Travelling to exercise WWYD?

[LittleSnowman]

I live in London in a built up area with no green spaces, in a flat with no outside space and a new baby DD. We walk round the local roads every single day. The area in which we live is all new build blocks inside a very busy ring road / dual carriageway which is not nice or healthy to walk along and has very high emissions and poor air quality. Being in London we don't have a car and before Covid we usually just use public transport so hence choosing to live in this area where we can afford a decent starter flat. Due to being slightly vulnerable however, we've not used buses or tubes since March. We are therefore stuck in our immediate area for walks or anything.

I have found a good deal on an electric car which would make it affordable and green to drive in London. If I was to purchase this vehicle, how far could I morally and legally drive to walk with my DD, or could I drive any distance at all? One of the large royal London parks is 2 miles drive away from my flat (via the busy road).

I am a rule follower and would not want to do anything unreasonable. I can't find a clear answer other than the .gov website saying "stay local". Other than going to hospital to give birth, I have staying in my small area the whole year, and so this is not a pity me story about feeling stuck - we all have to make sacrifices. But I would very much like to walk my baby in some greenery - if it's ok to do so.

Would value others input on where you think I stand. Thanks.

There is nothing in law that states a certain distance and although there have been media reports of police fining people, they make the news as they are out of the ordinary. I think local is generally considered to be 5 miles so a park two miles away should be fine.

Just drive where you want to go, as long as it's not to West Wittering or Snowdonia.

There are millions of parks in London by the way, it would take you a year to get round them all.

You can drive wherever you want. The restrictions on distance, number of times etc is guidance only.

Do it
Do it
Do it

And enjoy

The guidance is same town, village or part of the city. 1 park 2 miles away surely fits within that guidance.

Although I’m baffled
London has more green space that any city in the world

I lived there for 10 years. Could hardly swing a tampon for green space.

Where are you?

Have you worked out how far it is to your nearest park or open green space, OP?
I have always been impressed with how well served London is with green areas, although I suspect they are all likely to be quite busy at the moment. Anyway, I hope you find it is pretty close so you don't need to have any concerns about travelling there.

There has not been provided any definition (government, legal, or otherwise) of 'local' in this context. There is no way that Derbyshire fine would hold up against appeal/ legal challenge (which is whey they're 'reconsidering it'). I think you have to trust your judgement and balance Covid precautions with the need for mental health, etc.

In any case, the govt should redirect its attention to, for example, the fact that lots of supermarkets (looking at you, my local Tesco) are doing nothing to limit flow of customers or encourage 2m distancing any more. That's a far, far greater risk than people driving 12 vs. 4 miles for a walk outside.

There isn't currently an issue with you driving to a park for exercise although it doesn't mean the government won't tighten the rules, or at least put some specifics to the term "local".
I'm wondering how you're going to charge an electric car though if you live in a flat?

I think the thing with “driving to exercise” is that if you arrive and find it’s really crowded, you should try somewhere else. I don’t live in London though, it may be that everywhere green is really crowded all the time ...

Do it.

I live in quite a green part of London but with 2 small children I do have to drive to 3 of the 4 parks that I rotate through.

I could walk to all 4 of them, but neither of my children could walk that far, run round the park and then walk home again. What they don't want is people driving miles to walk, but a short drive to access a place to exercise is fine.

Is it Greenwich park by any chance? Pre lockdown I went there to meet a friend. Weekdays before 10 seem to be super quiet in the car park

Thanks @Sethy38 although not sure what you're baffled about. Sorry if my op was unclear. We are essentially unable to walk to the green spaces without walking down a busy main road which isn't pedestrian friendly. Even though the parks are not far away if we felt safe going on the bus or tube.

@emmathedilemma we have underground parking with charge points, and there are local charge points on the street as well.

So general consensus seems to be to drive there. Thank you

The car sounds sensible and tbh, in your position i would drive to the park but in all honestly OP i would hold off doing anything this week at least. There are many rumblings going on that stricter measures are likely to come into effect and unfortunately being based where you are they will likely clamp down on things hard. From what i have heard things like no driving for exercise only walking out your front door. Dont quote me but i would hate for you to buy an expensive car then have it sat there until Easter unused cause they have changed the rules.

Very true @WB205020 just watching the Downing Street briefing now

It’s fine at the moment.

I agree that changes may well be announced. Wales has a “start at your door” rule for exercise and Scotland has “local outdoor recreation, sport or exercise, walking, cycling, golf, or running that starts and finishes at the same place (which can be up to 5 miles from the boundary of your local authority area) as long as you abide by the rules on meeting other households”.

England could do with more clarity.

Well I wouldn't recommend driving from London to Foremark, it's quite small and you can only walk along one side. Pleasant, but not really worth the effort

Your plan sounds fine within current guidence

@PurpleDaisies
England could definately do with more clarity.....perhaps a new PM too but thats another matter.

It does make me chuckle somewhat. Wales has a very simple message, 'Start at your door'.....Scotland has to be a little more complicated.....England on the other hand goes for Vague every time!

Is it not possible to walk the 2 miles to the park.

@user1493494961 in my op I explained why it's not possible. There is a very busy dual carriageway which we would need to walk along for half a mile to get out of our little area. Its the only way out of the housing we live in (normally we would just get the tube or bus a couple of stops). It's like a motorway and there are no proper footpaths. The emissions are among the highest in London and the major has flagged it as such. I'm not comfortable walking along by myself or with my baby, and it's unhealthy to do so, both in terms of breathing and in terms of mental health.

totally fine. Judging from another thread the boundary for 'local' is somewhere between 5 and 10 miles.
I live on the outskirts of Greater Manchester where I have very easy access to the peak district.
There is virtually no green space in the city centre of Manchester at all. Very unfair to suggest that I can go walk in the peaks yet city centre folk can't IMO. All about your own personal judgement .

Would a bike with a seat or trailer thing for DD be an option? Would you still need to go along the motorway, or is there another route out that cars can't go, but a bike might?

There are car rentals by the hour. No idea what sort of cleaning gets done between use, but possibly an option for the interim.

It’s absolutely fine to drive a couple of miles for exercise. But buying a car for what sounds purely like the purpose of driving two miles to walk in a park seems like an enormous sledgehammer to crack a nut I’ve lived all over London and I can’t think of anywhere which didn’t have a park or green of some kind within a mile max. Where are you?