Bridleways and footpaths

[Alf Tupper]

I was training on the route of the Lyke Wake today , just below Shunner Howe, i saw a man wheeling his MTB . I told him it wasn't a bridleway, just to advise him really. His reply was that it wasn't a footpath????????? yeah right.
I get a bit sick of some idiots (this fella was intelligent , no chav) cycling on footpaths, it wasn't rideable , hence him pushing. I cycle too so this isn't a rant against MTBs , just against those who can't be arsed to read symbols on maps, or do then ignore them anyway.
Today i saw 2 adders on the path, wonder if he slowed to avoid them, i only just noticed them whilst running.
Whats anyone think about this? Am i being too pedantic?
I believe in Live and let live but not at the expense of the environment.

[clodhopper]

In Scotland we all seem to get along fine either on bike or on foot. Maybe its a case of live and let live. Was he bothering you? Not sure which part of the LWW you were on but certainly east of Blakey Ridge a lot of it isn't a public foot path in the legal sense so perhaps he had a point.

[Joe]

In Scotland we all seem to get along fine either on bike or on foot. Maybe its a case of live and let live. Was he bothering you?

Perhaps it's because the paths are less heavily used in Scotland? In the Peak and the Lakes the bikes are a big erosion problem.

[clodhopper]

Perhaps it's because the paths are less heavily used in Scotland? In the Peak and the Lakes the bikes are a big erosion problem.

Ah so it's not the hundreds of thousands of walkers then?

[Gravymuncher]

LOL, I was going to make a point about the erosion up mountains such as Grisdale Pike, which is clearly the result of walkers/runners and the minimal impact of mountain bikers in the Lakes, due to their vastly fewer numbers, regardless of whether you accept that bikes cause less erosion than walkers in a lot of cases, but I'm a bit busy to be writing essays tonight.

Worth noting though - I caused more erosion running off Scafell Pike when I did the Borrowdale a couple of years ago than in all my time mountain biking.

[XRunner]

In Scotland cyclists are legally allowed to go where walkers can go.

Cyclists get a very poor deal in Engalnd and Wales.

Here's an interesting article about cycling in the countryside.

[bigfella]

In Scotland cyclists are legally allowed to go where walkers can go.

In England we go one better, anywhere a cyclist can go so can motorcycles and 4 x 4s

[detritus21]

I was reading somewhere about cycles and motorbikes on footpaths. Someone had been taken to court for pushing a motorbike down an alleyway with the engine off. It was ruled that they were not breaking the law on footpaths as they were pushing not riding. If they were to scoot along the footpath with a foot on a peg or in the case of a bike on a peddle then they are riding it so contravene the law. In this case mentioned above at that particular point they weren't breaking the law. but of course they wouldn't dream of riding along that path

[skennaugh]

Its a big can of worms this one. I always find with a bit of consideration and common sense we can all enjoy the countryside together. There is always a minority that seem to want to spoil it for the majority though!

[AllanT]

Its a big can of worms this one. I always find with a bit of consideration and common sense we can all enjoy the countryside together. There is always a minority that seem to want to spoil it for the majority though!

Pretty much agree, though do you not find sometimes on the IOM it's often not clear whether there's a no bikes area or not. I try and avoid riding on footpaths, especially where it tells you not to, but I have on a number of occasions pushed my bike along a footpath where bicycles were forbidden (not realising it was a no bikes path until I got to it, I needed to get through to a specific point to continue my ride). No-one said anything and I like to think I was following the rules (not riding it), but I suppose it only takes one person to kick up a fuss.


Mind you over here, it appears that a lot of landowners are a lot more enlightened than across, and they don't even seem to object to you running/walking over their land as long as you don't disturb their stock. That said, I make a special effort to either avoid areas where races pass through, or at least seek permission before crossing that land if on a recce.

Just wondering who owns that land down by Injerbreck as I want to find a faster + clearer route up Colden for next years MMM. In the past have just gone the normal way, but this thread (& richies comments) have set me thinking who exactly it belongs to and should I be getting permission to cross the land?