UKH

I finally got off my backside and reported an issue with a public footpath today - the farmer has basically planted and kept corn (pretty much impassable) in a field that is crossed by a public footpath.  He did this last year too.

Since we moved into this very rural part of Cheshire over 2 years ago I have been scouting out lots of the paths and bridleways with the aim of putting together some nice long runs that are not too broken up by stiles and gates.  So far I have done quite well, but it is clear that some footpaths are not well maintained at all.

Anyone else had experience of this and taking action?  I actually believe that if I made a complaint for every bit of overgrown path that I come across, I will be raising dozens.  I am thinking of carrying something in a pack to clear the nettles and brambles from one particular stretch.  When I got back from my run today I had scratches across my thighs and my legs and arms are still tingling from all the nettle stings.

Where I am is farming and horsey land.  There are plenty of footpaths but it would appear that there is a reluctance for some of the big landowners to be helpful to people using them.  One of the common issues is large herds of cows in fields that come running after you as soon as you jump in.  This is not supposed to be Pamplona!

Local Highways department would be a good start.

Local branches of the Ramblers Association are often very active on this, worth checking to see if there is a local group already working on this

Absolutely - that's who I submitted my first report to on the field with the corn.  Hopefully they will treat it seriously enough.

This is a good point.  Going to local parish councils could get awkward as the land crosses more than one parish.  I will see who my local Ramblers are.

where we are there are a number of footpaths that cross arable land. it is often the case that the less frequented ones are non existent. i cant blame the farmers, they just drill the whole field. it is often the passage of people that 're-create' the footpath. once a year the local rotary club (i think) organise a walk to check footpaths are clear. this often involves heavy gardening. think you just need to bash through it a few times and re-establish the footpath. a lot of the marked footpaths crossing fields near us used to be old laborers routes to and from work, and because its on a map means very little. theres a couple which involve being able to run across water, as the land has long been sold and mineral extracted and now is a pit full of water, however the map says theres a path...

There may be some local groups for me.  The issue with the planted path is that it is tall corn for about 250 metres and can't just be bashed down in a few minutes.  It's a marked path but I'm not sure the farmer cares (it was planted over with corn last year too).

There may be a rights of way officer, but I suspect that role may have gone. Council aervices are being cut to the bone, and rural footpaths are sadly a very low priority. Best of luck, the footpaths round here are sadly seas of mud, angry cows and gates wired shut with barbed wire.

Some of which is illegal, but as you said - who is around to enforce it?

Fingers crossed in my case.  I will report back.

Can you dedicate an outing to it? spend half an hour of an evening with a small hand scythe? would be done then...

Similar issue in my neck of the woods.  Someone suggested that part of it was to deter walkers from using the path. Apparently if it can be shown to be unused, the 'right of way' can be removed preventing further access.

Never checked to see if this was an accurate statement though.

There’s a few landowners here who have public footpaths going across their gardens. Oddly enough they don’t seem keen on advertising the fact. NIMBY in the truest sense.

What is the responsibility of a landowner towards a footpath that crosses their land? I often wonder this when I arrive at something that is impassable. Is the onus on them or is it on users to keep it clear, and if that means flattening crops, are they liable?

As for the cows, I don't know what the solution is. Young cows are what they are, so either we say that the farmers can't have them in fields, or we accept that we might well get chased, which is frightening and dangerous. 

With crop fields, the onus is on the landowner to keep the path usable by not allowing an obstruction to grow over it. The local council’s highways department have the power to put an enforcement order on the farmer, and to undertake and bill them for the necessary works if they don’t comply.

I never bother complaining about crops, I’ve yet to see a crop in the UK but I can’t just walk through/trample with a bit of effort.   If I can I walk around the edge of the field instead, as if the part is that little used I don’t want to wreck the farmers crops unnecessarily. 

