Travel

[Toothsil]

First of all, don't shoot me for asking this, I have followed the rules to the letter right through and will continue to do so! We cancelled both our UK holidays this year and I've not seen my family, who live round the corner, for weeks. I'm not one of those who looks for loopholes the minute new rules are announced!

We live right on the English/Scottish border, just on the English side. My hairdresser in Scotland is still open and I have an appointment on Friday. I know this doesn't count as essential travel, and I was going to cancel, but thought I'd check the government rules first, because she has already been closed for months and she had to cancel my appointment a couple of weeks ago because she'd tested positive, so she's lost a lot of business this year, like lots of people, and I don't want to let her down if I don't have to.

The government website says you're allowed to travel to shops and businesses that are still open. My hairdresser is 15 miles away. I'm not sure if that would be allowed, or if they mean around your own town.

I've never asked a question about the rules before because I've always found them pretty clear, so I hope this isn't irritating to anyone 😂 It just really complicates things living on the border and having two different sets of rules - we do so much in Scotland!

Advice is that you can travel (in England) to buy goods or services from premises that are open so should be OK. Although hairdressers in England are closed so no-one in England should be getting their hair cut, but if its your normal hairdresser and theyre open cant see an issue (legally).

Im honestly not sure!
Is there any rule regarding crossing the border - eg I know Wales have stopped people crossing but havent heard anything about Scotland.
I guess intimately its a decision you'll need to make, in your shoes i think id go!

Legally you can travel wherever you want to, but the point of lockdown is to reduce contact with people and hence reduce transmission.

Most people that have caught covid did so whilst following the guidelines. Use your common sense, are you following the spirit of the guidelines (stay at home, only essential contact with others), or are you trying to justify a jolly to the hairdressers?

The advice for Scotland should include their rules about travelling from England, so have a look to see what that says.

I did read something about Scotland not wanting visitors to low risk areas from high risk areas, but if you're on the English side of the Scottish border, that's all pretty rural isn't it, so should be OK? I think it's the case that they don't want central belt residents going to the Highlands and Islands and they don't want people from higher tier English cities there either.

If you live in England I guess you follow the rules for there, as that makes sense. I thought Nicola said she didn't advise crossing the border. but that was for the Scottish. I have family in Borders whose main town is in England so the opposite situation- they stopped their bus service into town during the last lockdown and had to arrange shopping delivered for them. Really tricky

@BarbaraofSeville it is pretty rural, our town is where everyone from the town where my hairdresser is, comes for their shopping, because there are very few shops in that town and only a very small, expensive supermarket. So there's a lot of travel back and forward between the two towns, even in the last lockdown they still came from there to the supermarkets here. I'll have to check out what's been said about crossing the border, last time round we just didn't do it, because there was absolutely no need. DH works in Scotland but was working from home.

I can easily live without a haircut, I just don't want to do her out of any more business if it's actually ok to go. I only take half an hour in there, it's literally just wash, cut, dry, out. I wouldn't be sitting for hours getting any colour done or anything, in fact I'd be happy not to have it dried.

I think Hayeahnobut has a really good point. It’s not about the guidelines really. It’s about weighing everything up and doing what’s right. I personally would cancel but still pay the hairdresser - but appreciate that wouldn’t suit everyone.

I saw this on the Scottish gov site

"The current Scottish Government guidance, given the state of the epidemic across the UK is that people avoid any unnecessary travel between Scotland and England, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

This applies to people who live in Scotland and to people who live elsewhere in the UK who are thinking of coming to Scotland."

Checking for my relative really hoping they can still shop across the Borders. Seems it is Ok if 'essential'

Also it says

"If you have to travel for essential purposes, follow the guidance on travelling safely below."

I'm a stickler for the rules but I'd go!

I texted my hairdresser to see what she thought (I've been going there for 15 years, we know each other well). She said the border crossing is the only thing she saw a potential issue with and that she was happy to rearrange for next month so I've done that, just to be on the safe side. Thanks everyone.

@Orangeblossom7777 I hope your relatives are still ok for shopping, I know lots of people still came over the border to our town last time round - it's so close to the border it always makes things tricky!

It's such a pain! Last time they reduced the bus service to that there was only one, so no time to get off and just went straight there and back

meaning no way could get off to shop for groceries

I heard they did something similar in the Islands as well

After searching for weeks finally got a tesco delivery but it was tricky for a while

That's awful @Orangeblossom7777, I hope they don't have that again this time.

It will be OK, last time muddled together Milkman, local farm shop veg delivery and a meal delivery service (sealed meals in storage) based in Edinburgh who delivered all the way to the rural Borders, major faff and took a while but it meant they didn't go hungry. Until the supermarket orders became available, they are elderly so not sure how would have coped otherwise

Makes you think of others especially vulnerable on their own without family and how they would cope without cars and the internet.

@Orangeblossom7777

It will be OK, last time muddled together Milkman, local farm shop veg delivery and a meal delivery service (sealed meals in storage) based in Edinburgh who delivered all the way to the rural Borders, major faff and took a while but it meant they didn't go hungry. Until the supermarket orders became available, they are elderly so not sure how would have coped otherwise

Makes you think of others especially vulnerable on their own without family and how they would cope without cars and the internet.

That could be a very difficult situation. In our town, one of the councillors set up a group to deliver to the elderly/people shielding etc, they put leaflets through all the doors and had a Facebook group where they got volunteers.

I hope that people check on their elderly neighbours and look out for them.

Yes they had something like this but volunteers so limited to one off help really. There is a phone line for Morrisons in Berwick they do a service for essential food too but a bit limited. It's not easy they have arthritis so not easy there either.