New fencing along the footpath off Hangings Lane
A new footpath fence close to the hedge, as above, has been put up on a much used footpath. Some people have objected because it is enclosed and very narrow compared to before, and will thus become very muddy sometimes. However, the reality is that many more people are using local footpaths. Some do not realise how they should behave. The lambing season is here so fencing for all is becoming necessary because of the poor behaviour of the few. We would not have such beautiful countryside to walk through if it wasn’t for all the hard work put in by our local farmers. We need to support them. The Farm Director at Collings Hanger Farm (where Wren Davis is based) writes the following:
“I know that the fencing will restrict walkers, but we have tried and tried to keep people on the public footpaths, keep their dogs on leads, pick up after their dogs and don’t drop litter but no amount of signage has worked. When any member of farm staff challenges these trespassers we are frequently sworn at and ignored. So it really is a last resort as it is very expensive and time consuming but it is in the interests of safety for both the public and the farm animals. Over the last year I have reported to the police many incidents of sheep and cattle worrying by dogs off their leads and we have had two dead sheep as a result of the trauma, which is very upsetting for all concerned. Frequently, in the cattle feed,( made with the grass) I find poo bags, tennis and golf balls as well as beer cans etc. This is dangerous to the animals and the diseases that dog faeces carries is zoonotic. As more and more people are enjoying the countryside, sadly many are unaware of the Countryside Code and how to behave in the countryside, which is one of the key reasons I have always promoted educational farm visits on the farm.”
For those who need more information, follow this link to Chiltern Conservation Board Country Code or this one for maintaining public rights of way.
I agree with Graeme Summers and Happy walker. I support the action of the farmer, but am very sad that it has been necessary
I use the footpath in question at least once a week and regularly see people striding straight past the No Footpath sign. I knew things would have to change when I saw a large group of people struggling to lift a child’s motor bike over the kissing gate. Having managed it, they then watched the child set off across the field on the bike. As for the number of poo bags left hanging on trees / fence posts….what do people imagine is going to happen to them? Sensible, considerate country loving walkers are penalized for the bad behavior of others
I don’t know how the farmers have tolerated the abuse of their property for so long. I would not be surprised if the farmer sold up to a property developer, then we would have another housing estate, with paved paths, street lights and more traffic. Should this occur, we have only ourselves to blame. Many are attracted to the countryside to escape the towns, only to try their best to destroy it and turn it back into a town they tried to escape from. The comment about not having seen any notices concerning the proper use of footpaths beggars belief. I regularly walk most of these paths throughout the year, and access to all of them is well signed, although some signs have been torn down by vandals.
To solve the problem of a muddy path, suitable footwear could be worn.
With the permission of the farmer, I have removed, from the paths and fields, smashed beer bottles, plastic bottles, metal cans, wire from balloons and Chinese lanterns, broken bits from sledges, plastic bags and sacks, discarded lumps of wood and chewed up balls that an owner’s dogs got fed up with, dog and human faeces, sometimes in bags hung on the fence, and the remains of barbecues.
I have witnessed a field of sheep being chased by a dog on the loose, with the owner calling, unsuccessfully, for it to come back. The incident only concluded when the dog, the owner and the sheep were exhausted.
It is a sad reflection on our times that the farmer has to go to such expense to defend their property.
Protect our countryside by following the Country Code, or we, and future generations, will all lose it.
It’s sad that the owners had to go this length. A lot of unnecessary waste of time and money, just to enforce what we should always do. Respect their land, and be grateful for the footpath. It’s not a licence to roam across their fields, it’s just a footpath. I have only recently discovered a lot of footpaths since the pandemic, some have been so deep in mud and restricted by fences, but it just shows how much they are used. If you live in the countryside you may need a pair of wellies to encounter muddy bits. I’m a runner and avoid the mud if I can by taking other routes until it has dried up a bit. There are lots of choices around here. Allowing for social distancing isn’t up to the landowner, try some of the alleyways around Prestwood, it’s impossible to distance, you just have to accept that sometimes you have to pass people close by.
The footpath hasn’t been diverted, selfish walkers have decided to divert the footpath! I feel very sorry for Wren Davis having to have spent this money on fencing the path off, people should respect the paths. I do not see why they should put hard core down (at their expense), it is no different to any public footpath. If people could just follow the country code this would’ve been avoided.
I always understood that you need to post a legally required diversion notice for 28 days and have the appropriate permission before you could divert a public footpath.I haven’t seen a notice anywhere. Also having walked this new path has no thought been given to social distancing as it isn’t two meters wide in places. It will also become a total mud bath in the wet weather.
Maybe some hard core could be put down on the pathway to make it less muddy?