Gates that are illegally secured closed seem to suffer from rapid decay and failure of bailing twine/barbed wire, most likely the damp climate.  Sometimes I go against my deeply ingrained upbringing and climb over the gate stressing the hinges, if I didn’t want that to happen perhaps I should have left it open abou sometimes I go against my deeply ingrained upbringing and climb over the gate stressing the hinges, if I didn’t want that to happen perhaps I should have left it openable.

The one that does deter me is the strategic location of the straw/pop heap from the cow barns, so unless the farmer is known to be shooty or has dogs I just make way way through a nicer field.

I do hope that the weather checks the definitive rights of way map before prematurely aging fixed stuff illegally securing gates closed as there is a surprising amount of disagreement between the definitive map and OS maps.

Often the solution is ‘use it’. I mostly run off-road and around here if a path has fallen into neglect it’s more that it’s not very good than malicious. I can think of one disputed dead end path that’s supposedly a right of way - I had a poke around once out of duty and had no real urge to go back. There’s a bit of freelance clearance goes on and my testicles are always grateful when one particular path is cleared that gets increasingly challenging to run in shorts. Landowners have an obligation to keep things clear but it’s not always top of the list. Enforcement is local authority but they’ll use carrot before stick and have 100s of miles to keep on top of.

I absolutely want to use them, and regularly.  There are some nice running circuits that I can create with a huge variety of trail, bridle, woodland and tarmac.

I am thinking that there are a few sections of my large circuit that I could just go and trim down as there are no crops or livestock involved.

The field of corn is a totally different matter though - without a good few hundred metres of tough grind it is impassable and as for running...

Interestingly the council got back to me within 24 hours but only to tell me that the field is over the border in Wales.  They did point me to the right site to report it, and the site was actually really useful and had an interactive map showing footpaths and their reference numbers.

Fingers crossed again.

sounds interesting... wouldn't share the site address would you?

I have had problems in North Wales, one farmers wife said the path is no longer there, but on the latest web map it is still shown, we have found this on three walks now, I sent an email to the welsh Gov dept, but never got a reply, these paths were south of Caernarfon, so if you are planning a walk, beware.

Thanks.

Like Rampikino, I have come across  a fair few fields that become effectively impassable when thickly planted with maize or rape. But farmers have to make a living, and have many jobs to do, so I haven't ever complained.

I am though inclined to do so about two extensive properties through which footpaths pass where, at each place, a pair of untethered, large dogs came haring towards me as I tried to pass through, and pinned me down for a few minutes before anyone bothered to come out and call them off. This is crossing into the territory of another thread, but this sort of thing cannot be defended on the grounds of being busy, and does close off a footpath just as effectively as a densely planted crop.

I was leading a youth centre group on a walk in the Bala area back in the 1980's.

The O.S. Map, the stile and the signpost all indicated the presence of a footpath.

The large, angry farmer and his even larger and angrier sons said otherwise.

Absolutely:

http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/leisure_tourism/prow/reporting_problems.c...

The best bit is the link to the map that shows clearly which are public footpaths - removes doubt.

Definitely worth getting the link to the right council (as per the Wrexham one I shared) as it shows clearly which paths genuinely are listed and which are not.  The map is brilliant and even lists the reference number for the path.  This helped me a lot as I was able to zoom right in onto the field I encountered and discovered that two paths meet there, both with their own reference points.

Should stop most arguments in their tracks!

I have this exact problem with someone I frankly consider an awful person.  In theory I could defend myself from their dog or report it to the police, but I don’t want to fall out with a neighbour - yet.  I could tell the Ramblers but I don’t know if I could live with that on my conscience.  

Flip side if straying threads - we have a footpath across our land.  I mow it, trim trees back from it, I dug drainage and for my reward - a couple of people use it as their dogs’s toilet regularly.   The other dog walkers are as annoyed as me but it’s difficult to resolve amicably.

One option is to push for the Parish Council to introduce a by-law prohibiting any fouling on that land.  A few notices up with fines and threats of enforcement can often work.

Do you have children who play in that area?  It can help your case in getting the by-law.

Thanks for that, I have it saved now and will report problems.

I got a quick response saying “we will go and investigate..”