shut.

[Somanythingsmakemesad]

Women can 'wild wee' too, just sayin

[PickAChew]

DH just bought a new battery for our 9 year old car because a couple of 3 mile round trips a week led to it being dead when he needed to go and collect dome thing from the office.

He also now has a charger and jump start pack!

[Goatymcgoaty]

I suspect the government know people need to charge their car batteries, and that this is a reasonable thing to do. They just can’t say that though, as it opens the floodgates to every Tom Dick and Harry going on 100 mile outings with the excuse that the car needed a run.

[ErrolTheDragon]

You don't need a 100 mile run though, especially not at this time of year when you don't need lights, rear windscreen heater or aircon - unless you have bad hay fever opening the windows is sufficient.
An absolute distance limit doesn't work because if you're in a remote area, your 'local' shop may be 10s of miles away.