"Cant come through 'ere mate"

[Al Fowler]

I get on quite well with the local farmers here.
I think having a border collie helps as he is instantly something they recognise that they relate to. I very often stop and will point out a if someone has say trashed a stile or a gate has been left open etc etc. They are quite thanking of it.

There is one place that has lots of horses that has put an electric fence up with no way through it( ie a hook to lift off so you can get through) . I pointed that out and they sorted it. Not for me but for others who cannot get under it.
In winter I will go off the paths when its dark just to alter my routes a bit. No one minds as lots of the paths never get used.

Having said that tonight probably someone will have a go at me.

My nearest local farmer is actually our milkman - no, he's not my dad or any other milkman relate jokes.....I had a word with him and he let me use one of his fields for hill repping "Aye go on then, best of luck t' ya lad"

I once had a full on conversation with one farmer who must have had abit of time to kill....was asking where I'd come from, where I was going, why I was running in the first place.
I didnt tell him that the week before his entire heard of dairy cows went mental when I stepped into the field and started charging around and smashed through a fence

[wheezing donkey]

Al, what you will find is that it is not usually the farmers, whose forefathers have farmed the spot for generations, that are the problem. More often than not it's the incomer yuppies who think that buying a country retreat entitles them to a million acres of privacy around their newly titivated 'palace'. What I always try and point out to such people (when I'm certain that I'm on a public right of way) is that they should not be complaining to legitimate users of the route; their 'beef' is with their solicitor who should have pointed out the existence of a PROW when doing their 'search' at the time of purchase.

[nikalas]

I totally agree about opening up a narrative with landowners whenever possible. I now know most of the farmers in my immediate vicinity and make sure I always let them know about dead sheep, broken gates etc.... once they see you as a "mobile information gatherer" they're very friendly.

I know what WD means about newer generation landowners and you'll often find PROW either blocked or hidden with signage removed. Check and double check your map, take it with you and prove you have a right to be there.

[Al Fowler]

Thanks alot Gents,
Useful info there!

[Brotherton Lad]

Some landowners have been known to remove signs and block PROW. My dad as a village councillor and rambler used to have alot of fun cutting barbed wire in the 70s. So, yes, exercise your rights of access on PROW.
Be aware though that maps can be out of date and some landowners will have gone to the trouble of diverting a path legally, eg where a path traditionally went through the yard they can have the path diverted around the edge of the property, sometimes there is a notice to tell you this, sometimes the notice fell off 5 years ago, but the new path should be signed.
Always best to be polite though. Most people are understanding.

[tinyman]

My nearest local farmer is actually our milkman - no, he's not my dad or any other milkman relate jokes.....I had a word with him and he let me use one of his fields for hill repping "Aye go on then, best of luck t' ya lad"

Same with my local farmer, I had a chat to him and he now lets me run up to a trig point that's not on a right-of-way. He knows that I cover that patch of his land more often than he does so he's happy to trade the access for occasional info about broken fences, fallen beasts etc

[Graham Breeze]

I was at the University of Pamplona last week (the one run by Opus Dei).

The route of the ancient pilgrimage, El Camino de Santiago (de Compostela), which reached its peak of 1/2 million pilgrims annually in the 11th /12th centuries, actually goes through one of the main university buildings so at all times of the day walkers with rucksacks and Leki sticks can be seen tramping through the hallowed (good word in the circumstances) marble halls in their muddy boots.

They are welcomed and the university porters "stamp" the walkers' cards to prove that they have done the correct route.

All very civilised and anyone is free to use this example when next in friendly discussion with a local English farmer.

[mr brightside]

Al i've just got off the phone to my gran, grans are great aren't they, she has been a lifelong member of the Ramblers' Assoc. and a volunteer for the Wetherby footpath group. If you want to persue this you must contact the local authority/council and request to see the 'Definitive Map', this will confirm if a right of way still exists. Anyone can ask to see it, and if there is a right of way you then have to report the farmer and await action from the local authority. Explain that there are no yellow waymarkers for it is their responsibility for placing them and you can't do this yourself. Personally i'd persue it if it were me, especially if it's good running ground, but you've probably got friends and a life so i'll leave it in your hands .

[noel]

I was at the University of Pamplona last week (the one run by Opus Dei).

The route of the ancient pilgrimage, El Camino de Santiago (de Compostela), which reached its peak of 1/2 million pilgrims annually in the 11th /12th centuries, actually goes through one of the main university buildings so at all times of the day walkers with rucksacks and Wiki sticks can be seen tramping through the hallowed (good word in the circumstances) marble halls in their muddy boots.

They are welcomed and the university porters "stamp" the walkers' cards to prove that they have done the correct route.

All very civilised and anyone is free to use this example when next in friendly discussion with a local English farmer.

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but...

I've always been pretty appalled by the lack of PROWs in Spain. Having bought several walking guides for different regions, many of them are littered with examples like "the farm at the start of the route has now been bought and the landowner won't allow people to access across his land. Because of this, the 12 mile walk is now inaccessible apart from every third Sunday when it costs €5."

We should think ourselves very lucky we have PROWs, and not take them for granted.

[Derby Tup]

University of Pamplona? Had someone tipped you off about the copy of Studmarks they have in their library or what?

I was at the University of Pamplona last week (the one run by Opus Dei).

The route of the ancient pilgrimage, El Camino de Santiago (de Compostela), which reached its peak of 1/2 million pilgrims annually in the 11th /12th centuries, actually goes through one of the main university buildings so at all times of the day walkers with rucksacks and Wiki sticks can be seen tramping through the hallowed (good word in the circumstances) marble halls in their muddy boots.

They are welcomed and the university porters "stamp" the walkers' cards to prove that they have done the correct route.

All very civilised and anyone is free to use this example when next in friendly discussion with a local English farmer.