Attitudes to agricultural fields

[Cider Boys]

I have always found myself somewhat in the middle of the townie v bumpkin attitude to access in the countryside. I do not own or have ever owned any land but have always spent a lot of time wandering the great many public footpaths that exist in the countryside and I fully support more access to the countryside. However this greater access must be enjoyed in a responsible way. It has also equally enraged me when farmers have deliberately blocked or hidden paths or walkers have interfered with gates, left litter or walked across crops. I have often complained about blocked paths and ones diverted with little support from the paid council officials. However it never ceases to amaze me how walkers will bend barbed wire fences down to facilitate their illegal trespass when walking their dogs or jogging. This problem is most apparent where countryside joins the town and the arrogance of many dog walkers is all too apparent.

We rent two fields that now join a recently built housing estate (previously they were part of a Council owned farm before the Council saw fit to sell for building)

Dog walkers have a large field left to them by a village benefactor for their use but they seem to prefer our fields since they can let their dogs sh*t in the field without picking it up as required to in the designated field.

On walking back from the far field to check on our sheep and pigs I came across some young Tart throwing sticks in our mowing grass for her two dogs to retrieve, I politely informed her that “Missus, this is not a public footpath or a dog sh*thouse” to which she sneers at me and mumbles some jibberish. This is now all too regular an experience for me, why do dog owners think they have the right to open my gates and use my fields as a dog-bog? Last week I came across a jogger running around the perimeter of the mowing grass, I again politely asked him had he lost his way form the London Marathon to which he explained, quite justifiably, that it was better to run across my grass because the amenity field was full of dog mess. I asked him if he had lived here for long to which he replied no he hadn’t. I then informed him that I thought that was the case because locals always keep clear due to the Anthrax that was present in the field. He asked me what this Anthrax was, I said “best look it up on the internet since the locals daren’t talk about it”.

Why do these townies think that agricultural green fields are their playgrounds?

Barney

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Barney, i think this is becoming a wide spread problem around the Country, and i do sympathize with you.
I think a private land sign might help with the more respectful people, but there will always be the odd few that will never see the errors of their ways, i think you will just have to be pretty blunt with them, when caught on our land.
It's just a shame it always has to come down to this.

[Gilly C]

at the bottom of our drive(Cattle grid) it says no unauthorised vehicles and no parking and the gate 150yds further on it says private no thoroughfare and no parking yet we always get people driving in to park ! we have a gate alarm so if we and or staff are here always challenge people they always claim there are no signs ! we have even had people unpacking picnic tables etc right outside our house but all we get is abuse this is a County Coucil site with schoolchildren staying I wonder what these same people would say if it was their child or Grandchild staying here and we let any Tom Dick or Harry park up !!!

[Elaine]

Hi all. The selfishness of some people never ceases to amaze me. It's all about what they want to do and sod everyone else and the inconvenience they cause. It is always a source of annoyance, that when these people are confronted with their misdemeanors , they give out a load of abuse to justify themselves. Morons. The disrespect towards other folks property has always made me seethe whether it be a farmers field or a back garden. We once had a family of hooligans living by us and they took great delight in totally wrecking my display of delphiniums in my front garden. When I told them they shouldn't even be in my garden without invitation, they thought it was hilarious...it's a free country was quoted. I said I would therefore come into their garden to spoil their flowers and was met with absolute outrage at the thought!! They couldn't see the point I was making, though they were 12/13 years old. More morons in the making. Fifteen years on, most of these brothers have been in the nick several times over. Very sad really. Cheers.

[Stephen]

I do support the "right to roam".
However, as with every "right" comes an obligation; in this case to behave responsibily.
So many people who talk about their "rights" forget the second part of the deal.

[Primrose]

I just love the story about about a family of picknickers who trespassed on private land during a day in the country to have their picnic. The owner of the field managed to track down their car registration number and turned up with his family to spread out their hamper and picnic on the culprit's front lawn, with the response "Well, you trespassed on my property so now I'm returning the favour to see how you feel about it/"
I do agree that many people are selfish and inconsiderate about the use of the countryside and private land. Until they live in the country and see the other side of the coin I'm afraid there's no way they will be educated, and some of them will never learn, wherever they live.

