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Original poster

29 March : The stay at home rule will end, but the government will urge people to stay local as much as possible - What does that actually mean?

26 replies

CatOnAHotTinHoof · 15/03/2021 15:53

Will we be able to drive say 20 or 30 miles to the outskirts of London to go for a walk in our favourite places?
Thanks

OP posts:
Katie517 · 15/03/2021 16:01

It means it will be advice to stay local but will be up to you to decide. It’s only guidance to stay local at the moment so technically you could do that now too.

XenoBitch · 15/03/2021 16:03

It is guidance. If they want it to be law, and fine people for breaking them, then they need to specify a distance.

CallMeCleo · 15/03/2021 16:26

Hang on, I am sure that when this was promulgated, I read that "local" means 5 miles - unless you live out in the country away from anyone in which case it's to the nearest friends/supermarket/town etc.

peak2021 · 15/03/2021 16:29

No overnight stays still is the main thing.

I think that there should be a defined distance, so at least the police can turn away those travelling miles to the seaside or national parks.

RedRiverShore · 15/03/2021 16:30

Dunno, but DH has booked a running event about 40 miles away, we will probably also go to a NT place about 30 mile away. Its' just advice.

HolmeH · 15/03/2021 16:31

It’ll be just that, guidance. You cannot be fined for making a journey as you can now. So you can make your own choice but the govmt suggest you remain local.

The stay at home guidance is supposed to end on 12th April. It’s only a couple weeks later so you either take the view it’s only a couple weeks earlier OR you just hang on.

I’ve got Easter Egg hunt tickets booked on Good Friday at a child focused country park in North Yorkshire. It’s an hour away from me. They are encouraging people to book & come along 🤷🏼‍♀️ So I will be! It’s outdoors & they’ve been fantastic at limiting numbers & keeping the place super clean on the few trips we made in summer, Halloween & Christmas!

PuzzledObserver · 15/03/2021 16:32

I think it's more a shift in emphasis. "Stay at home" means you need a definite reason to leave your home, such as work, shopping, exercise etc - recently relaxed to include meeting one person on a park bench. I assume other places are allowed as well - but not private gardens.

From 29th March, we are no longer under instruction to stay home. You can be out all day if you want to!! They are encouraging you not to go too far, obviously to reduce the risk of transferring the virus to a place which hasn't got much. However, its a request/recommendation, rather than an instruction.

Original poster
CatOnAHotTinHoof · 15/03/2021 17:33

Thanks for your replies. Most people I know are staying within 5 miles at the moment. Hopefully it'll be explained clearly nearer the time ... but I won't hold my breath.

OP posts:
poppycat10 · 15/03/2021 17:43

I don't know where the 5 mile thing has come from (assuming we're talking about England here). There isn't and never has been a requirement to stay within 5 miles of your home in England.

Againstmachine · 15/03/2021 18:50

Hang on, I am sure that when this was promulgated, I read that "local" means 5 miles

Nope same as you get people saying you could exercise once a day for a hour none of that happened in England

110APiccadilly · 15/03/2021 20:16

@CallMeCleo

Hang on, I am sure that when this was promulgated, I read that "local" means 5 miles - unless you live out in the country away from anyone in which case it's to the nearest friends/supermarket/town etc.
This is (approximately) the Welsh guidance, so maybe you came across that somewhere?
ChocOrange1 · 15/03/2021 21:16

@CallMeCleo

Hang on, I am sure that when this was promulgated, I read that "local" means 5 miles - unless you live out in the country away from anyone in which case it's to the nearest friends/supermarket/town etc.
You might have read that somewhere but not from official sources. There is no specified distance in law.
ChocOrange1 · 15/03/2021 21:17

@peak2021

No overnight stays still is the main thing.

I think that there should be a defined distance, so at least the police can turn away those travelling miles to the seaside or national parks.

Why? Why does it matter if people travel miles to the seaside? It doesn't spread the disease - we know that there was little to no transmission on beaches last summer. Presumably you live near a beach and quite like it being quiet.
AlohaMolly · 15/03/2021 21:19

Here in Wales there was a 5 mile rule for a period of time.

jimmyhill · 15/03/2021 21:20

It means an Easter holiday full of trips, as far as you like, but no overnight stays

Wooohooo!

XenoBitch · 15/03/2021 21:32

@jimmyhill

It means an Easter holiday full of trips, as far as you like, but no overnight stays

Wooohooo!

I assume the restriction on overnight stays does not apply to support bubbles.
jimmyhill · 15/03/2021 21:48

Dunno haven't got one

RoseWineTime · 15/03/2021 22:04

We are planning day trips to Devon and Manchester Smile

ChocOrange1 · 16/03/2021 05:01

I assume the restriction on overnight stays does not apply to support bubbles.
It doesn't apply to support bubbles and never has.

Cocogreen · 16/03/2021 05:07

In Victoria, Australia. Under our lockdowns, the strictest one was you had to stay 5km from home, then when things were improving it was 25km. If your government hasn’t specified actual distance from home how do you know what to do?

Chickenriceandpeas · 16/03/2021 06:11

@Cocogreen you don’t! It’s up to your interpretation. One man’s local is another man’s 70 miles away. And with no fines (well, none that you couldn’t contest) then it’s been a bit of a free for all for a lot of people. Which is fine by me, as I can’t see why driving 20 miles for a walk in the middle of nowhere is any less ‘safe’ than walking in circles round your busy town and come into contact with far more people.

Puddymuddle · 16/03/2021 06:15

It means you can drive to NT places and the beach and not have people tell you to stay the fuck home Grin

CrunchyBiscs · 16/03/2021 06:23

Using common sense I'd say it means not going to a 10-30 mile away tourist area , perhaps visit a 20 mile away remote quiet area and otherwise stay a few miles from home.

The problem is people flocking to the beaches or tourist spots.

lljkk · 16/03/2021 06:26

If your government hasn’t specified actual distance from home how do you know what to do?

We don't. We live in fear of the police, neighbours, and random busy bodies. Isn't that great? We get to feel maybe safe from the random biological virus & totally unsafe from the deliberate irrational choices of other human beings.

Partyshoes · 16/03/2021 06:31

People flocked to beaches in the summer and a report came out saying beaches were not linked to cases of covid at all.

The limiting factor is really that we can’t stay overnight. So how far can you really go realistically if no food places are open, no idea what the toilet situation will be, and you have to get back the same day.

We’ll be going on what I would call local days out then. 10 miles or so to our nearest beach and a couple of NT type places within around a 40 minute drive. It will be the Easter holidays so I’m definitely not taking the kids to the park up the road again!!