[richard p]

a few years ago we had several black bags of household rubbish dumped in our roadside ditch, we opened one up and found correspondance addressed to a house about 5 miles away... so we chucked them in the back of the truck and took them back... bloke first off claimed the council took all his rubbish so it must have been them that dumped them... then he agreed to take back the one bag that we'd found his letters in, till i pointed out we,d have to empty them all out on his lawn to check that hed got all his.. so he agreed to take back the lot.
the real funny bit was his missus must have been hosting a tupperware party or similar cos about ten women came up the drive and in the front door whist we were "negotiating" i made sure they all overheard enough to realise what was happening.... bet he got an earfull later

[Compo]

I am very fortunate that out bungalow backs on to agricultural land, mainly used for winter wheat, a valuable food stuff for the animals. The number of dog walkers that tramp across the young wheat, or more lazily park in the gate way to the field stay in the car and let the dog go who scampers under the gate, runs around and messes in the field. I have challenged the dog owners in the past and said if they go one field up there is a public footpath and I take a carrier bag in case they dont have one..............cheeky..........ignorant.........often townies who have moved to the country for a better life.

Overheard in the school playground one day. 'We must get on to the council about that smell',(recently manured fields). And 'I was late for work this morning, bloody cow's crossing..........you think they would cross at a more suitable time ' not rush hour '.

I love nothing more than being held up and watching the friendly beasts, waddle full of milk, so I can enjoy that splash of white stuff in my mornign cuppa. And has anyone ever noticed that pig manure eventually smells like perfume to the trained nose?

CoMpO

[peter]

....... has anyone ever noticed that pig manure eventually smells like perfume to the trained nose?

Er, NO.

Have to ask this Compo, how exactly did you train your nose?
Spend your weekends at the sewage works?

Some years ago some incomers at a local village tried to get a long established pig farm closed down because of the smell.

Funny how people move to the counrty, then try to shut down the things that make it the way it is, or preserve it "just so".
Near to me various nitwits have been up in arms about British Waterways clearing mature trees from the canal side. "Oh how terrible, poor wildlife, blah blah." They just do not understand that the countryside is manmade and needs maintenance, without said maintenance we would end up with mature woodland everywhere. The most wildlife friendly areas are well maintained coppiced woodland where you get the full range from coppiced last autumn through to ready to coppice this autumn.

[Primrose]

Many years ago friends of ours fulfilled a long term dream to buy a smallholding in the country and kept a variety of animals. Unfortunately a Good Life "Margo Leadbetter" moved in nearby and complained about thesmells. They invited her over to drinks and sent her back home with with some bacon, a joint of pork from one of their home-reared pigs and an invitation to bring her grandchildren from London to say 'hello' to the animals on their next visit during the school holidays. She went awfully quiet about smells after that. Which illustrates that an awful lot of people complain through ignorance about country life, and hopefully once they better understand, they're able to see another point of view. It's a shame, but sometimes some active "marketing" in some form of other is necessary to enable people to see another point of view.

[Compo]

Of course Peter, my comments were slightly tongue in cheek, point being that after a while of living in the country you get used to certain smells and welcome them as healthy and not at all offensive. It as you say the gentle control of nature to enhance human life......long may it continue......

cOmPo

[Stephen]

Compo
I spent some time in Somerset recently, the county of my birth and youth and one of the things that took me right back to my youth was that the cows were herded along the village streets going to and from milking. The smell of the fresh cow pats was perfectly delightful and highly evocative!
(I suspect this would pall if it was every day... )

[alan refail]

However it never ceases to amaze me how walkers will bend barbed wire fences down to facilitate their illegal trespass when walking their dogs or jogging. This problem is most apparent where countryside joins the town and the arrogance of many dog walkers is all too apparent.

Why do these townies think that agricultural green fields are their playgrounds?

Barney

Have look at the Access code for Scotland
http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/upload/soac2.pdf

and think how much worse it could be.

[Johnboy]

It is totally amazing the ignorance of town folk. We have a couple moved into the local village and bought a house almost next to the church. They are now trying to get the bells stopped because they do not like the noise they make.
Town folk have the idea that the countryside is a rural idyll peaceful all the time. Another person complained of the noise the tractors make as they pass her house. She maintains that they should have more silencing.
The countryside is a place of work and a hive of activity hereabouts just at present with spuds being moved and spring sown wheat being harvested. I always tell them to p--s off back to whence they came.
Strangely one actually did!
JB.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Johnboy, i'm a placid sort of a fellow, but what you have mentioned above really does make my blood boil, too.
We have a couple in our village that do nothing but constantly moan about a working village, and yes, they also moved to here from the city.